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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.
2024 Senior Bowl: Day 1 notebook from the first day of practices in Mobile
The 2024 Senior Bowl practices kicked off on a sunny Tuesday in Mobile, Alabama. The National and American teams took to the field at the home of the University of South Alabama Jaguars with over 100 aspiring NFL prospects hoping to show their best in front of hundreds of NFL scouts and media.
Here are some of the notable takeaways from the first day of practices.
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From Missouri CB Kris Abrams-Draine to Texas DT T’Vondre Sweat, 10 players to watch on the Reese’s Senior Bowl American team’s defense
The Reese’s Senior Bowl is here and Mobile is going to be rocking with the 100+ NFL draft prospects coming into South Alabama’s Hancock Whitney Stadium.
Vikings Wire will have boots on the ground as managing editor Tyler Forness will be there in person to watch these players duke it out in front of scouts and analysts alike.
On the American team, the biggest names are on the offensive side of the ball, but this is a homage to the top names on the defensive side.
We’re looking at the 2024 NFL mock draft roundups and the Baltimore Ravens are projected to land a cornerback and offensive tackle
The Baltimore Ravens are 14-4 and one game away from a Super Bowl appearance after a 34-10 win over the Texans in the divisional round.
Even with Lamar Jackson and company roaring through the playoff field, it’s never too early for a look ahead to the 2024 NFL Draft.
Baltimore currently has about $13,658,828 in salary cap space per Over The Cap, and they’re spending about $120+ million plus on the offensive side of the football.
The Ravens also have 30 players scheduled to hit free agency, and some tough decisions will be made regarding who returns to Baltimore.
With the Reese’s Senior Bowl fast approaching and draft coverage set to begin, we’re looking at an updated mock draft roundup for AFC Championship week.
What would the Minnesota Vikings do if Malik Nabers was available at 11th overall? The first of many 2024 NFL mock drafts explores that idea
The Minnesota Vikings have a lot of different ways they can go in the NFL draft. There will be some discussion on what needs are most important but the Vikings can address most of them through both free agency and the NFL draft.
Each week throughout the leadup to the NFL draft, I will be doing different seven round mock drafts for the Vikings as a way to explore different scenarios. You never know who might fall to you and how that could cause a ripple effect and being ready for those situations is paramount come draft weekend.
In the first rendition, LSU wide receiver Malik Nabers somehow falls to 11th overall and that could change the way the Vikings address their roster and draft picks.
We’re doing a 2024 NFL mock draft roundup, and the Baltimore Ravens are projected to add depth at defensive tackle
The Baltimore Ravens are 13-4 and set to enjoy a week of rest after claiming the No. 1 seed in the AFC and a much-needed first-round bye.
Even with Lamar Jackson and company ready to roar into the playoffs, it’s never too early for a look ahead to the 2024 NFL Draft.
Baltimore currently has about $19,485,086 in salary cap space per Over The Cap, and they’re spending about $120+ million plus on the offensive side of the football.
The Ravens also have 27 players scheduled to hit free agency, and some tough decisions will be made regarding who returns to Baltimore.
With the Reese’s Senior Bowl fast approaching and draft coverage set to begin, we’re looking at an updated mock draft roundup for Wild Card Weekend.
What prospects should Browns fans have an eye on during the 2023 season?
The 2024 NFL draft is nearly a year away but you can bet general manager Andrew Berry has already begun scouting for next April. It is hard to tell what the Cleveland Browns will need to focus on before watching the 2023 season start to play out. However, you can be a little predictive based on contracts and the age of the current roster.
The team doesn’t have any linebackers outside Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah on long-term deals past this season. They also have questions about the future of the offensive line both at tackle and guard. Let’s take a look at how next year’s draft could play out in this way too early 2024 mock draft.
What does Notre Dame need for help on the DLine next year?
Notre Dame has had quite the run on the defensive line in recent years but that has undoubtedly taken a slight step back recently. The Irish thought they had help on the way via the transfer portal but missed out the day after Christmas to Florida State.
Defensive tackle Braden Fiske, formerly of Western Michigan, announced his intent to transfer to Florida State. Fiske recently took a visit to Notre Dame and it had appeared the Irish coaching staff liked their chances of landing his talents.
Fiske is coming off a year that saw him record 58 tackles, 12 tackles for loss, and six sacks. This one stings as Fiske didn’t just attend Western Michigan, but grew up in Notre Dame’s back yard as he attended Michigan City (Indiana) High School.
Back to the drawing board Notre Dame goes for help at defensive tackle and across the board in the transfer portal.
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USC wasn’t the favorite for Braden Fiske, but missing out on him does affirm the need to land other transfer portal prospects who can rush the QB.
USC and Lincoln Riley have done really well in the transfer portal, and there will be more opportunities to add quality players in the coming weeks and months, but the Trojans did not have a good Christmas weekend in the portal.
Just before Christmas Day, former Tulsa offensive tackle Dillon Tate committed to Auburn. The Tigers and Hugh Freeze won what was a two-team battle with USC for a premier offensive lineman.
On Monday morning, the other really big USC transfer portal target went to another Southern school.
Braden Fiske, the pass rusher from Western Michigan who was being courted by USC, Florida State, and Notre Dame, picked Florida State. The Seminoles and Mike Norvell got him. Norvell is building even more confidence and optimism for the 2023 season in Tallahassee. The Seminoles appear poised to become a top-two team in the ACC alongside Clemson. They are doing at a much slower pace what Lincoln Riley and USC were able to do in one year:
BREAKING: Transfer DL Braden Fiske commits to FSU https://t.co/p1gjKtdrID
— Noles247.com (@Noles247) December 26, 2022
USC needs depth in the trenches. The Trojans would have loved to go 1 for 2 in these recent recruitments. They went 0 for 2.
Failure here is hardly devastating or disastrous, but it does place more emphasis on being able to hit some prime transfer targets for quality linemen across the country.
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Braden Fiske is reportedly down to three schools: #USC, Notre Dame, and Florida State. This is a big transfer portal competition.
The USC Trojans have landed some big-time players in the transfer portal, but their work is far from done. More precisely, USC has addressed a few very specific needs in the portal, but other big needs remain unmet.
One of them: pass rushing. USC needs a pass rushing stud to put a lot of heat on opposing quarterbacks, especially since the 2023 Pac-12 Conference is likely to have a lot of high-quality quarterbacks.
Bo Nix of Oregon. Michael Penix of Washington. Shedeur Sanders of Colorado. The list goes on. USC needs a defense which is more disruptive, more imposing, more able to make opposing offenses and quarterbacks uncomfortable.
Braden Fiske can do that.
The pass rusher from Western Michigan is — in the eyes of most college football portal analysts — down to USC, Florida State, and Notre Dame. That’s a high-profile collection of schools in a three-way battle for an equation-changing defender who can make life miserable for opposing QBs.
Don’t worry too much about USC having a top-10 recruiting class. It’s more about the quality of the roster, which includes the recruiting class but also involves portal acquisitions. Doing well in both areas is what counts the most.
We talked about this with Mark Rogers at The Voice of College Football.
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