Senior Bowl: Friday Recap
Quick thoughts on the week
Good morning Jets fans. Tom Brady retired, a mistake by Bill in New England has landed the Dolphins and Giants in trouble and its senior bowl week.
I’m not going to dive into the Brian Flores situation today, other than to say that my respect for that man is at an all-time high. If what he is saying is true, and there is no reason to believe it isn’t…then there are a few franchises that have some serious questions to answer around their hiring policies, their processes, and the integrity of the game in general.
We’re here to talk about the Jets and the Senior Bowl though, so let’s dive in.
Jermaine Johnson
I was trying to explain to my wife why I was watching “practice” last night as I sat and crawled my way through numerous drills, some more exciting than others. While I do pay attention to the WR release drills and the linebacker movement drills, it’s the one-v-one drills that garner much of the attention, and for good reason.
It’s an opportunity for pass-rushers to show their skills, and show that if left on an island against a blocker, they can wreak havoc. For the Jets who surely will be looking for a pass-rusher in the 2022 draft, this drill held a lot of significance.
No player showcased their talent more than Jermaine Johnson. The Florida State edge who finished with 11.5 sacks in 2021 was the star of the show, winning nearly every one-v-one he was a part of. He won with speed, he won with power, he won with his hands…if you’re trying to prove to an NFL franchise that you’re a first-rounder, you do what Johnson did.
Above is just one of a number of snaps where he beat the lineman all ends up. Speed, explosion, and physicality with the hands. Everything you could possibly want in an outside edge. At the start of the draft process most people have Johnson as an early 2nd round pick, the more you dive into him and the more he gets in front of coaches the more he’ll climb. For me, he is a top 10 pick.
QB Pain
I haven’t spent a huge amount of time watching the American team coached by the Lions, but from what I’ve seen Malik Willis looks to be the best of the bunch. He’s showcased a good arm and good timing across the middle, which was something scouts wanted to see. Sam Howell has struggled from what I’ve seen, his deep ball placement has been off and several of his passes have been uncatchable. Zappe has made some questionable decisions in 7-on-7 and you can see that he’s a rhythm thrower who may have some limitations in a pro offense after running a variation of an air-raid system at Western Kentucky.
Watching the QB’s on the National team coached by the Jets makes me appreciate Zach Wilson more. Ridder’s accuracy has been all over the place and Carson Strong seemed to struggle in the rain on Wednesday, in particular, his short accuracy was questionable. Kenny Pickett has been OK through the week, but I’ve yet to see any wow throws that make me stand up and pay attention.
If the Jets want one of these QB’s to become a trade-up target at #10, they’re going to need to see a little more. If I had to guess right now, I’d say Kenny Pickett and Malik Willis are the two most likely candidates. At the end of the day it doesn’t matter what I think or what scouts think or even what the Jets think, we just need one team like the Steelers to fall for one of these QB’s.
Ron Middleton Quotes
Jets TE’s coach Ron Middleton has been acting Head Coach for the National team this week and he spoke to the media yesterday and there were a couple of notable quotes on tight ends the Jets are expected to be interested in:
On Ohio State TE Jeremy Ruckert:
“Well, you’ve got to take into account the offense that he’s in. When he was given opportunities to make plays on the ball, he made plays on the ball. Don’t know what the extent of his route tree is, how many routes he’s run, but he had no issue catching the ball when it was thrown to him and he did not pass up a chance to knock the hell out of somebody, he likes contact, and once he gets the ball in his hands he still likes contact. He moves good and he has a burst after the catch, a lot of positives about that kid. From a coaching standpoint, there’s nothing not to like, there are some technical issues that you have to incorporate with him and get him better at, but he’s a fine prospect”.
On Colorado State TE Trey McBride:
“Fine prospect. He's a tough guy...it ain't gonna be nothing pretty, it's just doggone meat and potatoes baby...he loves to grind, he loves the strain...his technique from a blocking standpoint has the furthest to go, but he will stick his face in there, he will latch on, we have to get his hands tighter on contact, we have to get his feet moving on contact, but the strain, the effort, and the want to are there. The guy is going to make plays, he’s not going to run away from anybody by no means, but he’s going to make plays in the passing game, you throw him the ball and he’s going to catch it”
Quick Hits
Here are just some random thoughts I jotted down when I was watching the drills this week:
We need to stop sleeping on UCLA TE Greg Dulcich, he’s caught everything thrown his way this week and he looks to have that extra gear that most people don’t have.
Cameron Dicker the kicker from Texas has a strong leg. He can easily make 50+ yards. He missed a couple of shorter ones, but the leg talent is there to see.
Travis Jones really showed up this week. The big defensive tackle from UConn imposed his will on nearly every lineman he faced in one-on-one drills.
Bo Melton from Rutgers impressed me with his release, his footwork, and shiftiness off the line are notable. He didn’t always catch everything thrown his way, but his release was one of the best at the senior bowl.
Zion Johnson and Cole Strange both had good weeks working at center. It wasn’t perfect and both took their losses, but they both bounced back the very next snap, which is key.
Jalen Pitre the Baylor safety was the best safety at the combine and I’m not sure it was close. He showcased great instincts, physicality and break while in coverage. One to definitely watch for the Jets.
A guy that stood out to me for his range was Appalachian State linebacker D'Marco Jackson, I haven’t seen a lot of him but his performance in Mobile makes me want to see more.
Christian Watson out of North Dakota State had a good week of practice, another guy that wasn’t perfect but did well to showcase his talent. At 6’5 he has all the size you could want.
Rachaad White from Arizona State was the only RB that really stood out for me this week. He showed the patience and acceleration that teams absolutely love. Another guy I haven’t seen a lot of, but I’ll be checking out over the coming weeks.
Nobody hurt his stock more this week than Daniel Faalele, the mammoth tackle from Minnesota got beat regularly in drills and his slide was slow. With the speed that most edge players have in the NFL, that’s concerned me enough to drop him from the 2nd to the 3rd or 4th.
Act of Secrecy
Whenever Joe Douglas is spotted talking to anyone, there is a ripple of excitement around the fans who want the Jets to draft that prospect. I get it, but just because Joe Douglas spent some time talking to Trevor Penning and Zion Johnson doesn’t mean the Jets are targeting them. He may have questions he wanted answering that he was unable to get to in the interviews, he may just be having a general chat.
The one thing we’ve learned about this setup is that the Jets don’t let anything get out there that they don’t want out there. So if you hear that the Jets are high on Trevor Penning or they are definitely in on McBride…that’s because the Jets want that to get out into the universe, they want other teams to think they’re high on certain prospects.
If you’ve ever tried engaging a scout in specific draft prospects in relation to how the organization views them, you’ll know it’s like getting blood out of a stone. So to think they’re all chit-chatting around a campfire in Mobile, revealing who they’re going to be targeting is a far-fetched motion.
