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By Steve Muench
Despite the low numbers of underclassmen who have declared for the NFL draft, great talent was on display at the East-West Shrine Game and especially the Senior Bowl. The talent level made it difficult to stand out, and players who excelled in the games boosted their stock significantly. Meanwhile, the draft stock of players who did not fare as well took a hit.
Here are four players -- one rising and one falling from each game -- who made an impression on me as the Scouts Inc. crew watched practices in the past two weeks.
Senior Bowl
Up: Baylor G Danny Watkins
Watkins transferred to Baylor from a junior college in 2009 and started every game of his Baylor career at left tackle, but he's just a hair taller than 6-foot-3, and his arm length is below-average for a tackle, making him a better fit at guard. He showed in Mobile, Ala., that he's capable of pushing for immediate playing time at guard in the NFL, battling former teammate and 337-pound NT Phil Taylor all week. Taylor turned in an excellent performance and now projects as a late-first-round pick, but Watkins held his own when the two matched up. His ability to sink his hips and anchor when Taylor tried to drive him back during one-on-ones was particularly impressive.
We had not written a report on Watkins and knew little about his background before we arrived in Mobile, so we sat down as a group to watch his tape during the week, and we came away impressed. Watkins showed the inline power base to drive defensive tackles off the ball and the mean streak NFL teams covet. He's also an interesting story.
Watkins was born in Canada and is a former part-time firefighter who has been playing football for just four years. He's 26 years old, and his age could hurt his stock with some teams, but his ability to contribute early and the fact that he hasn't reached his potential because of his limited experience should weaken those concerns. Watkins has moved into the late-Day 2 or early-Day 3 conversation.
Down: Iowa QB Ricky Stanzi
In fairness to Stanzi, there are players who had worse weeks in Mobile, and Todd McShay touched on five of them in the final installment of our Senior Bowl buzz. The reason I chose Stanzi is I had him rated higher than McShay and Kevin Weidl heading into the week. Stanzi has shown he can get the ball out in rhythm in a pro-style offense, he flashes above-average pocket mobility and he made great strides as a decision-maker during his senior season. I still see these as strengths, but his lack of arm strength proved to be a bigger concern than I had originally thought.
Stanzi didn't put enough zip on passes thrown outside the hashes, meaning the ball was a second late and dipped, forcing receivers to adjust to passes thrown outside their frames. And while he flashed above-average touch on downfield passes, the ball hung in the air and even fluttered at times. Stanzi also looked as though he could add some bulk to his 6-4, 221-pound frame, and that could certainly improve the velocity of his passes. Stanzi still projects as a midround pick for the reasons I mentioned above, but don't be surprised to see Florida State QB Christian Ponder move ahead of him on our board.
Shrine Game
Up: Richmond DT Martin Parker
Yes, I played at Richmond, but this is far from favoritism. After all, the media voted Parker defensive MVP after the game, and Parker stood out during practices despite playing in the same group as North Carolina DT Marvin Austin, who projected as a first-round pick at one point.
Parker's quick hands and motor jumped out early and throughout the week. He consistently got off blocks working against a higher level of competition than he faced at the FCS level, and he chased everything. His instincts were also impressive. In the game he sniffed out a screen and stuck with the running back on a first-quarter play that resulted in a safety. The defensive tackle class is deep, so Parker isn't going to rocket up draft boards, but he likely made enough of an impression to get drafted late.
Down: Delaware QB Pat Devlin
At 6-3 and 227 pounds, Devlin certainly looks the part, and there are reasons to be optimistic about his ability to contribute at the next level. He showed the same poise in the pocket and ability to go through progressions that we've seen on film, but the negatives outweighed the positives during his time in Orlando.
For starters, Devlin didn't answer questions about his arm strength. There's nothing wrong with taking what the defense gives him, but scouts want to see quarterbacks make all the necessary throws during all-star game practices. More often than not, Devlin chose to dump the ball off underneath and didn't show great zip when he did look downfield. He appeared to guide the ball instead of gearing up and letting it rip.
Secondly, Devlin isn't as accurate as his completion percentage suggests, and his inconsistency in this area showed up as well. He missed within the strike zone too often, forcing receivers to adjust to the ball instead of hitting them in stride. Devlin projects as a middle-to-late-round pick at this point.
Despite the low numbers of underclassmen who have declared for the NFL draft, great talent was on display at the East-West Shrine Game and especially the Senior Bowl. The talent level made it difficult to stand out, and players who excelled in the games boosted their stock significantly. Meanwhile, the draft stock of players who did not fare as well took a hit.
Here are four players -- one rising and one falling from each game -- who made an impression on me as the Scouts Inc. crew watched practices in the past two weeks.
Senior Bowl
Up: Baylor G Danny Watkins
Watkins transferred to Baylor from a junior college in 2009 and started every game of his Baylor career at left tackle, but he's just a hair taller than 6-foot-3, and his arm length is below-average for a tackle, making him a better fit at guard. He showed in Mobile, Ala., that he's capable of pushing for immediate playing time at guard in the NFL, battling former teammate and 337-pound NT Phil Taylor all week. Taylor turned in an excellent performance and now projects as a late-first-round pick, but Watkins held his own when the two matched up. His ability to sink his hips and anchor when Taylor tried to drive him back during one-on-ones was particularly impressive.
We had not written a report on Watkins and knew little about his background before we arrived in Mobile, so we sat down as a group to watch his tape during the week, and we came away impressed. Watkins showed the inline power base to drive defensive tackles off the ball and the mean streak NFL teams covet. He's also an interesting story.
Watkins was born in Canada and is a former part-time firefighter who has been playing football for just four years. He's 26 years old, and his age could hurt his stock with some teams, but his ability to contribute early and the fact that he hasn't reached his potential because of his limited experience should weaken those concerns. Watkins has moved into the late-Day 2 or early-Day 3 conversation.
Down: Iowa QB Ricky Stanzi
In fairness to Stanzi, there are players who had worse weeks in Mobile, and Todd McShay touched on five of them in the final installment of our Senior Bowl buzz. The reason I chose Stanzi is I had him rated higher than McShay and Kevin Weidl heading into the week. Stanzi has shown he can get the ball out in rhythm in a pro-style offense, he flashes above-average pocket mobility and he made great strides as a decision-maker during his senior season. I still see these as strengths, but his lack of arm strength proved to be a bigger concern than I had originally thought.
Stanzi didn't put enough zip on passes thrown outside the hashes, meaning the ball was a second late and dipped, forcing receivers to adjust to passes thrown outside their frames. And while he flashed above-average touch on downfield passes, the ball hung in the air and even fluttered at times. Stanzi also looked as though he could add some bulk to his 6-4, 221-pound frame, and that could certainly improve the velocity of his passes. Stanzi still projects as a midround pick for the reasons I mentioned above, but don't be surprised to see Florida State QB Christian Ponder move ahead of him on our board.
Shrine Game
Up: Richmond DT Martin Parker
Yes, I played at Richmond, but this is far from favoritism. After all, the media voted Parker defensive MVP after the game, and Parker stood out during practices despite playing in the same group as North Carolina DT Marvin Austin, who projected as a first-round pick at one point.
Parker's quick hands and motor jumped out early and throughout the week. He consistently got off blocks working against a higher level of competition than he faced at the FCS level, and he chased everything. His instincts were also impressive. In the game he sniffed out a screen and stuck with the running back on a first-quarter play that resulted in a safety. The defensive tackle class is deep, so Parker isn't going to rocket up draft boards, but he likely made enough of an impression to get drafted late.
Down: Delaware QB Pat Devlin
At 6-3 and 227 pounds, Devlin certainly looks the part, and there are reasons to be optimistic about his ability to contribute at the next level. He showed the same poise in the pocket and ability to go through progressions that we've seen on film, but the negatives outweighed the positives during his time in Orlando.
For starters, Devlin didn't answer questions about his arm strength. There's nothing wrong with taking what the defense gives him, but scouts want to see quarterbacks make all the necessary throws during all-star game practices. More often than not, Devlin chose to dump the ball off underneath and didn't show great zip when he did look downfield. He appeared to guide the ball instead of gearing up and letting it rip.
Secondly, Devlin isn't as accurate as his completion percentage suggests, and his inconsistency in this area showed up as well. He missed within the strike zone too often, forcing receivers to adjust to the ball instead of hitting them in stride. Devlin projects as a middle-to-late-round pick at this point.
