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Celebrating Valentine’s Day with Alex’s 2023 NFL draft crushes the Los Angeles Chargers might love.
Happy Valentine’s Day!
While for many, today is about celebrating a cherished partner, this year it also marks the official transition between the NFL season and draft season.
With the Super Bowl a couple of days into the rearview mirror, it’s time to focus on the upcoming NFL Combine, slated to occur from February 28 to March 6.
In the spirit of the day, here are a few of my draft crushes heading into the cycle.
Here’s our latest 7-round New Orleans Saints mock draft, updated after the Senior Bowl all-star game:
We’re moving quickly down the road to the 2023 NFL draft with the Senior Bowl and other college all-star games in rearview, so it’s a good time for an updated New Orleans Saints mock draft. Which players stood out in practices this week? Who did the Saints coaches working at the event get a good look at? What did they learn from this experience? That’s all factoring into our latest seven-round projection.
Let’s start with the elepahnt in the room: it feels almost certain that the Saints will address quarterback well ahead of the draft, likely by acquiring a veteran like Derek Carr or Jimmy Garoppolo. This team isn’t built for a rookie to take their time in developing into a starter. Dennis Allen’s job security hinges on whether they can be competitive right away. With the first-round quarterback prospects out of reach, look for them to turn to the free agent market (or get a jump on it by trading for Carr outright). That’s the assumption we’re working with in this mock draft.
These Senior Bowl prospects rose up during practices and interviews in the eyes of the Detroit Lions.
The Senior Bowl wraps up the postseason all-star game circuit with 125 aspiring NFL draft prospects going through a week of practices, interviews and meetings. It’s a very important stop on the draft circuit, with heavy scouting representation from all 32 NFL teams as well as hundreds of media in attendance for the annual extravaganza in Mobile, Alabama.
From watching the practices inside Hancock Whitney Stadium, here are some of the players who stood out during the week as prospects who fit what the Detroit Lions appear to want or need to help bolster the roster in 2023 and beyond.
You can catch all these players in action in the Senior Bowl on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. ET on the NFL Network.
Recapping the final day of practice at the Reese’s Senior Bowl.
Over 100 of the top senior prospects and at least three Chargers personnel staffers are in Mobile, Alabama this week for the Senior Bowl. Thursday marked the third and final day of practice for both rosters leading up to the game on Saturday.
Here are my notes from both practices Thursday.
My biggest standout was Northwestern defensive lineman Adetomiwa Adebawore. After two days of solid play, Adebawore blew up Thursday’s session on every single rep. He won two straight one-on-one reps before the groups took a water break. When the players returned, Notre Dame offensive lineman Jarrett Patterson went to line up at center before Adebawore called him out and told him to move to guard so they could go against one another. He then beat Patterson both times and earned a celebration with his fellow defenders. Once team period began, Adebawore beat North Dakota State OL Cody Mauch with an inside swim to force a run stop.
Adebawore is a bit undersized for a defensive lineman, coming in at 6’1 ½”, 284 lbs. But with 34” arms and the power profile to match, the Northwestern defender is an intriguing potential 4 or 5 tech at the next level. If the Chargers feel like they need to beef up their pass rush presence from the interior, Adebawore could be someone they take a long look at early on Day 3.
I thought Fresno State QB Jake Haener was the best passer of the day and probably the best of the week, considering how poorly the quarterbacks have played in Mobile. In one on ones, Haener was by far the most consistent as far as ball placement went, especially on end-zone corner routes to the back pylon. When they moved to flatter routes to the front of the end zone, Haener struggled with his ball placement a bit, but still less than the other two QBs on his squad.
When team period began, Haener again delivered a nice ball to the back pylon that was equaled by a nice catch by Purdue tight end Payne Durham while being hit by two defenders. Durham took a huge shot, losing his helmet in the process, but held onto the ball for the touchdown.
Michigan center Olusegun Oluwatimi had his best day of the week in my opinion. After struggling with more powerful rushers all week, Oluwatimi held his own against some of the best performers at the Senior Bowl. Bowling Green defensive tackle Karl Brooks had nothing for him on their reps. Wisconsin DT Keeanu Benton initially pushed Oluwatimi back, but he recovered nicely and was able to reset his anchor to win the rep.
Oluwatimi is an athletically limited center who will always have his issues against more powerful NFL players. For that reason, he’ll likely be available well into Day 3. If the Chargers want an intelligent developmental center behind Corey Linsley, Oluwatimi could be in play.
People have been speaking highly of Illinois RB Chase Brown, but I have some real questions about what his utility on passing downs is going to be. I thought he consistently struggled to find his hands in pass protection drills and looked incredibly uncomfortable catching the ball out of the backfield. Brown was named the National team RB of the Week by the linebackers he went up against, but I have a feeling that had more to do with his powerful running style than his overall game.
On the flip side for Illinois, safety Sydney Brown has looked like a missile closing on the ball all week. The twin brother of Chase, Sydney’s closing speed has stuck out on nearly every rep in Mobile. Without live tackling, Sydney has been forced to pull up, but in live-action, there have been a number of times where you can tell that he’s seconds away from detonating on a ball carrier. For a Chargers team that needs to add tackling ability on the back end, Brown could be an option late on Day 2 or early on Day 3 to add to the mix alongside Alohi Gilman and JT Woods opposite Derwin James.
South Carolina cornerback Darius Rush finished out a great week on Thursday with a dominant performance against the American team wide receivers. In one on ones, Rush undercut an out route intended for Princeton’s Andrei Iosivas, then won a battle with SMU’s Rashee Rice, who came into the week billed as the top receiver in Mobile. The South Carolina corner showed a ton of patience and ample route recognition abilities before showcasing his 21.65 mph speed to close on a throw for an interception during team period.
Rush has made himself a lot of money this week, but his fit with the Chargers remains unlikely because of his position and play style. LA is mostly set at cornerback with JC Jackson, Asante Samuel Jr., and Michael Davis, and Jackson and Davis have the same physical style as Rush off the line.
Quick hits:
We finish our Senior Bowl preview series with the safeties
One of the most important events on the National Football League calendar is the Senior Bowl. Held the week after the conference championship games, it is the true beginning of the NFL draft cycle.
Not only do scouts and analysts like us get to see over 100 draft prospects in one place competing against each other, but it’s also an opportunity for analysts and personnel alike to get together and have discussions about a number of topics.
As we look forward to this year’s Senior Bowl, both managing editor Tyler Forness and columnist Matt Anderson will be there in person to break everything down.
We will be breaking down each position group and what to look for throughout the week. Here is the edge rusher position.
Previous:
Quarterbacks
Running backs
Wide receivers
Tight ends
Offensive tackles
Interior offensive line
Interior defensive line
Edge rushers
Linebackers
Cornerbacks
Up next in Unpacking Future Packers is Illinois DB Sydney Brown.
The Unpacking Future Packers Countdown is a countdown of 100 prospects that could be selected by the Green Bay Packers in the 2023 NFL draft.
It’s no secret that the Green Bay Packers need upgrades at the safety position this offseason. Adrian Amos is set to be a free agent and former first-round pick Darnell Savage had a disappointing season.
Aside from Savage, Tariq Carpenter is the only other safety under contract for the 2023 season. Gutekunst will likely attempt to bring back Rudy Ford for special teams and depth purposes. Regardless of what happens with Ford, Gutekunst will likely look to add a safety or two in the 2023 NFL Draft. A player that Green Bay’s general manager could target is Sydney Brown. The Illinois defensive back checks in at No. 94 in the Unpacking Future Packers countdown.
Brown enjoyed an extremely productive collegiate career at Illinois. During his first year, Brown recorded 55 tackles, two tackles for loss, one interception, and five pass deflections.
The following season, Brown recorded 88 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, three interceptions, and one touchdown. Brown missed the final two games of the 2020 season and finished with 36 tackles in six games.
Brown led the team in tackles (81) in 2021 and recorded one sack. This past season Brown led the Big 10 with six interceptions to go along with 60 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, one sack, seven pass deflections, and two touchdowns.
“He was a playmaker and a big reason the team had its first winning season in more than a decade,” Bob Asmussen, the Illinois football beat writer for the Champaign News-Gazette said. “He was a good player from the time he arrived on campus, but Ryan Walters (now head coach at Purdue) helped take him to another level. The school has had some really talented safeties over the years and Sydney ranks with the best of them. I think he was thrilled to play a key part as the program turned the corner.”
Brown, a former track athlete in high school, flies around the football field and is sure to be a workout warrior at the NFL Scouting Combine. That speed is a big reason why Brown, along with his twin brother Chase landed on Bruce Feldman’s annual freak’s list.
The @seniorbowl is looking live at @IlliniFootball vs @wyo_football. Illinois DS Sydney Brown has 38 career starts and led team w/ 81 TT last year. @BruceFeldmanCFB put @Sydbrown___ & twin bro Chase on his Freak’s list after both his 22+ mph on GPS. 💨#TheDraftStartsInMOBILE™️ pic.twitter.com/NpDTlmydcR
— Jim Nagy (@JimNagy_SB) August 27, 2022
That speed and explosiveness show up as he is able to run sideline-to-sideline like his hair is on fire and consistently finds himself around the action.
Brown will have to clean up his tackling though. According to Pro Football Focus, Brown missed 14 tackles this past season. He needs to do a better job of coming to balance and finishing. There were also times on tape when Brown just got truck sticked by the running backs. The missed tackles are there, but he doesn’t shy away from contact.
“He seems to love contact,” Asmussen said. “He didn’t have great technical skills when he first arrived but made up for that by throwing himself into the moment. There is a reason his teammates picked him as one of the captains.”
With his rocked-up frame and his fluid athleticism, Brown is able to match up with tight ends in coverage. He’s physical at the catch point and plays through the hands of the pass catcher. With his high football IQ, quickness, and plus ball skills he should continue to be a playmaker in coverage at the next level. It should be premised, that Brown didn’t do wide receiver-like things at the catch point to come down with his six interceptions this past season. A handful of them were ducks (interception against the Gophers). Some were deflections (interceptions against Michigan State). It’s just a credit to him for always being in the right spot at the right time.
Sydney Brown was a ball magnet this past season. Illinois DB finished with six INTs (some off deflections like his first one against Northwestern).
Former track athlete and with position versatility. A lot to like about Brown's game (needs to clean up his tackling). pic.twitter.com/XG0cEvYwUD
— Brennen Rupp (@Brennen_Rupp) January 18, 2023
“From an early age, he was on defense,” Asmussen said. “When he first started to play, his mom insisted he not be on the same side of the ball as his brother Chase, who is one of the best combination backs in Illinois history and I think Sydney has many of the same skills. On his two scores against Northwestern (one on a fumble return and one on an interception) he pointed toward the end zone and made it with ease.”
Aside from his athleticism, teams will love Brown’s position versatility. Over the past two seasons, Brown has played primarily as a box safety (877 snaps in the box). He can match up with tight ends. He can play in the slot. He played deep safety. He has experience playing on special teams and could be a core special teams player. The Illinois defensive back will be a versatile chess piece for any defensive coordinator.
The Packers need safeties that play with a physical edge. Brown brings it on every single snap and he doesn’t shy away from contact. He’s an attacker and he’ll take the fight to the ball carrier. The same thing can not be said about the way Amos and Savage played this season.
Brown is a hybrid defender that will be able to wear multiple hats for any defense. With his size, athleticism, and versatility, Brown could be a potential target for Gutekunst as he looks for upgrades at the safety position.
“He is what is right about football, a talented, intelligent player who thinks about the team over personal glory,” Asmussen said. “He will be the easiest guy to coach and won’t stop until he does it right. He is friendly and interesting, so he’ll be a hit with the media.”
