Senior Bowl Report: Wednesday
Following media day on Monday, the players hit the practice field on Tuesday.
🗽 Good morning Jets fans and welcome to Wednesday’s edition of TJW. This week we’re going to be heavily focused on the Senior Bowl, who’s performing, who’s disappointing and what can we learn about these prospects that we didn’t know before.
Left Tackle Battle
Before we get into the Senior Bowl, let’s just quickly cover the big Jets story that came out of Mobile yesterday.
Jets Head Coach Robert Saleh confirmed to the media that there would be an open competition at left tackle between veteran George Fant and 3rd-year player Mekhi Becton. I wrote about this subject at length last week, needless to say, I absolutely agree with this move. The ball’s in Becton’s court now.
The Jets coaching staff will be looking after the National team, so that’s the team I’m mainly going to be focused on when watching the 1v1’s and drill work, but of course, we’ll take a little peek over at the American team as well.
For those that missed the news, the Jets decided to make TE’s coach Ron Middleton the head coach for this week, linebackers coach Mike Rutenberg will act as the defensive coordinator and QB coach Rob Calabrese will act as offensive coordinator.
Measurements
Some people get really caught up in the measurements and there are teams around the league that will strike through a name if they come up well short of what has been deemed the minimum requirements for the position.
Personally, I see it as a tick-box exercise. I don’t think anyone should be excluded based on measurements alone, but every year we hear that this guy is too small or that guy is too small. QB hand size is one that comes up constantly, 9.5-10+” hands are the desired size for a QB, bigger hands enable the QB to grip the ball better, especially in colder climates.
Pittsburgh QB Kenny Pickett declined to have his hands measured yesterday because he is double-jointed and wants to perform some hand exercises to ensure he gets the best measurement possible at the combine in March. Many expect his hands to come in at under 9” which would be small…but saying that, he’s played and performed in his college career at Pitt, not known as tropical climate.
Ryan Mallett had big hands, as did E.J Manuel and Tim Tebow…on the flip side Joe Burrow’s hands came in at 9” on the dot and he’s about to play in the Super Bowl, so there are no hard and fast rules here. It’s about preference and the measurements being one part of the evaluation process. Zach Wilson was at 9.5”, which was within the 44th percentile, so right about average and what you’d want to see.
Monster
One measurement that stood out was Daniel Faalele the offensive tackle from Minnesota. He came in at a monstrous 6’8, 387lbs with 35”+ arms and a wingspan of 86”+. Now that is huge and he carries that weight very well for a man his size. The average arm length for an offensive tackle is right around the 34” mark, so having arms over 35” is in the 99th percentile and a great sign for a tackle.
Notables
Here are some quickfire thoughts on some prospect measurements, then we’ll get into Jim Nagy’s introductory press conference and some practice notes.
Wyoming linebacker Chad Muma ticked all the boxes, he either came in at the average for an LB or above it. He also weighed in at 241lb’s which is a great size for a player who moves as well as he does.
Chattanooga offensive guard Cole Strange weighed in over 300lb’s which was great to see considering many consider that a requirement for a guard and he moves extremely well.
Auburn cornerback Roger McCreary came in at just over 29” in terms of his arms, that’s very short for an outside cornerback. Someone like Patrick Surtain has 32.5” arms and a wingspan of 78”…McCreary’s wingspan is 70.5”…he’ll need to time well in other drills, but his tape is outstanding.
Boise State receiver Khalil Shakir measured in with 29” arms, that’s a lot shorter than desired and I imagine that will be one of the worst measurements across the board this draft season. He has some drops on tape too, so he’ll need a strong week.
Tariq Woolen’s size and length are impressive. The UTSA corner came in at 6’3 and 205lb’s while measuring 33.5” arms and a wingspan 79”. Those are elite measurements and if he runs around 4.3 as expected he’s going to shoot up draft boards.
Quotes
Jim Nagy does such an incredible job putting this showcase of talent together, and his pre-game media tour is legendary, if there is a football-based newscast or podcast, chances are Jim has been on there promoting the Senior Bowl over the last month.
To kick the week off Jim holds a press conference, and he did that yesterday. Here are some of the key bits:
Speaking about Pitts Kenny Pickett, Nagy said that he reminds him of Joe Burrow. The Jets want these QB’s to catch fire and hype so teams are more willing to give up capital to move up and get them. Jim is doing a fine job early doors. He was talking about his personality more than his game, but let’s hope get in the way of the hype train.
When speaking about Alabama DT Mathis, Nagy pointed out that the DL group has really made a jump, and Mathis, in particular, is a 3-down player, so much more than a 2-down guy.
Jets coach Robert Saleh was asked by NFL reporter Tom Pelissero what he’d be looking for from the players:
“You know we want to see some competitiveness. It’s a great opportunity for these young men and it’s a great opportunity for us as a staff and shows not only us, but the 31 other teams in this league that they’re ready to compete at the next level”
On keeping his eye on the QB’s even though the Jets don’t need one:
“You’re always evaluating every single position if you need it or not, just so you can keep in touch with what the standard is and maintain a fresh look at everything”
On Zach Wilson:
“We’re really excited about our quarterback, he improved as the year went on and we’re really excited about him attacking this off-season and coming into OTA’s ready to roll and to continue building on what he finished off with this season”
Player Quotes
I want to include some quotes from player pressers in this section over the course of the week. I’ll leave off QB’s or players who likely won’t interest the Jets come the draft.
Alabama DT Phidarian Mathis: “It’s just my passion for the game. I love the game a lot, it just brings me so much joy and I feel like why play the game if you’re not going to have fun with it. So that’s something I take away from the game and something I try to bring to the game every week”
Mathis “We still run the SEC - I have a lot of respect for those (UGA) guys, and I’m looking forward to learning from Devonte Wyatt especially”
Wyoming LB Chad Muma on what he hopes to show this week: “At the senior bowl it’s the best of the best, everyone’s out here, everyone’s competing and everyone is trying to get that NFL starting job. I’m just trying to prove myself and fly around and make those plays and that I truly can play with everyone and anyone”
Points of Interest - Practice
Boston College guard Zion Johnson was working as a center for a portion of the practice. Zion is one of my favorite guard prospects in the draft and he’s a prime candidate for one of the Jets 2nd round picks. Johnson played tackle and guard in college, but never center…so that’s an interesting development. You know how much the Jets love positional versatility on the offensive line. He was arguably the best lineman on the field for the American team, his star is rising.
Cincy’s Coby Bryant didn’t measure well yesterday but he performed well on the field during the first day or practice. He wasn’t perfect, he got beat by Shakir in one-v-one, but overall his footwork was on full display. He looked like a guy who’s been playing for a college playoff team.
Zion Johnson wasn’t the only guard on the Jets roster to take some snaps at center. A couple of weeks ago I mentioned I expected to see Cole Strange take some snaps at the C position and that’s exactly what we saw…not only did he take snaps there but he looked very good in all his drills. He had a strong day, not perfect he had a couple of reps where he got beat that I saw, but a good day.
Christian Watson of NDSU was a clear standout from day one. The 6’5 receiver showed a good ability to separate and he also showed an incredible amount of body control to adjust to poorly thrown balls. He’s certainly someone to keep an eye on throughout the pre-draft process.
Desmond Ridder had a very poor practice, he struggled to get through his progressions and his accuracy was really off. A lot of those poorly thrown balls to Watson mentioned above came from the hands of Ridder.
Trevor Penning from Northern Iowa is as stout and as strong as expected. He really flashed in the 1v1 drills that I saw, power isn’t going to trouble him but will he struggle with speed, that’s my big question around him heading into draft season.
Favourite Clips
OG Cole Strange taking snaps at center and performing well in one v ones. Look at the movement off the ball and then the strike to send the rusher sideways, always shows a good anchor and strong lower body. This is an A+ rep from Strange at a position he never played at college.
Romeo Doubs winning his matchup, with a clean release and then pure acceleration and speed, he also keeps the corner out of his body well here and tracks the ball deep. Doubs is one of my favourite wide receivers in the draft and the Jets got a really good look at him today.
Jermaine Johnson is a top 15 pick in this draft, not many people believe that but I would have no hesitation taking him at #10 overall…he’s got that much potential. Here he is flat out dominating a very good tackle prospect. Speed, power and the ability to finish. I love it.
