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The Senior Bowl week of practice has come and gone, and earlier today the Senior Bowl was played with the National Team defeating the American Team 20-10.
There were a lot of big names in this game that SteelerNation has been talking about to keep an eye on, including several names the Pittsburgh Steelers have reportedly be interested in. Kenny Pickett, Malik Willis, and Connor Heyward just to name a few.
Below are the players who either helped or hurt themselves the most during the game today, and there are some names people weren’t as focused on going into the opening kickoff.
It is weird to say someone who potentially could be a top 10 pick in the 2022 NFL Draft helped himself with just two series in the Senior Bowl. However, Pickett managed to do that. He was perfect on the evening going 6/6 for 89 yards and a TD. He made every throw on time, accurate, and avoided the rush on a couple of plays.
If you watched the game today Mafe would’ve stuck out on several occasions. He recorded two sacks in the game while forcing a fumble on his first one. He actually almost forced a fumble on his second as well but the QB managed to hold onto it. He showed explosion off the snap and showed very good hand usage throughout the day which gave offensive tackles fits.
Another player that gave the opposing offensive line headaches. Winfrey won the Senior Bowl MVP as he recorded 2 sacks and 5 total tackles. He was in the backfield as much as the other teams running backs were as he constantly was able to get penetration. He made several plays in the run game in addition to his two sacks, and a performance like this may have helped him sneak into the back half of the first round.
Who would’ve thought someone who played linebacker for his first four college seasons, including starting games in 2020 at that position, would end up on a stock up list for the Senior Bowl at running back. Smith was the most effective runner on the day as he consistently hit holes decisively and quickly. He also showed off his hands catching a touchdown pass in the game. Smith is likely a mid-late round pick as running backs tend to fall down the draft a bit, but he is someone that is just a good football player regardless of position.
Johnson is someone who was hyped up all week as he practiced very well and was arguably the best lineman on display. He continued that work in the game as he consistently opened holes for his running backs and did well in pass protection as well. Also worth noting is he was a guard primarily in college while also playing some at tackle. But in Mobile he spent a large portion of his time at center. He played center in the game itself and played well. He had mostly clean snaps and handled most of the defensive tackles he went up against without issue. Being flexible to play several position along the line is a huge plus for any lineman looking to get drafted as high as possible.
Coming into the week of the Senior Bowl I was extremely excited to see Zappe compete. His season at Western Kentucky was nothing short of spectacular, and he profiled as mid-late round pick. Unfortunately he did absolutely nothing to help himself in the game itself, as he consistently was off target and left several of his throws short. One he left painfully short was an interception with less than 30 seconds left in the game where he had a wide open wide receiver. It is hard to get rhythm sometimes with all new wide receivers, but this was more than some our of rhythm throws.
Burford was one of a couple tackles that had problems with some of the pass rushers in this game, but he is the one that struggled the most. He gave up at least one sack and multiple pressures throughout the game. Near the end they started leaving in someone to chip on his side to give him some help, which definitely improved the time the QBs had. Burford is considered a late round pick or a potential UDFA, so a performance like this didn’t help him sneak into the back end of the draft.
Let us know below who you think helped themselves the most in the Senior Bowl and who you want the Steelers too look at selecting in April!
#SteelerNation
Support SteelerNation by clicking here to read the story..
There were a lot of big names in this game that SteelerNation has been talking about to keep an eye on, including several names the Pittsburgh Steelers have reportedly be interested in. Kenny Pickett, Malik Willis, and Connor Heyward just to name a few.
Below are the players who either helped or hurt themselves the most during the game today, and there are some names people weren’t as focused on going into the opening kickoff.
Stock Up
Kenny Pickett, QB, Pittsburgh
It is weird to say someone who potentially could be a top 10 pick in the 2022 NFL Draft helped himself with just two series in the Senior Bowl. However, Pickett managed to do that. He was perfect on the evening going 6/6 for 89 yards and a TD. He made every throw on time, accurate, and avoided the rush on a couple of plays.
Boye Mafe, DE, Minnesota
If you watched the game today Mafe would’ve stuck out on several occasions. He recorded two sacks in the game while forcing a fumble on his first one. He actually almost forced a fumble on his second as well but the QB managed to hold onto it. He showed explosion off the snap and showed very good hand usage throughout the day which gave offensive tackles fits.
Perrion Winfrey, DT, Oklahoma
Another player that gave the opposing offensive line headaches. Winfrey won the Senior Bowl MVP as he recorded 2 sacks and 5 total tackles. He was in the backfield as much as the other teams running backs were as he constantly was able to get penetration. He made several plays in the run game in addition to his two sacks, and a performance like this may have helped him sneak into the back half of the first round.
Abram Smith, RB, Baylor
Who would’ve thought someone who played linebacker for his first four college seasons, including starting games in 2020 at that position, would end up on a stock up list for the Senior Bowl at running back. Smith was the most effective runner on the day as he consistently hit holes decisively and quickly. He also showed off his hands catching a touchdown pass in the game. Smith is likely a mid-late round pick as running backs tend to fall down the draft a bit, but he is someone that is just a good football player regardless of position.
Zion Johnson, OG/C, Boston College
Johnson is someone who was hyped up all week as he practiced very well and was arguably the best lineman on display. He continued that work in the game as he consistently opened holes for his running backs and did well in pass protection as well. Also worth noting is he was a guard primarily in college while also playing some at tackle. But in Mobile he spent a large portion of his time at center. He played center in the game itself and played well. He had mostly clean snaps and handled most of the defensive tackles he went up against without issue. Being flexible to play several position along the line is a huge plus for any lineman looking to get drafted as high as possible.
Stock Down
Bailey Zappe, QB, Western Kentucky
Coming into the week of the Senior Bowl I was extremely excited to see Zappe compete. His season at Western Kentucky was nothing short of spectacular, and he profiled as mid-late round pick. Unfortunately he did absolutely nothing to help himself in the game itself, as he consistently was off target and left several of his throws short. One he left painfully short was an interception with less than 30 seconds left in the game where he had a wide open wide receiver. It is hard to get rhythm sometimes with all new wide receivers, but this was more than some our of rhythm throws.
Spencer Burford, OT, UTSA
Burford was one of a couple tackles that had problems with some of the pass rushers in this game, but he is the one that struggled the most. He gave up at least one sack and multiple pressures throughout the game. Near the end they started leaving in someone to chip on his side to give him some help, which definitely improved the time the QBs had. Burford is considered a late round pick or a potential UDFA, so a performance like this didn’t help him sneak into the back end of the draft.
Let us know below who you think helped themselves the most in the Senior Bowl and who you want the Steelers too look at selecting in April!
#SteelerNation
Support SteelerNation by clicking here to read the story..
