From a pro football standpoint, the month of January is generally all about the playoffs and seeing which two teams will eventually contest the Super Bowl. But for college prospects, it’s also a time when they can positively impact their chances at embarking on a successful NFL career. Three collegiate all-star games take place this month, culminating in Saturday’s Senior Bowl in Mobile, AL.
The game, in and of itself, is the culmination of a grueling week that not only includes three days of practices. There is also an extensive interview process with NFL talent evaluators that all the players in town undergo. Teams are looking for well-rounded individuals who aren’t just skilled athletes but also possess high character. Showcasing all those qualities is certainly a good way to either cement one’s position as a high pick or to vault up draft boards.
So which prospects turned in eye-catching performances in Mobile? Find out below.
2019 Senior Bowl: Five Prospects Who Stood Out
Drew Lock, Quarterback, Missouri
It’s the most important position in football and that means the prospects who play it are ostensibly under the most scrutiny. Eight signal-callers came to Mobile looking to augment their draft stock, including Missouri’s Drew Lock. He closed out his collegiate career on a solid note, accounting for 373 yards and three touchdown passes in the Liberty Bowl. From a situational standpoint, he may have had the most impressive performance out of all the quarterbacks on Saturday.
One of the idiosyncrasies of the Senior Bowl is that there’s a two-minute warning each quarter. That gave the quarterbacks an opportunity to lead their team on a scoring drive in a high-pressure situation. Lock shined in this regard at the end of the first quarter. He completed eight passes on the drive and would’ve had a touchdown throw if not for an uncharacteristic drop by Ohio State’s Terry McLaurin. And his kicker, Austin Seibert out of Oklahoma, did him no favors in missing a 40-yard field goal.
All in all, Lock exhibited solid poise in the pocket as well as an ability to make a wide array of throws. He currently projects as a first-round pick and that’s not going to change after Saturday’s game. If he can ace the Combine as well as the rest of the pre-draft process, Roger Goodell will call his name early on day one of the draft.
Daniel Jones, Quarterback, Duke
The North couldn’t get anything done on offense in the first half of the Senior Bowl. It showed in the fact that they trailed 12-3 at halftime. That changed precipitously when the teams came out of the locker room for the third quarter. And Daniel Jones had a lot to do with it. The Duke signal-caller led the North on two straight touchdown drives to start the second half. It included a 10-play, 84-yard effort that ended with him punching it into the end zone with a one-yard run.
That score was Jones’ 18th touchdown run of the season. It certainly hints that he has a Josh Allen element to his skill set in that he’s capable of taking it and running if the play breaks down. That said, his pocket presence needs to improve as he oftentimes doesn’t anticipate pressure quick enough. But he’s an accurate thrower of the ball and reads the field well in finding his second and third options. The biggest example came when he connected on a touchdown pass with the next prospect we’re discussing.
Andy Isabella, Wide Receiver, Massachusetts
UMass certainly qualifies as a lesser-heralded FBS school. But that doesn’t mean Andy Isabella came out of nowhere. He finished the season as a finalist for the Biletnikoff Award after leading the nation with 1,698 receiving yards. It included becoming the 13th receiver in FBS since 2000 to accumulate over 300 yards in a single game when he managed 303 in a game against Liberty. So him balling out probably wouldn’t come as much of a surprise.
Though he was relatively quiet during the practices, that was far from the case on Saturday. Isabella led all receivers with 79 yards receiving and added a touchdown catch. That score, which gave the North its first lead of the game, saw Isabella demonstrate some lethal playmaking ability after the catch. UMass plays their home games at Gillette Stadium and, given his size and overall skill set, Isabella resembles one Julian Edelman. That could be his ceiling in the right system and under a coaching staff that unleashes his potential.
Khalen Saunders, Interior Defender, Western Illinois
Combining what he did on the field and what transpired off of it, Khalen Saunders likely had the best week of any player at the Senior Bowl. The 6’2″, 310-pound defensive lineman became a father on Tuesday and was able to visit his newly born daughter three days later. He also killed it during the practices while also making an impact in Saturday’s game. His impressive outing combined with his status as a small-school prospect means his draft stock improved perhaps as good as any other player at this year’s Senior Bowl.
Saunders boasts a unique combination of athleticism and power. The former really jumped out on a video he posted on social media of him doing a handspring-backflip combo. He repeated the feat at the end of one of the practices this week. Aaron Donald showed this season that today’s next level interior defenders need to be more than just run-stuffers. You have to get at the quarterback on a regular basis. Saunders made a convincing case that he can be this kind of player all week. He even tallied a sack early in the first quarter on Saturday.
Terry McLaurin, Wide Receiver, Ohio State
There are obviously more than five players who turned heads with their exploits in the Senior Bowl. So a few players will miss out on recognition here. South Carolina’s Deebo Samuel caught just about everything thrown his way in practice. But he didn’t see many targets on Saturday, making just one catch on the opening play of the game. It’s for this reason that McLaurin out of Ohio State is getting the nod as the final player who makes this list.
McLaurin was among Buckeye quarterback and fellow draft prospect Dwayne Haskins‘ favorite targets in 2018. He and Parris Campbell combined for 23 touchdown passes with McLaurin’s 11 hauls one short of Campbell. What really stands out about McLaurin is that he’s a legitimate vertical threat capable of taking the top off a defense. That’s evident when considering that he was one of 13 FBS receivers to average 20+ yards per catch.
There was more where that came from on Saturday. One of McLaurin’s four catches was a 25-yard haul which ended up being the longest of the day for the North team. All week, McLaurin highlighted a plethora of traits coveted by teams at the next level. Whether it was his contested catch ability, route-running, incendiary speed after the snap, and a knack for separating from press coverage, McLaurin looks like he’ll join players such as Ted Ginn, Jr., Curtis Samuel, and Michael Thomas among others as former Buckeye pass-catchers making an impact in the NFL.
