2023 Senior Bowl Rankings (Defense)
This Year’s Reese’s Senior Bowl just concluded down in Mobile, Alabama, and the event gave us a great look at over 100 interesting prospects for the upcoming 2023 NFL Draft. Each player got 3 practice sessions and playing time in the game itself, which gave scouts plenty to watch and dissect. So, going by position grouping, let’s examine who did well and boosted their stock, or who had a poor week and may have hurt theirs.
Edge Rushers
Will McDonald IV- Iowa State
KJ Henry- Clemson
Keion White- Georgia Tech
Ali Gaye- LSU
Lonnie Phelps- Kansas
Byron Young- Tennessee
Dylan Horton- TCU
Isaiah Foskey- Notre Dame
Andre Carter II- Army
Derick Hall- Auburn
Thomas Incoom- Central Michigan
Eku Leota- Auburn
YaYa Diaby- Louisville
Nick Hampton- Appalachian State
Tavius Robinson- Ole Miss
Isaiah McGuire- Missouri
DJ Johnson- Oregon
This group was a major disappointment with their performance overall in Mobile. I truly do not think any of these guys raised their draft stock with how they played this week. It is more of a case where nobody played poorly, just that nobody left a big impression.
Starting with the good, Iowa State’s Will McDonald IV showed off the most out of anybody in the group. He displayed elite speed and burst off the line that makes him one of the most dangerous pass rushers in this class, and utilized a variety of pass rush moves. But concerns about his size did arise, as he struggled to convert his speed to power at times, and blockers with longer arm lengths did give him trouble as well. Nothing surprising given his tape as a Cyclone, but he had a solid week overall. Other players like Clemson’s KJ Henry, and Keion White from Georgia Tech had some good reps in 1 on 1 drills, but I felt like their performances showed that they have a higher floor rather than higher potential. They did not showcase that they could grow into elite pass rushers at the next level. Two guys that did surprise me were Ali Gaye and Lonnie Phelps from LSU and Kansas, respectively. Gaye was not somebody I was overly impressed with during my tape study of him, and Phelps was somebody I missed out on during my initial EDGE rankings. I thought Gaye showed a lot more consistency this week than he did this season at LSU, and Phelps paired a good burst off the line with some impressive finesse moves to win some reps very convincingly.
There were plenty of players this week that also disappointed me. I’m putting Dylan Horton, Isaiah Foskey, and Auburn teammates Derick Hall and Eku Leota into a group of players that I was fairly high on coming into the week, but left me wanting more from how they performed. Each player had a decent week, but I was hoping for a more dominant performance. Foskey and Hall, in particular, are guys that feel on the fringe of the 1st Round currently. A better week at the Senior Bowl, and they may have been able to better secure being a day one pick.
Defensive Tackles
Keeanu Benton- Wisconsin
Adetomiwa Adebawore- Northwestern
Karl Brooks- Bowling Green
Zacch Pickens- South Carolina
Jerrod Clark- Coastal Carolina
Byron Young- Alabama
Cameron Young- Mississippi State
Nesta Jade Silvera- Arizona State
Jalen Redmond- Oklahoma
DJ Dale- Alabama
Tyler Lacy- Oklahoma State
On the contrary to how the edge rushers performed, the interior rushers stole the show this time around. Most, if not everybody, in this group had positives to take away from their time at the Senior Bowl, and the top guys of the group were some of the best players overall in Mobile.
There is definitely an argument to be made that no defensive player had a stronger week than Wisconsin’s Keeanu Benton. The defensive tackle has already proven on tape that he is a great run defender, and this week he got to show off his pass rush chops a whole lot more. Benton dominated the majority of his reps in 1 on 1 drills, and consistently shed blocks both using finesse and power. He has shot up draft boards over the past few months as more people got to watch his film, and this performance in Mobile will only continue that rise. The next two players, Adetomiwa Adebawore from Northwestern and Karl Brooks from Bowling Green, played most of their college careers off the edge, but made a very successful transition to the interior at the Senior Bowl. Adebawore got a 4th round grade from me as an edge rusher, as he struggled to get consistent burst off the line and did not have the bendiness one would want to see in an edge rusher. From the interior, however, he has more than enough quickness and the ability to generate power with his lower half to create havoc. At 6’1.5 and 284 pounds, he probably will need to bulk up a bit to fully transition to defensive tackle, but if he can keep his quickness, Adebawore can certainly be a force on the interior. Karl Brooks, similarly, also got a late 4th round grade from me as an edge rusher. However, his transition to DT was a lot easier to see coming, thanks to his massive 300 pound frame. Brooks was a force from the outside in the MAC this season, and if he can polish up his interior play a bit more and play like he did in Mobile this week, Brooks could become a very good player at the next level. I also want to shout out Zacch Pickens and Jerrod Clark quickly for their work down in Mobile. Pickens, who is more pass-rush oriented, showed some really nice moves in 1 on 1s. Clark, conversely, is a massive space eater who showed some surprising pass rushing acumen when given the opportunity.
Linebackers
Daiyan Henley- Washington State
Ivan Pace Jr- Cincinnati
Marte Mapu- Sacramento State
Aubrey Miller Jr- Jackson State
DeMarvion Overshown- Texas
SirVocea Dennis- Pittsburgh
Dee Winters- TCU
Dorian Williams- Tulane
Isaiah Land- Florida A&M
Cam Jones- Indiana
Carlton Martial- Troy
Linebacker is always a hard position to gather information on at the Senior Bowl, as they get left out of most of the highly anticipated drills during practice. However, that did not stop this group from having some of the biggest standout guys from the week.
Though he was not always the most flashy, Daiyan Henley from Washington State was the most consistent and steady LB in Mobile. He is a really fun story, a former HS quarterback who played the majority of his college career at Nevada before transferring to Wazzu for his final season of eligibility. Henley was a tackling machine for both of his college teams and showed that off quite well this week. He also was extremely composed and steady in coverage reps against the RBs and TEs, making him my favorite linebacker of the week. Cincinnati’s Ivan Pace Jr. made that choice quite difficult however. Despite coming in a bit undersized (5’10, 231), Pace was the most impressive rush linebacker this week. He destroyed the RBs in pass rush 1 on 1s, and showed out in the team drills. Pace will be an interesting player to monitor as the Draft grows closer, as his play style does not seem to fit the body type, but we have seen plenty of outliers have success at the next level. Marte Mapu was a very late addition to the Senior Bowl, but always seemed to be around the ball in team drills during the week. Coming from an FCS program, Mapu had some of the best effort out of anybody in Mobile and has the size and athletic profile to be a hybrid LB/Safety. I’ll be very interested to watch some of his tape when I have the chance to. I also wanted to show some love to Aubrey Miller Jr, DeMarvion Overshown, and SirVocea Dennis, for also having really strong weeks despite having limited opportunities to show it off.
Cornerbacks
Tyrique Stevenson- Miami
Riley Moss- Iowa
Darius Rush- South Carolina
Jakorian Bennett- Maryland
Jartavious Martin- Illinois
Julius Brents- Kansas State
Mekhi Blackmon- USC
Kyu Blu Kelly- Stanford
Darrell Luter Jr- South Alabama
Anthony Johnson- Virginia
Keidron Smith- Kentucky
Jay Ward- LSU
RezJohn Wright- Oregon State
This year, the cornerbacks finally got some payback on the wide receivers, who have dominated the Senior Bowl 1 on 1 drills over the past few years. This group really impressed me overall, and a few of these added their names to the growing list of solid CBs in this year's draft class.
To start off, Miami’s Tyrique Stevenson was a surprising addition to NFL Network Draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah’s first Mock Draft. That got more people to look into the player and instantly made him one of the most anticipated players to watch at the Senior Bowl, and Stevenson showed off some awesome things this week that may continue his push towards the first round. He measured in a 6’0, 204 with over 32 inch arms, which is great to see from a projected outside corner. In Mobile, Stevenson used his length and great recovery speed to be one of the best corners in the 1 on 1 drills, and was even more impressive in team drills and the game itself. Although, he certainly was not alone in looking like a lockdown corner this week. Iowa’s Riley Moss, one of the very few white cornerbacks out there, fought hard against projections that moved him to safety by dominating the 1 on 1 periods, and not giving up a catch during the bowl game. He has elite level speed and was extremely sticky in coverage all week. Much like Darius Rush, from South Carolina, who was also a standout from the 1 on 1s. Rush was even less known than Stevenson entering the week, and had multiple interceptions during the practice periods, and fantastic man coverage reps that has immediately vaulted him into talk about being a Day Two selection.
This is normally where I’d talk about who disappointed me in the group, but instead I just have more praise to give to more of these players here. Jakorian Bennett from Maryland buoyed his draft stock after a really solid week in all facets of the game. Loved him in man coverage and zone during the game. Jartavious Martin left Mobile early after a few days of practice, but had a really good week during the 1 on 1s and team drills. Julius Brents from Kansas State won from the very start of the week with his measurements, coming in at an insane 6’3, 202 and just under 34(!) inches in arm length. In practice, he also showed off some really nice recovery speed to go along with his length that makes him one of the highest upside players in the CB class. Mekhi Blackmon, Kyu Blu Kelly, Darrell Luter Jr, and Anthony Johnson also all had really good weeks and continue to add to the insane depth of this cornerback class.
Safeties
Sydney Brown- Illinois
Jammie Robinson- Florida State
Christopher Smith- Georgia
Daniel Scott- California
Kaevon Merriweather- Iowa
JL Skinner- Boise State
Chamarri Conner- Virginia Tech
Ronnie Hickman- Ohio State
DeMarcco Hellams- Alabama
Though not as deep as the cornerbacks, the safeties also looked very good at the Senior Bowl. They also make for a tough evaluation, especially in the team drills. But thankfully, the majority of them participated in the 1 on 1 drills against the receivers, so we got a good look at most of them.
Maybe no safety benefitted from this more than Illinois’ Sydney Brown, who was probably the best DB overall from the week. He looked great in his man coverage reps in the 1 on 1s, but truly showed out during the team periods of practice. He seemed to be everywhere during those sessions, whether it was in coverage or making the “tackle” on the play. Jammie Robinson from Florida State also had a great week in the 1 on 1s, which was great to see since his biggest concern from me was regarding his coverage ability. The former Seminole is already great in run defense and is one of the hardest hitting safeties here, so it was really nice to see him take the next step with being really sticky and consistent in man coverage. I also really liked what Georgia’s Christopher Smith did during the practice week, although he looked a bit off during the actual game itself. Daniel Scott gets my final shout out of the group; another player who just seemed to be around the ball frequently. He made some really nice plays throughout the week that really impressed me.
Specialists
Bryce Baringer- Michigan State
Chad Ryland- Maryland
Robert Soderholm III- VMI
Alex Ward- UCF
Jack Podlesny- Georgia
Adam Korsak- Rutgers
Just a quick word on the specialists down in Mobile, the majority of them were quite good. Michigan State punter Bryce Baringer was the early standout, reportedly booming multiple 50-60 yard punts down the practice field. Maryland kicker Chad Ryland had a great performance in the Senior Bowl game, going 4-5 on his field goals. Quite possibly the star of the group though is VMI long snapper Robert Soderholm III. Though we weren’t able to see much of him at the Senior Bowl, everything that I have heard and watched about him is that he is a “generational” long snapping prospect. His form is immaculate and incredibly consistent, and he is able to get down the field and cover the punt quite often as well.
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