Day Two Senior Bowl Risers

[datruth55]

Day two of Senior Bowl practices are completed and again, a number of players hooked terrific. Here are the risers for Day 2 and seven players who made money for themselves in Mobile.

Cooper Kupp/WR/Eastern Washington: Kupp had an outstanding second day of Senior Bowl practice, getting open at will and catching everything thrown his way. He ran sharp routes to create separation and showed excellent reaction time on short passes thrown outside his body. Kupp was consistently in position to make catches after exiting his route breaks and had an overall excellent showing.

Haason Reddick/LB/Temple: There’s one more day of Senior Bowl practice and it’s a day I expect Reddick to further improve, but you can already tell the linebacker has the “it” factor. He was dominant in pass-rushing drills both blitzing as a stand-up linebacker and coming out of a three-point stance. In several instances he beat opponents so badly Reddick got a rise from scouts in attendance. He looked much improved in coverage drills today and if he didn’t make plays on the ball he was darn close.

Tanzel Smart/DL/Tulane: You’d figure Smart would be dominated by opponents this week as he measured as one of the smallest defensive linemen here at the Senior Bowl, but that hasn’t been the case at all. Smart has been impossible to stop as his combination of quickness, movement skills and surprising power has knocked blockers back off the ball every day. As stated in our preview, Smart is one of the better three-technique tackle prospects in the draft.

Evan Engram/TE/Mississippi: Not to be outdone by his SEC rival O.J. Howard, Engram looked terrific today in all aspects of the tight end position. He was strong and dominant in blocking drills, ran solid routes and made several nice catches in the deep field. In a draft stacked at the tight end position, Engram could end up as one of the steals of Day 2.

Taywan Taylor/WR/Western Kentucky: Taylor was good on Tuesday but really stood out on Wednesday. He’s extremely smooth running routes and transitioning from catch to YAC and shows great focus and concentration at the catch point. His long arms and reach allow him to stay on his feet making catches both above his head and below his knees, and Taylor does a nice job fighting through contact and making contested catches.

Damontae Kazee/DB/San Diego State: Kazee isn’t big (5-10, 183) but he was strong in press coverage against Josh Reynolds (6-3, 187) and Fred Ross (6-1, 203) on Wednesday. He stays tight in coverage with receivers down the field and shows nice recovery speed to make up ground on opponents when they do separate. Kazee has very smooth ball skills as well and displayed playmaking ability in the secondary.

Cameron Sutton/DB/Tennessee: Sutton started practice by sticking tight with O.J. Howard and forcing a drop, and he never slowed down. He stayed with receivers all day and showed good closing speed out of route breaks and in the running game. Sutton, who checks in at 5-11 and 182 pounds, also worked in at safety with Rudy Ford injured and held his own in deep coverage, and that versatility could be huge for him if it sticks Thursday.

http://draftanalyst.com/day-two-senior-bowl-risers

 

[DKphin]

Senior Bowl: Mike Mayock's Day 2 practice stars

O.J. Howard, TE, Alabama
Howard's had two really impressive days here, and I think he'll probably end up being the first Senior Bowl player taken in the draft. You can see he's really worked on his blocking and has improved in that area. He has a perfect combination of height, weight, speed, toughness, and athletic ability. The comparison I have for him is Greg Olsen. If you have a chance to draft a Greg Olsen, you go get him. And I think you'd have to get him with a pick in the early 20s.

Haason Reddick, ILB, Temple
I had several scouting friends of mine asking me if I had seen Reddick. I had and loved what I saw. At 6-foot-1 and 237 pounds, he rushed the quarterback, where he's comfortable, and showed he could play in coverage, both in man and zone. And in team drills he was everywhere. For a guy most consider a "tweener" he made a big statement on Wednesday. He's an ultra-versatile player. If you think of Lawrence Timmons -- and I'm not saying Reddick is Timmons -- he came out of Florida State 10 years ago as an explosive guy the Steelers put in their 3-4 scheme as a inside WILL (weakside) linebacker. They use him as a cover guy but also they bring him on the rush in certain situations. That's where I think Reddick fits. I've been told he'll test well, too, at the combine and his pro day. His arrow is pointed way up from what I've seen here.

Obi Melifonwu, S, Connecticut(I am really starting to like this safety)
Melifonwu, at 6-4 and 219 pounds, was all over the field on Wednesday. He's got outstanding range, making up so much distance in a hurry. Bob Diaco, the coach at UConn the past three years, said Melifonwu has more ability than any safety he's ever coached, and that includes Harrison Smith, the all-pro player for the Minnesota Vikings whom Diaco coached at Notre Dame. He's a matchup chess piece with movement skills. If Greg Olsen comes to town, you say, "That's your guy." The next week a wide receiver like Mike Evans comes to town, you say, "Go get him." I thought Melifonwu had an outstanding practice session on Wednesday.

QBs Antonio Pipkin (Tiffin) and Davis Webb (Cal)
I learned a few things about these two quarterbacks and I can't wait to see them on Thursday in their final practice here and on Saturday in the game. Tipkin is only 6-foot-1 but the ball flies out of his hands. He struggled on Day 1, but I thought he looked a lot more comfortable out there on Day 2 and made some big adjustments, especially under center. Now I want to see him lock in on Day 3. With Webb, the ball comes out beautifully. He threw the ball a ton at Cal but not under center. He's gotten better and better this week with each day and each snap. The big question on Webb is his accuracy. A lot of issues in this area showed on tape.

Damontae Kazee, CB, San Diego State
He's pretty small (5-10, 183) but plays big. Every tape I watched on him he was an off-corner. On Wednesday he was a press corner only. Those are two very different disciplines. He got his hands on everybody. He's got great feet, and he competes at a very high level. He's a quick-footed corner who's better than people thought. He really had a good day.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000779227/article/senior-bowl-mike-mayocks-day-2-practice-stars

 

[datruth55]

The safety from UConn is definitely making some noise. At his size being able to move as well as he does is impressive. From what I've read he looks very good in 1-on-1 coverage against WRs so you'd have to think he can cover TEs man-to-man. That's a guy we could use against Gronk in coverage.

 

[Awsi Dooger]

I don't fully agree about Reddick, based on Wednesday's practice. Let me emphasize I haven't watched Thursday's coverage.

Reddick absolutely dominated the one on one drills, both in the run and pass. It was freaky good. I was reminded of Jonathan Vilma but a bit more short area quickness.

However, once they moved into actual game situations and stationed Reddick at inside linebacker, he was brutal. Beyond brutal. False steps. Hesitation. Terrible angles. This was play after play. There wasn't a meaningful exception.

The announcing crew totally ignored it. Not surprising. Once a theme has been established they don't like to deviate. Meanwhile, Daniel Jeremiah just emphasized that the top thing he looks for in an inside linebacker is instincts, to the point everything else is meaningless. Then smack in front of him Reddick is demonstrating no instincts at all, and he doesn't say a thing.

Granted, that is not Reddick's typical position. I'm not giving up on him. But it was impossible to ignore how awful he looked in that setting, when diagnosis was at forefront. Other inside linebackers were flowing. Reddick was paralyzed. At this point he's exponentially better in an edge attacking role, kind of a poor man's Derrick Thomas.

* Kazee was forcing things. He looked like himself other than simply trying too hard. That led to grabs, penalties and drops. It was funny he was receiving rave reviews for that effort when it was actually subpar for him

* I still like Michael Roberts a lot. Minus injury he's going to improve as a downfield type. That's standard for guys with that frame and athletic ability.

* His teammate Kareem Hunt has made a bizarre transformation. During the season and in the bowl game his body type looked like Ray Rice. Now he's got a very lean torso. It was obviously intentional. I'm not sure it was wise. Perhaps influenced by Bell of the Steelers

* NFL Network should be sued for false advertising. It's not 5 hours of coverage when 2.5 hours are commercials or filler. We need an alternative network to go along with the alternative facts.

 

[j-off-her-doll]

I don't fully agree about Reddick, based on Wednesday's practice. Let me emphasize I haven't watched Thursday's coverage.

Reddick absolutely dominated the one on one drills, both in the run and pass. It was freaky good. I was reminded of Jonathan Vilma but a bit more short area quickness.

However, once they moved into actual game situations and stationed Reddick at inside linebacker, he was brutal. Beyond brutal. False steps. Hesitation. Terrible angles. This was play after play. There wasn't a meaningful exception.

The announcing crew totally ignored it. Not surprising. Once a theme has been established they don't like to deviate. Meanwhile, Daniel Jeremiah just emphasized that the top thing he looks for in an inside linebacker is instincts, to the point everything else is meaningless. Then smack in front of him Reddick is demonstrating no instincts at all, and he doesn't say a thing.

Granted, that is not Reddick's typical position. I'm not giving up on him. But it was impossible to ignore how awful he looked in that setting, when diagnosis was at forefront. Other inside linebackers were flowing. Reddick was paralyzed. At this point he's exponentially better in an edge attacking role, kind of a poor man's Derrick Thomas.

* Kazee was forcing things. He looked like himself other than simply trying too hard. That led to grabs, penalties and drops. It was funny he was receiving rave reviews for that effort when it was actually subpar for him

* I still like Michael Roberts a lot. Minus injury he's going to improve as a downfield type. That's standard for guys with that frame and athletic ability.

* His teammate Kareem Hunt has made a bizarre transformation. During the season and in the bowl game his body type looked like Ray Rice. Now he's got a very lean torso. It was obviously intentional. I'm not sure it was wise. Perhaps influenced by Bell of the Steelers

* NFL Network should be sued for false advertising. It's not 5 hours of coverage when 2.5 hours are commercials or filler. We need an alternative network to go along with the alternative facts.

Awesome post, Awsi. Can't trust these analysts for anything! Miami needs a LB who can play downhill against the run. I don't think this precludes Reddick from consideration at 22. Marquel Lee of Wake Forest looks to have limited range, but he's long, and his read/react in the run game is better than all but a few LB's in this class. You can probably have him in the 5th, maybe later.

 

[datruth55]

I don't fully agree about Reddick, based on Wednesday's practice. Let me emphasize I haven't watched Thursday's coverage.

Reddick absolutely dominated the one on one drills, both in the run and pass. It was freaky good. I was reminded of Jonathan Vilma but a bit more short area quickness.

However, once they moved into actual game situations and stationed Reddick at inside linebacker, he was brutal. Beyond brutal. False steps. Hesitation. Terrible angles. This was play after play. There wasn't a meaningful exception.

The announcing crew totally ignored it. Not surprising. Once a theme has been established they don't like to deviate. Meanwhile, Daniel Jeremiah just emphasized that the top thing he looks for in an inside linebacker is instincts, to the point everything else is meaningless. Then smack in front of him Reddick is demonstrating no instincts at all, and he doesn't say a thing.

Granted, that is not Reddick's typical position. I'm not giving up on him. But it was impossible to ignore how awful he looked in that setting, when diagnosis was at forefront. Other inside linebackers were flowing. Reddick was paralyzed. At this point he's exponentially better in an edge attacking role, kind of a poor man's Derrick Thomas.

* Kazee was forcing things. He looked like himself other than simply trying too hard. That led to grabs, penalties and drops. It was funny he was receiving rave reviews for that effort when it was actually subpar for him

* I still like Michael Roberts a lot. Minus injury he's going to improve as a downfield type. That's standard for guys with that frame and athletic ability.

* His teammate Kareem Hunt has made a bizarre transformation. During the season and in the bowl game his body type looked like Ray Rice. Now he's got a very lean torso. It was obviously intentional. I'm not sure it was wise. Perhaps influenced by Bell of the Steelers

* NFL Network should be sued for false advertising. It's not 5 hours of coverage when 2.5 hours are commercials or filler. We need an alternative network to go along with the alternative facts.

I caught the recap last night when I got home and they interviewed Reddick who admitted he feels more comfortable as an OLB and not an ILB but he also said that he was growing more comfortable at the position with each practice. It seems evident, from what I saw, that the kid possesses plenty of athleticism and ability but right now being in a new position he's probably hesitant and unsure of what his responsibilities are or exactly how to play the position. I'll be interested to see where he gets drafted.

Watching Roberts last night I was impressed. Big frame, smooth runner, good hands...he might be my #3 TE in this class although I'm not done looking at everyone but I like him more than Bucky Hodges who never blocked and was basically used as a WR and I like him more than Leggett who scares me with his lack of effort. It's one thing to not have athletic ability or lack of speed but attitude issues are a big red flag for me and there are times where Leggett seems completely disinterested in playing football from some of the games I've watched...no interest in blocking at times...lazy routes when he doesn't think he's getting the ball...I don't want that on my team.

 

[Pachyderm_Wave]

To be fair to Reddick, he's not used to reading keys having lined up at DE in college. Furthermore, you're reading an entirely different set of keys inside as opposed to outside where he's used to lining up anyway. Thus the false steps, hesitation, poor angles, and paralysis. It'll take time and reps for him to get used to learning how to key those 3 interior offensive lineman so he can flow and understand what his gap assignments are.

Once you're inside, you can no longer be a ball watcher and just key the back or triangle read. You have to key the interior offensive lineman and let them tell you what you should be doing. But you have to read it quickly in order to fill your gap responsibility before they can get a blocker in that gap. This is why instincts are so paramount at inside linebacker. All that really means is being able to read your keys and diagnose your run fit or coverage responsibility so fast that it looks instinctive. But it's not. What you saw with your key is what took you there.

 

[hoops]

it would be a work in progress for Reddick just like it's a work in progress for shazier although shazier I believe his last year played lb in college even if he didn't have any inside read and diag feel for it...significant curve for Reddick...serious growing pains and being late in the process

but I think his stack and shed is more suited for wilb in a 34...what I don't like given his instincts is mike in a 43...that's way too much projection...I know deion jones is the rage for athlete mike or whatever but his inside read and diag is still very lacking hes doing most of it on athlete and range and its working for Atlanta right now cause of the speed in the defense and the #1 offense carrying it but it's always dicey stuff and he played lb multiple years at lsu

I don't think you can draft a 237 lb guy at 22 to play him mostly on the edge even in a wide 9 alignment...no matter how explsove he is and quick twitch...they get their hands on him and lock out he's going for a serious ride...they'll run downhill at him at that weight til the cows come home...situational rusher also doesn't make sense here

either 34 wilb or 43 wlb

he's quite talented you are just gonna have some serious hiccups in his off the los play

 

[Namor]

it would be a work in progress for Reddick just like it's a work in progress for shazier although shazier I believe his last year played lb in college even if he didn't have any inside read and diag feel for it...significant curve for Reddick...serious growing pains and being late in the process

but I think his stack and shed is more suited for wilb in a 34...what I don't like given his instincts is mike in a 43...that's way too much projection...I know deion jones is the rage for athlete mike or whatever but his inside read and diag is still very lacking hes doing most of it on athlete and range and its working for Atlanta right now cause of the speed in the defense and the #1 offense carrying it but it's always dicey stuff and he played lb multiple years at lsu

I don't think you can draft a 237 lb guy at 22 to play him mostly on the edge even in a wide 9 alignment...no matter how explsove he is and quick twitch...they get their hands on him and lock out he's going for a serious ride...they'll run downhill at him at that weight til the cows come home...situational rusher also doesn't make sense here

either 34 wilb or 43 wlb

he's quite talented you are just gonna have some serious hiccups in his off the los play

Hoops...What's your opinion on one of the most underrated LB's from Bama's defense..Ryan Anderson? and could he fit on Miami's D?

 

[hoops]

Hoops...What's your opinion on one of the most underrated LB's from Bama's defense..Ryan Anderson? and could he fit on Miami's D?

I haven't looked at him yet

from what I saw in the national champ game he looks like the kind of guy the patriots would like to me...very assignment sound not super high level tools but a very dependable player...will let you know after...what i saw there looked like a top 50ish type to me

i think tim Williams fits the situational rusher out the gate...needs to add weight and work on his run d...sub edge rusher or 34 wolb...got some thin arms frame may not be great for carrying weight...i like him as a situational rusher to Miami not an every down player out the gate...would have to take at 22 if he got there probably not great value given not every down to start

 

[Pachyderm_Wave]

Ryan Anderson is the kid who I think his best fit might be at inside linebacker at the next level. I've never really been able to nail down exactly where his best fit is but I think it could be inside.

 

[hoops]

im guessing the comp would be in the donta hightower mold as a lb if that was the case with ryan Anderson

something where the scheme limits the athlete range exposure

 

[Namor]

Ryan Anderson is the kid who I think his best fit might be at inside linebacker at the next level. I've never really been able to nail down exactly where his best fit is but I think it could be inside.

Hey buddy....long time,no hear from...You been doing ok?...back to subject..You don't think Ryan could fit as as a strong side LB in a 4-3?...I just think he's a FOOTBALL player..and we need more football players...but I'm a tad biased...

 

[Pachyderm_Wave]

Hey buddy....long time,no hear from...You been doing ok?...back to subject..You don't think Ryan could fit as as a strong side LB in a 4-3?...I just think he's a FOOTBALL player..and we need more football players...but I'm a tad biased...

He's a hell of a football player. I think part of his game fits as a SAM because his bread and butter is being physical, being strong at the POA, using his hands to take on lead blockers and shed blocks to tackle ball carriers. Problem is his weakness is coverage, and you don't really want him trying to carry TE's down the field in coverage. His weakness in coverage was exposed even moreso this week in Mobile.

I think a 2-down SAM role would be ideal for him as long as you have a player to come in for him in sub packages who excels in coverage. But you'd rather have a 3 down linebacker at SAM and put Anderson inside so you can sub the way you want to rather than the way the offense forces you to.

 

[SF Dolphin Fan]

He's a hell of a football player. I think part of his game fits as a SAM because his bread and butter is being physical, being strong at the POA, using his hands to take on lead blockers and shed blocks to tackle ball carriers. Problem is his weakness is coverage, and you don't really want him trying to carry TE's down the field in coverage. His weakness in coverage was exposed even moreso this week in Mobile.

I think a 2-down SAM role would be ideal for him as long as you have a player to come in for him in sub packages who excels in coverage. But you'd rather have a 3 down linebacker at SAM and put Anderson inside so you can sub the way you want to rather than the way the offense forces you to.

Like Anderson a lot, but sounds like someone the Pats could game plan against in the passing game. Who are the linebackers you think would match-up best against NE in that regard? Is Peppers in play, you think, as a hybrid type?