Senior Bowl Practices on NFL Network

South practice is starting.

Want to see how John Jenkins and Cory Grissom do.

Second day report:

NFL Network really dropped the ball on the South practice, after doing a solid job of showing the North's Tuesday session. Just too much talk, and not enough live action. That being said, here are my impressions from Tuesday's sessions:

QB's are very hard to examine, as the TV rarely shares who is throwing the ball to a receiver. The broadcasters have dropped the ball on this..they should say who tosses the balls on these 1 on 1 CB/WR matchups.

At WR, it appears that a handful of WR's have really stood out. I love Goodwin's speed on Monday, but he struggles against press coverage. Wheaton is really quick, but I like the size, speed, strength combo of Dobson on the North's side. Just looks terrific for a big WR. On the South, two guys jump out at me: King and Patton. King has the fastest feet of any of the South receivers. He separates from every CB faced, and made many look silly. Patton really glides and runs clean routes. He has that Reggie Wayne look to him.

At OT, the competition between Lane Johnson and Eric Fisher to be the top OT is strong. Both are clearly better than others here. To me, Fisher is a top 10 pick, and Johnson a top 15. Super work by both. Still impressed with SJSU's Quessenberry, even though I thought his Monday session was stronger than Tuesday's. Attacks the second level better than any OL I have seen this week in the practice sessions. Cal's C, Schwenke, and Kentucky's G Warford, look great. Stout and strong, and stoned their opponents in 1 on 1 sessions. On the flip side, two guys that hoped to jump into first round conversation are slowly sinking in Aboushi and Pugh, who look overmatched and have been roasted far too often for guys considered as even second tier prospects. Both look like third round prospects, even though they may go higher.

Vance McDonald of Rice is the TE with highest upside, but he doesn't always catch the ball in initial contact. You bobble the ball in the NFL and it is going to be an incompletion.

At RB, the competition is strong, The three jumping out at me: Franklin, who is quick between the tackles, and had a terrific blocking session (really, really excellent). Taylor is strong, smart, runs hard, and has that look of a third round guy who ends up a starter at the next level. Gillislee also looks smooth on the field, and has a chance to be a solid starter, or change of pace back in this league if he continues to progress.

At CB, Trufant and Poyer stand out. Poyer is so quick that he jumps routes. Absolutely effortless in transitioning between backpedaling and streaking forward. Trufant is a fighter. Very physical, gets in your grill, and is fiesty with his hands with the ball in the air. Both guys may end up first rounders if they run well at the combine.

At safety, if there is a better cover safety than Jonathan Cyprien, I'd like to see it. He has run stride for stride with WR's during this week, and he is classified as a SS. Shockingly solid in this ability, and I think this catapults him to a second round position if he runs well at the combine. I love the kid.

The best DT at the Senior Bowl so far is Kawann Short, and it is not very close. In both 1 on 1 and 11 on 11's, he is killing his opposition in the trenches. I'd like to see him flip squads and match up against the better interior OL of the South squad, but as of right now, Short has been unstoppable. B. Williams has been up and down for me, and the same applies to S. Williams. Jordan Hill is the weak link on the North Squad.

At DE, three guys have jumped off the page, due to their size, strength, and violent hands. Datone Jones is flat out nasty. He is going to be a tough matchup at the next level as a 4-3 DE who kicks inside on passing downs. He may be a target for the Niners in the late first if he can show the ability to hold the edge in the running game. Alex Okafor is not as violent, but a tad quicker at the DE position. He has a strong bull rush and a nice spin move. Looking like a first rounder to me. Finally, Cornelious Washington runs straight into some of these OT and plows them backward. Really quick burst off the edge and violent contact. Really impressive.

Both Margus Hunt and Ezekiel Ansah are raw as sushi. I wouldn't touch these guys with the first rounder. They are getting shown up by other prospects. Hunt has been a huge letdown, Gigantic. Ansah has few moves. He get jammed and looks lost.

So much more, so little time. For now, Cheers.

Originally posted by MadDog49er:
Second day report:

NFL Network really dropped the ball on the South practice, after doing a solid job of showing the North's Tuesday session. Just too much talk, and not enough live action. That being said, here are my impressions from Tuesday's sessions:

QB's are very hard to examine, as the TV rarely shares who is throwing the ball to a receiver. The broadcasters have dropped the ball on this..they should say who tosses the balls on these 1 on 1 CB/WR matchups.

At WR, it appears that a handful of WR's have really stood out. I love Goodwin's speed on Monday, but he struggles against press coverage. Wheaton is really quick, but I like the size, speed, strength combo of Dobson on the North's side. Just looks terrific for a big WR. On the South, two guys jump out at me: King and Patton. King has the fastest feet of any of the South receivers. He separates from every CB faced, and made many look silly. Patton really glides and runs clean routes. He has that Reggie Wayne look to him.

At OT, the competition between Lane Johnson and Eric Fisher to be the top OT is strong. Both are clearly better than others here. To me, Fisher is a top 10 pick, and Johnson a top 15. Super work by both. Still impressed with SJSU's Quessenberry, even though I thought his Monday session was stronger than Tuesday's. Attacks the second level better than any OL I have seen this week in the practice sessions. Cal's C, Schwenke, and Kentucky's G Warford, look great. Stout and strong, and stoned their opponents in 1 on 1 sessions. On the flip side, two guys that hoped to jump into first round conversation are slowly sinking in Aboushi and Pugh, who look overmatched and have been roasted far too often for guys considered as even second tier prospects. Both look like third round prospects, even though they may go higher.

Vance McDonald of Rice is the TE with highest upside, but he doesn't always catch the ball in initial contact. You bobble the ball in the NFL and it is going to be an incompletion.

At RB, the competition is strong, The three jumping out at me: Franklin, who is quick between the tackles, and had a terrific blocking session (really, really excellent). Taylor is strong, smart, runs hard, and has that look of a third round guy who ends up a starter at the next level. Gillislee also looks smooth on the field, and has a chance to be a solid starter, or change of pace back in this league if he continues to progress.

At CB, Trufant and Poyer stand out. Poyer is so quick that he jumps routes. Absolutely effortless in transitioning between backpedaling and streaking forward. Trufant is a fighter. Very physical, gets in your grill, and is fiesty with his hands with the ball in the air. Both guys may end up first rounders if they run well at the combine.

At safety, if there is a better cover safety than Jonathan Cyprien, I'd like to see it. He has run stride for stride with WR's during this week, and he is classified as a SS. Shockingly solid in this ability, and I think this catapults him to a second round position if he runs well at the combine. I love the kid.

The best DT at the Senior Bowl so far is Kawann Short, and it is not very close. In both 1 on 1 and 11 on 11's, he is killing his opposition in the trenches. I'd like to see him flip squads and match up against the better interior OL of the South squad, but as of right now, Short has been unstoppable. B. Williams has been up and down for me, and the same applies to S. Williams. Jordan Hill is the weak link on the North Squad.

At DE, three guys have jumped off the page, due to their size, strength, and violent hands. Datone Jones is flat out nasty. He is going to be a tough matchup at the next level as a 4-3 DE who kicks inside on passing downs. He may be a target for the Niners in the late first if he can show the ability to hold the edge in the running game. Alex Okafor is not as violent, but a tad quicker at the DE position. He has a strong bull rush and a nice spin move. Looking like a first rounder to me. Finally, Cornelious Washington runs straight into some of these OT and plows them backward. Really quick burst off the edge and violent contact. Really impressive.

Both Margus Hunt and Ezekiel Ansah are raw as sushi. I wouldn't touch these guys with the first rounder. They are getting shown up by other prospects. Hunt has been a huge letdown, Gigantic. Ansah has few moves. He get jammed and looks lost.

So much more, so little time. For now, Cheers.

If the Niners go for a 3-4 DE in the first round, do you think Datone Jones and Kawann Short could be targets? In your opinion can they play that position?

Really liked your assessments, MD... found myself nodding with agreement to every point made.

Originally posted by Cooper22:
If the Niners go for a 3-4 DE in the first round, do you think Datone Jones and Kawann Short could be targets? In your opinion can they play that position?

Not MD, but my thoughts:

Datone will be very effective as an inside rush 3-4 DE.. learning the ropes from Justin. He needs to get a little.. thicker overall to make me fully trust his run D though.

Kawann looks like he can play either NT or DE for us. I think he loses some pass rush luster if at DE though. I really like him as a 1-gap NT, and he's pretty stout if needed to 2-gap at times.

Originally posted by Mr.Mcgibblets:
Really liked your assessments, MD... found myself nodding with agreement to every point made.



Not MD, but my thoughts:

Datone will be very effective as an inside rush 3-4 DE.. learning the ropes from Justin. He needs to get a little.. thicker overall to make me fully trust his run D though.

Kawann looks like he can play either NT or DE for us. I think he loses some pass rush luster if at DE though. I really like him as a 1-gap NT, and he's pretty stout if needed to 2-gap at times.

hmmm...who said Short could play the nose when everyone said he would be DE in the 3-4 and was a top player at his position? I thought he looked like an end of the 1st round caliber prospect, so glad he is doing well.

I also agree with you on MD's post, seeing a lot of the same stuff. Dobson was another guy I was huge on pre-senior Bowl so glad he is doing well also.

For me the biggest surprise is S Cyprien, for what MD said. Safeties were a bit neglected in my pre-draft work so far, but I'm starting to think Cyprien will be the top safety I mean the athleticism he brings to the table!

Will be working on a post of my thoughts for tongiht or tomorrow.

Originally posted by Cooper22:
If the Niners go for a 3-4 DE in the first round, do you think Datone Jones and Kawann Short could be targets? In your opinion can they play that position?

Short is basically a prototypical 4-3 DT, I don't see him playing at any other position. Jones would be a good fit at DE if he can add some more weight, his pass rush moves are there, the only question is if he's strong enough to hold the edge.

In my mock draft I had us taking Jesse Williams in the first and Datone Jones in the 2nd. Now I don't think I'd mind at all if we took Jones in the 1st and Brandon Williams in the 2nd.

Would love to get Fisher from Central Michigan

The Pac12 players are representing this week.

Originally posted by SunDevilNiner79:

Originally posted by Mr.Mcgibblets:
Really liked your assessments, MD... found myself nodding with agreement to every point made.



Not MD, but my thoughts:

Datone will be very effective as an inside rush 3-4 DE.. learning the ropes from Justin. He needs to get a little.. thicker overall to make me fully trust his run D though.

Kawann looks like he can play either NT or DE for us. I think he loses some pass rush luster if at DE though. I really like him as a 1-gap NT, and he's pretty stout if needed to 2-gap at times.

hmmm...who said Short could play the nose when everyone said he would be DE in the 3-4 and was a top player at his position? I thought he looked like an end of the 1st round caliber prospect, so glad he is doing well.

I also agree with you on MD's post, seeing a lot of the same stuff. Dobson was another guy I was huge on pre-senior Bowl so glad he is doing well also.

For me the biggest surprise is S Cyprien, for what MD said. Safeties were a bit neglected in my pre-draft work so far, but I'm starting to think Cyprien will be the top safety I mean the athleticism he brings to the table!

Will be working on a post of my thoughts for tongiht or tomorrow.

Not everyone was impressed with Short. Todd McShay on his performance...

"We're most concerned with Purdue DT Kawann Short (6-3¼, 308). His upper-body power and short-area pop showed up in one-on-one drills, but he struggled during bag drills. Short was loose with his arms and didn't look like a guy who comes from a program that has produced numerous NFL defensive linemen.

He could also be seen taking plays off at least twice during team drills. On one play, it almost seemed as if he had a gentleman's agreement with Wagner, who steered Short inside easily. Effort was a question coming into the week for Short, and if you can't go through drills without being lazy that's a bad sign. This is the last place in the world you want to live down to that kind of reputation. When Short played hard he was effective and showed power, but the bad overshadowed the good."

Originally posted by Fincham11:
Would love to get Fisher from Central Michigan

The Niners have many needs mostly on the defensive side of the ball. Fisher might not even start on this team right now. He should be an excellent player but not someone the 49ers would consider given their needs.

With Ansah and Hunt struggling I hope we can snag them after the 1st. Ansah should be a stud 3-4 OLB in a couple years. He's already got the LB portion down. He just needs to keep work on his pass rush.

Hunt is a solid player. He's going to need some time to bulk up and he has the frame, but his age is working against him. That makes him an interesting 2nd rounder. I still expect him to workout extremely well at the Combine, so he's not going to fall too far.

Originally posted by Phoenix49ers:
3/4 DE-Datone Jones

NT-Jonathan Jenkins/Brandon Williams

I stay up all night review scouting reports and either of theese two fit to be our 1st round pick.

Jonathan Jenkins big 6,4 weight 350 strong
could move Soap back to DE

Datone Jones 6'4 280 Justin Smith Under study

Here's an article that reflects MD's comments and others.

http://www.nfl.com/seniorbowl/story/0ap1000000130606/article/desmond-trufants-draft-stock-soaring-ezekiel-ansah-too-raw

After Day 3, here is my All Senior Bowl Team, based on performances this week:

QB- Incomplete; NFL Coverage has been incredibly poor in showing QBs throwing the ball. Impossible to make any assessment.
RB- Stepfan Taylor- best bigger back; Jonathan Franklin- best smaller back. Franklin's pass protection this week was stunning to me. Absolutely remarkable.
WR- Tough call with a deep group- Quintin Patton and Markus Wheaton. King, Dobson, Goodwin also looked great.
TE- Vance McDonald- great athleticism. Will be a major riser.
OT- Easy call. Eric Fisher and Lane Johnson head and shoulders better.
G- Larry Warford. Sloppy waistline, but terrific form and power. David Quessenberry- better earlier in the week, but superb blocking at the second level.
C- Brian Schwenke- Dominated one on ones. Held up real well.

DE- Datone Jones- big, quick, powerful. A real force.
DE- Alex Okafor- the only person to consistently challenge Fisher. Ran over most other OT. Stud ready to play right now.
DT- Brandon Williams- better as the week progressed. In a fairly week group, he gets a slight nod. One note of caution...Williams did nearly all of his damage on Brian Winters, but was not nearly as dominant with other guards. For some reason, these two continued to be matched up.
DT- Kawann Short- took a big step back on Wednesday, but was dominant on Monday and Tuesday.
LB- largely ignored by coverage on TV- Reddick and Greene were the best of the lot. We will play nickel here and select three CBs.
CB- Desmond Trufant showed confidence, toughness, great footwork. He is the real deal.
CB- Jordan Poyer was the best pure cover corner with the best feet. So quick in and out of breaks. Not tough at all. Smallish.
CB-Leon McFadden looks a little bit like Janoris Jenkins on the field and was terrific in practice. Made some money this week.
SS- Jonathan Cyprien- I love this kid. A strong safety that shadowed some talented WR's this week. His footwork and ability change directions on coverage, big time.
FS- Phillip Thomas- great ball skills, smooth in coverage, and performed well in blitz drills.

I thought the CB/S/WR groups were by far the most dominant and deep this year. While the first round is going to be littered with DL and OL talent, the second round could see nearly half their round go just secondary and WR, and this is also where I think we will see the run on QBs. Call me skeptical, but I continue to think that this crop of QBs doesn't show enough for even a QB starved team at 8 or 14 to pull the trigger. Maybe on Geno Smith, but is Tyler Wilson or Mike Glennon even close to the 8th overall pick? To me, that is a big big reach.