2025 NFL Draft 1st impressions on early Senior Bowl commits Jalen Royals, Charles Grant and B.J. Adams
The Senior Bowl is rolling out the names of some of the early prospects who have accepted invitations to participate in the 2025 edition of the annual scouting mecca and venerable All-Star game in Mobile, Alabama.
Three of the early Senior Bowl acceptances are players I haven’t really taken a long look at yet. After a crash course of watching at least two games of each, here are my preliminary scouting thoughts on Jalen Royals, Charles Grant and B.J. Adams.
Jalen Royals, WR, Utah State
Talk about a prospect who should thrive in the practices in Mobile in 1-on-1 matchups! Royals stands to raise his profile quite a bit with a strong Senior Bowl week to cap an impressive career for the Aggies playing in the MWC.
Royals had already made a strong first impression from watching him in the 2023 season opener against Iowa. Digging into his 2024 film, the 6-foot, 205-pounder (listed weight might be high) has only built open the smoothness he showed against a secondary loaded with future NFLers. Royals has a “glide” to his gait as a route runner and it serves him well when he breaks. It feels like defenders are always misjudging his speed and ability to make sharp moves.
The hands are outstanding. Royals attacks the ball and quickly secures the catch. No body-catching unless required on lower throws. He transitions well from receiver to runner and can be difficult to corral if he’s got any momentum from the catch. There are some similarities to Terry McLaurin–a former Senior Bowl standout–in both size and game approach with Royals.
Charles Grant, OT, William & Mary
Grant plays left tackle for the Tribe, and he was somewhat familiar thanks to former linemate Colby Sorsdal, a fifth-round pick by the Detroit Lions in 2023.
On the surface, Grant is a better prospect than Sorsdal even though the latter was bigger. Grant moves much more fluidly, and that is his calling card. The Tribe use a lot of outside zone in the run game and Grant is fantastic at getting to his point and engaging effectively.
In pass protection, Grant shows excellent balance and lateral agility with either foot. He’s active with his hands and can reset well after his initial jab. Grant doesn’t always sink his weight and drive, and his bull anchor is a little top-heavy–which is something to watch for when playing bigger/stronger pass rushers during Senior Bowl practices.
His feet are very good, and that’s important because Grant isn’t playing against anyone else who will sniff the NFL beyond a rookie minicamp invite. The core fundamentals of Grant’s game are strong, even if his play strength is questionable.
B.J. Adams, CB, UCF
Known in some scouting circles as Brandon, the 6-foot-3, 190-pound corner is listed by both UCF and the Senior Bowl as B.J. Adams. The length definitely stands out; Adams might not be 6-3, but he’s definitely long and uses it pretty well to his advantage.
When Adams gets his hands on a receiver, he’s very disruptive at the line and controls releases pretty well. His lateral agility isn’t great, nor is his recovery quickness, and that makes Adams winning at the start of the route imperative. Colorado took advantage of that by making him move laterally or sort through a stack to find his mark. He was much cleaner against Iowa State in that regard, though he was guilty of one pass interference flag and was endemically guilty of illegal contact in the NFL, something that isn’t against the rules in college.
Like many taller CBs, Adams doesn’t have the body control in space to handle shiftiness. His full-speed momentum doesn’t stop quickly and makes him more straight-linish.
There is confidence to Adams’ game, a requisite for a cornerback to succeed at the next level. I’d like to see more attack dog to him against the run, but Adams plays intelligent, positional football. He understands his boundary responsibility and is active in trying to get off blocks. Adams plays the sidelines to his advantage in man coverage, and his length cuts off throwing angles well.
