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2024 Senior Bowl: 10 players that stood out on the first day of practice
To my friends, family and Lions faithful back home in Michigan, I’m sorry that you got hit with some snow.
It was an absolutely beautiful first day of practice in Mobile, Alabama. I’m sunburnt, watched football all day and it was magnificent to be back at Hancock Whitney Stadium.
With that, let’s dive into both practices and review five players that stood out for both the National and American Team at the Senior Bowl today.
Should the Vikings trade up to 2nd overall to take a quarterback? Wil Helms of Pro Football Network thinks so
It has become very clear over the past week that most NFL draft outlets believe that the Minnesota Vikings‘ biggest need in the 2024 NFL draft is at quarterback. And they’re right. The Vikings only have two quarterbacks under contract for 2024 — Nick Mullens and Jaren Hall — and neither impressed during their time in 2023.
It’s also become clear that those same draft analysts believe the Vikings are going to have to be aggressive if they want to get their next quarterback. After projecting a move up in the draft last week for Drake Maye, Pro Football Network is once again projecting an aggressive move by the Vikings.
This time writer Wil Helms has the Vikings trading up to the second pick, giving the Washington Commanders the 11th pick, along with picks 42, 155, and first and third-round picks next year. What do the Vikings do with that pick? Take the highly-talented quarterback from LSU, Jayden Daniels. Here’s what Helms had to say about the selection:
With Williams off the board, we’ll throw another change into the order of the top three quarterbacks. Rather than having the Commanders take Maye to replace fellow Tar Heel Sam Howell, we’ll have them trade down and ride with the incumbent starter for one more year — depending on how the board falls later.
Again, mock drafts are a game of information. Sources expect the Vikings to be aggressive in the draft in their search for a franchise quarterback on a rookie deal.
Jayden Daniels can make every throw and has elite athleticism. If the Vikings put a guy with his upside in an offense with Jordan Addison and Justin Jefferson, they’ll have the chance to contend for a Super Bowl if the LSU quarterback reaches his potential.
Daniels would be quite the departure in play style from Kirk Cousins, and would inject some athleticism into the position that the Vikings haven’t seen regularly in quite some time. Fans got brief glimpses of what a skill-set like that could do in Kevin O’Connell’s offense with Josh Dobbs, but Daniels’ athleticism is on another level from Dobbs.
Daniels would be fun to watch in the Vikings offense with weapons like Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison, and T.J. Hockenson at his disposal. But a move like that doesn’t come without risks. If the Vikings were to pull off a trade like that and Daniels doesn’t pan out, it would likely spell the end for both O’Connell and GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah.
Notes and observations from Day 1 2024 Senior Bowl practices: Battles between the offensive and defensive lines impress right away
With the 2024 NFL draft on the horizon, the NFL world has gathered in Mobile, Ala. this week for the 2024 Reese’s Senior Bowl. Teams will be watching how some of the top draft-eligible players across the country perform as they compete against each other in practices leading up to the all-star game.
The first day of practices are always interesting. Players and coaches are just getting to know each other, so it’s more of a light practice. Here is our notebook for the day from both the National and American Team practices:
The American team at the Reese’s Senior Bowl had some standouts at practice. Tyler Forness is in Mobile and gives his biggest takeaways.
The road to the NFL Draft has started as the Reese’s Senior Bowl is underway in Mobile, Alabama this week. Vikings Wire Managing Editor Tyler Forness has boots on the ground in Hancock-Whitney Stadium, home of the South Alabama Jaguars, giving us a first-hand look at the prospects who hope to live out their dreams as NFL players in April.
For some, it’s a foregone conclusion that they will hear their names called as the draft rolls around. For others, they will have to earn that right. Forness will give us his insights as this week of practice goes along and highlight names that fans of all teams, not just the Minnesota Vikings, should keep their eye on.
With that, we turn our attention to the American Team and nine takeaways from their first practice.
Former Auburn Tiger Bo Nix has been named the most intriguing quarterback to watch at the Senior Bowl by Pro Football Focus.
Former Auburn quarterback [autotag]Bo Nix[/autotag] has been named a player to watch during Senior Bowl week by Pro Football Focus.
Nix became one of the premier players in all of college football after transferring to Oregon in December 2021.
This past season Nix led the Ducks to a Pac-12 Championship game appearance by throwing for 4,508 yards and 45 touchdowns to just 3 interceptions. The 23-year-old lost to Michael Penix and the Washington Huskies heartbreakingly but bounced back by defeating the Liberty Flames in the Fiesta Bowl a month later.
Despite all the success and personal accolades, Nix still has much to prove in the Senior Bowl this week. Many scouts and critics have questions regarding Nix’s decision-making and true ability to play the position because of such a dominant, short-read-reliant system at Oregon.
Rarely was Nix forced to throw the ball down the field or go through multiple reads.
In PFF’s write-up of Nix, they state “Many have discounted his progression due to the Ducks’ system, which features plenty of screens and short passes. He’ll get the chance to prove he’s more than that — and possibly worthy of a top-10 pick.”
We’ll see if Bo can prove the doubters wrong this week and convince a quarterback-needy team to take a shot on him in the first round. The battle for the third quarterback off the board is wide open behind USC star Caleb Williams and UNC sophomore Drake Maye.
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According to NFL analyst Daniel Jeremiah, Texas A&M star linebacker Edgerrin Cooper is a Top 20 player entering the 2024 NFL Draft.
Texas A&M linebacker Edgerrin Cooper, who announced his official entry into the 2024 NFL Draft last month, possesses every trait needed to excel at the next level, and according to NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah, Cooper is one of the best prospects the Draft has to offer.
On Tuesday, the Draft guru released his annual initial prospect rankings, and while Cooper has been widely listed as a potential second or third-round selection, Jeremiah has ranked the versatile athlete as the 20th-ranked prospect in the class. Here is his brief scouting report on Cooper’s NFL projections:
“Cooper is a long, rangy linebacker with excellent speed and coverage ability. Against the pass, he is very smooth in his drops, playing with vision and awareness. He is very comfortable in man coverage and has plenty of speed to carry tight ends up the seam. He is an explosive blitzer and has shown the ability to separate the quarterback from the ball. Against the run, he is quick to fill in the hole and displays stopping power as a tackler. He will have some fly-by missed tackles when in lateral pursuit. Overall, Cooper is an instinctive and explosive prospect who generates a bunch of splash plays. He’s ready to start right away, and I believe his best football is still ahead of him.”
Jeremiah is correct that Cooper’s best playing days are indeed ahead of him after breaking onto the scene last season, gaining more play strength and the pass rush prowess that has resulted in his current ascendance up the rankings. Leading Texas A&M in tackles and sacks in 2023, Cooper recorded 83 tackles (39 solo tackles), 8 sacks, 19 tackles for loss, and 2 forced fumbles on the year.
Contact/Follow us @AggiesWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Texas A&M news, notes, and opinions. Follow Cameron on Twitter: @CameronOhnysty.
There was no shortage of standout performances Tuesday in the first Senior Bowl practices.
With scouts, coaches, and decision-makers all in Mobile, Ala., draft season kicked off Tuesday with the first practices ahead of the 2024 Senior Bowl.
While star players like quarterbacks Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels, and Drake Maye aren’t among the participants, there’s no shortage of top prospects and potential future Jacksonville Jaguars players on the Senior Bowl rosters.
The game won’t happen until Saturday, but the practices are just as, if not more, important — especially for linemen, wide receivers, and cornerbacks, who all get a chance to show what they can do in one-on-one drills against fellow prospects. That’s perfect for the Jaguars, who have needs at those positions.
With one day of practices in the books, these 11 players stood out most Tuesday:
Vikings Wire Tyler Forness gives insight on day one of practice for the Reese’s Senior Bowl’s National Team
The road to the NFL Draft has started as the Reese’s Senior Bowl is underway in Mobile, Alabama this week. Vikings Wire Managing Editor Tyler Forness has boots on the ground in Hancock-Whitney Stadium, home of the South Alabama Jaguars, giving us a first-hand look at the prospects who hope to live out their dreams as NFL players in April.
For some, it’s a foregone conclusion that they will hear their names called as the draft rolls around. For others, they will have to earn that right. Forness will give us his insights as this week of practice goes along and highlight names that fans of all teams, not just the Minnesota Vikings, should keep their eye on.
We start with the National Team, who ended their practice Tuesday morning.
The Patriots swing a blockbuster trade early to rebuild their offense the right way in this 2024 NFL mock draft
Everyone is assuming the New England Patriots take a quarterback with the No. 3 overall pick of the 2024 NFL draft. That appears to be the most likely scenario, but there’s also the possibility the team goes in the roster building direction before reaching for a new signal-caller.
It doesn’t matter if it’s Caleb Williams, Drake Maye or Jayden Daniels. Any rookie quarterback is going to have a rough go under center for a Patriots team severely lacking in offensive talent at receiver and on the offensive line.
The Patriots might want to avoid another Mac Jones situation by simply focusing their resources at other positions, while utilizing a bridge quarterback for the time being. Whether that bridge quarterback is Mac Jones, Bailey Zappe or an experienced veteran, like Russell Wilson or Kirk Cousins, is an argument for another day.
But this mock draft explores the possibility of a trade down by New England to accumulate more picks and fix other trouble spots on their roster. Here’s an updated full seven-round 2024 NFL mock draft for the Patriots:
Malik Nabers improved on a breakout 2022 season in every conceivable way.
[autotag]Malik Nabers[/autotag] had a breakout season for the Tigers as a sophomore in 2022, leading the team with a 1,000-yard campaign and leading the SEC in receptions.
However, that was just the preamble for the true leap that was to come in 2023. Nabers went from reliable receiver to one of the nation’s best this season, finishing as the runner-up for the Biletnikoff Award as he ranked second nationally in receiving yards.
His touchdown total also took a huge jump from just three last fall to 14 this season.
Nabers entered the year viewed as a possible first-round round pick, but now, he isn’t likely to fall out of the top 10. ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. recently detailed Nabers’ growth this season on an episode of First Draft.
“I look at him last year? He wasn’t the guy who he was this year,” Kiper Jr. said per On3’s Sam Gillenwater. “2023, you talk about what he was able to do for [autotag]Jayden Daniels[/autotag]? The last five games of Jayden Daniels’ career? He had a catch of over 45 yards. In nine of 13 games? He’s getting it done, has had a catch of over 35 yards. 17 receptions of 30-plus yards this year.
“He can be in the slot, he can be outside. This is a kid who was remarkable this season in terms not dropping passes and producing big play after big play.”
Kiper pointed to the statistical improvements Nabers made this season, particularly his yards per catch, which rose to 17.6 in 2023.
“You see the touchdown improvement? The average per catch? Everything is up. Making plays, stretching it, taking the top off a defense, wanting the ball in clutch moments,” Kiper Jr. said. “When this kid had to step up, game after game? He did it.
“He loves to play the game of football. I’ve always spoken about how much of a baller he is. How tough, how physical, how reliable he is. The improvement he showed this year was dramatic.”
Both Nabers and Daniels — as well as fellow receiver [autotag]Brian Thomas Jr.[/autotag] — have seen dramatic draft stock rises toward the end of the 2023 season and are now all likely to be taken in the first round of the 2024 NFL draft.
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Follow Tyler to continue the conversation on Twitter: @TylerNettuno
