2023 Senior Bowl Rankings (Offense)

 

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. (Note that the rankings are based purely off their performance in Mobile, rather than their rankings as prospects overall.)

Quarterbacks

1. Jake Haener- Fresno State

2. Max Duggan- TCU

3. Tyson Bagent- Shepherd

4. Jaren Hall- BYU

5. Clayton Tune- Houston

6. Malik Cunningham*- Louisville (Missed Day 1)

Let’s get this out of the way early; none of these QBs were particularly impressive or truly did much to increase their draft stocks. All of them were too inconsistent and played much too conservatively at times to stand out from the rest of the pack. That being said, some of the players here did have some good moments. 

Jake Haener was the best of the bunch, as it felt like he was the most accurate QB of the weekend. He did well enough in his practice drills and showed off some nice throws from different arm slots, and that was enough to be the best QB here in my opinion. Max Duggan also had a decent week in Mobile. He was the most consistent of the bunch, although nothing he did was particularly noteworthy. Probably the most intriguing QB of the pack is Shepherd’s Tyson Bagent, a D2 player who set the NCAA record for passing TD’s in a career at any level. Overall, I thought Bagent showed that he fit right in with the rest of these D1 prospects, and he probably has the most arm talent out of anybody here. His arm has some very real juice behind it. Unfortunately, much like his tape at times, his Senior Bowl weekend was all over the place. For every “drop in the bucket” type throw, there was a baffling miss. 

The rest of the group were very disappointing and definitely did not help themselves this week. BYU’s Jaren Hall did not look particularly bad, but he was paired with Haener who outperformed him nearly every time, which was not a good look for Hall. Clayton Tune out of Houston was the biggest disappointment for me personally. He came in as my 2nd-highest rated of the Senior Bowl QBs, but is probably leaving much worse off. Way too inconsistent, especially accuracy-wise. Finally, Malik Cunningham did not do much to show off his passing acumen. We know he can run with the ball, but scouts wanted to see him throw down the field. Unfortunately, he tucked and ran multiple times in practice, and when he did throw, it usually did not end up well.

Running Backs

1. Tyjae Spears- Tulane

2. Kenny McIntosh- Georgia

3. Roschon Johnson*- Texas (Injured after Day 1)

4. Eric Gray- Oklahoma

5. Chris Rodriguez Jr.- Kentucky

6. SaRodorick Thompson*- Texas Tech (Arrived Day 2)

7. Evan Hull- Northwestern

8. Camerun Peoples- Appalachian State

9. Chase Brown- Illinois

This was another group that ended up disappointing a bit at the Senior Bowl. With how hyped up and deep this running back class looks to be, there were not too many standouts (though there was one superstar!). It is tough for backs to get very good looks during the practice sessions, so it is definitely not the best evaluation tool for these players though, so I’m willing to give most of them the benefit of doubt. 

One player who won’t need any of that though is Tulane’s Tyjae Spears. He was electric all throughout the week. As a runner, Spears showed off his incredible agility and ability to make almost unfair jump cuts to get away from defenders. He had multiple “home run” type of runs during practice. But he also showed out as a pass catcher, where he was unable to be covered at all, and as a pass blocker, despite his smaller frame. Spears was definitely one of the biggest “winners” of the weekend. Right behind him is Georgia’s Kenny McIntosh, another back who was very good in his route running and pass catching ability. The rushing prowess was not necessarily on display for him, but I thought he did enough to stand out. Other running backs who I thought did well were Roschon Johnson, who had a good Day 1 before breaking his hand, Eric Gray who rivaled Tyjae Spears as a pass catcher, and Chris Rodriguez Jr, who was easily the best pass blocking back there.

In terms of who performed poorly, I only wanted to make note of Chase Brown from Illinois. He is a highly rated guy who put up fantastic numbers this season both as a rusher and a receiver, and he has plenty of fans out there. However, Brown had a really bad week down in Mobile. He did not show off his rushing ability very well, and he fumbled multiple times in the team drills during practice. He ran some good routes as a pass catcher, but had some really bad drops during the week. One bad week of practice certainly should not be enough to hurt him (or anybody) in terms of his draft stock that much, but he could have asserted himself into a top tier (behind Bijan Robinson and Jahmyr Gibbs of course) type of back with a better week here.

Wide Receivers

1. Jayden Reed- Michigan State

2. Michael Wilson- Stanford

3. Tank Dell- Houston

4. Puka Nacua*- BYU (Left after Day 1)

5. Tre Tucker- Cincinnati

6. Andrei Iosivas- Princeton

7. Jonathan Mingo- Ole Miss

8. Trey Palmer- Nebraska

9. Rashee Rice- SMU

10. Xavier Hutchinson- Iowa State

11. Dontayvion Wicks- Virginia

12. Derius Davis- TCU

13. Ronnie Bell- Michigan

14. Grant DuBose- Charlotte

15. Jalen Wayne- South Alabama

16. Elijah Higgins- Stanford

As expected, this wide receiver group was also all over the place in terms of their play. Overall, the 2023 class of receivers looks to be more deep than it is filled with star power, and that translated to what happened in Mobile. The lack of good QB play definitely played a role in the wide receivers being inconsistent, but overall I thought the DBs had a much stronger weekend than the wideouts.

Starting with who really impressed, Michigan State’s Jayden Reed was a star during the week. He showed off his exceptional quickness, route running ability and went up to make some tough catches. Reed was highly regarded coming into the year, but had a poor 2022 season. This performance should have boosted him back into contention to be a Day Two pick. The other big standout performer of the week was Michael Wilson from Stanford. He’s a really interesting story. Wilson was not high up on anybody’s draft board coming into the week after struggling in the awful Cardinal offense and having dealt with multiple big injuries in his collegiate career. But he balled out in Mobile, and was one of the smoothest players out there. Tank Dell and Tre Tucker from Houston and Cincinnati respectively are similar playmakers, both undersized but explosive with the ball in their hands. Puka Nacua had a really strong Day One that many were excited to see him build upon, but he pulled out of the event afterwards. The final player I want to make a specific note on is Princeton’s Andrei Iosivas. He reminds me a lot of Christian Watson from last year’s Senior Bowl. He is a very tall and lanky receiver with speed potentially in the high 4.2s. Iosivas is a less polished route runner, and needs to work on his release packages, but the flashes of a special player are there. 

Only a few guys had a rough week at the Senior Bowl, though. Ronnie Bell looked good in his routes, but had multiple bad drops that marred his week. Two of the small school receivers, Grant DuBose from Charlotte and the hometown Jalen Wayne from South Alabama, looked out of place and outmatched overall, although each had a few good catches during the week. Finally, Wilson’s Stanford teammate, Elijah Higgins had a poor time in Mobile, and really struggled in the 1 on 1’s.

Tight Ends

1. Payne Durham- Purdue

2. Luke Musgrave- Oregon State

3. Josh Whyle- Cincinnati

4. Brayden Willis- Oklahoma

5. Davis Allen- Clemson

6. Cameron Latu- Alabama

7. Will Mallory- Miami

This year’s tight end class is highly regarded as one of the best in a long time, and that was reflected well in Mobile. I thought most of the players put up a solid performance, although nobody was outright amazing.

The top riser from the group was Purdue’s Payne Durham, who got better as the week went on. He’s got extremely soft hands to catch the football and has fantastic body control, even if he is a bit stiff in his routes at times. Luke Musgrave, who many think could sneak into the 1st Round, showed off his athleticism and route running ability. Although, it was fairly obvious he was shaking off some rust after missing the majority of this 2022 season. Josh Whyle and Brayden Willis weren’t necessarily the most outstanding pass catchers, but both showed off some really impressive blocking skills.

Again, nobody really disappointed in this group, but Clemson’s Davis Allen probably hoped for a better week. He’s another highly regarded player in this tight end class, but struggled a bit this week in 1 on 1 drills. I was also let down by Will Mallory, out of Miami. He’s a receiving first tight end that also struggled to create separation in 1 on 1 drills.

Offensive Tackle

1. Dawand Jones*- Ohio State (No Practice After Day 1)

2. Darnell Wright- Tennessee

3. Wanya Morris- Oklahoma

4. McClendon Curtis- Chattanooga

5. Matthew Bergeron- Syracuse

6. Jaelyn Duncan- Maryland

7. Asim Richards- North Carolina

8. Blake Freeland- BYU

9. Tyler Steen- Alabama

10. Richard Gouriage Jr.- Florida

11. Warren McClendon- Georgia

12. Ryan Hayes- Michigan

The stars of the week on the offensive side of the ball were the offensive line, and this tackle class has some early round picks that played extraordinarily well down in Mobile. 

The biggest (literally) star of practice on Day One was Ohio State’s Dawand Jones, a mammoth of a man who measured in at 6’8 and a wingspan of 89.5 inches, which equal the wingspan of a 7’5 person. That size and length made him a dominant player during 1 on 1 drills. Nobody could get through him or around him. After Jones sat on the sidelines for the rest of the event, Darnell Wright from Tennessee was the next man up. He did not allow a sack this season for the Volunteers and showed out down in Mobile. Other standouts included Oklahoma’s Wanya Morris, and McClendon Curtis, a small school standout from Chattanooga. Curtis, teammates with current New England Patriots guard Cole Strange, really showed that he fit in with the top dogs this week, and definitely has the chance to become a Day Two pick with this performance.

Once again, there were not too many players that disappointed, however, there were some that I wanted to see much more from. Jaelyn Duncan had a great opportunity to show some more consistency in his play. He is a great athlete from Maryland, but had some major struggles this season against higher levels of competition. Unfortunately, that problem arose again in Mobile. Sometimes he looked dominant, other times he got beat much too quickly. The same goes for BYU’s Blake Freeland, another huge tackle who measured in at 6’7, but was often beaten way too easily for someone that big, especially when he faced power coming head-on. Ryan Hayes from Michigan had a poor week as well. While he displayed some good ability as a run blocker, Hayes was eaten alive in pass protection.

Interior Offensive Linemen

1. John Michael Schmitz- Minnesota

2. O’Cyrus Torrence- Florida

3. Steve Avila- TCU

4. Cody Mauch- South Dakota State

5. Olusegun Oluwatimi- Michigan

6. Jarrett Patterson- Notre Dame

7. Nick Saldiveri- Old Dominion

8. Jake Andrews- Troy

9. Emil Ekiyor Jr- Alabama

10. Nick Broeker- Ole Miss

The final position group to examine on offense was the interior lineman, who may have been the most impressive out of the entire Senior Bowl class. Nobody here, even those lower on the list had a bad week, although the ones at the top stood out as some of the best players of the entire week.

Starting off, John Michael Schmitz was the most dominant lineman (besides Dawand Jones) at the Senior Bowl. He is a very experienced starting center who was phenomenal in both pass protection and as a run blocker. There were multiple times where Schmitz was the lead blocker on screen passes, and he can really get moving down the field. I don’t think he is as athletic as Tyler Linderbaum, who was picked in the 1st Round by the Ravens last year, but Schmitz definitely looks like a plug-and-play center in the 2nd round. Florida’s O’Cyrus Torrence entered the Senior Bowl as a probable first round selection as the top guard in the class, and he will likely leave Mobile as the top guard. There was nothing that surprised us with Torrence, which in his case is a good thing. He had a very solid week. Right behind him though may be TCU’s Steve Avila, who like many of the lineman here played multiple positions during the week. Avila played mostly at guard, but also had some snaps at center, where he was also very solid. Nobody took versatility further though than SDSU’s Cody Mauch. While his looks stole the show immediately, Mauch spent most of the Senior Bowl at left guard, which was to be expected despite him playing left tackle his entire career with the Bison. But Mauch played at every position on the o-line at least once this week, including center. While he was beaten a few times, he had some dominant reps as well. The hope is that the losses were mainly due to being unfamiliar with the new positions, and that can get coached up at the next level.