With scouts, coaches, and decision-makers all in Mobile, Ala., draft season kicked off Tuesday with the first practices ahead of the 2024 Senior Bowl.
While star players like quarterbacks Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels, and Drake Maye aren’t among the participants, there’s no shortage of top prospects and potential future Jacksonville Jaguars players on the Senior Bowl rosters.
The game won’t happen until Saturday, but the practices are just as, if not more, important — especially for linemen, wide receivers, and cornerbacks, who all get a chance to show what they can do in one-on-one drills against fellow prospects. That’s perfect for the Jaguars, who have needs at those positions.
With one day of practices in the books, these 11 players stood out most Tuesday:
Gabe Hall, DT, Baylor
#Baylor DL Gabe Hall 1 on 1 with Kansas OL Dominick Puni pic.twitter.com/YbzDll067d
— ★★★★★ (@TSV__1) January 30, 2024
Hall, who measured in at 6’6, 290 pounds Monday, was a dominant force in the National Team practice. Opposing offensive linemen looked silly trying to block him in one-on-one drills, and Hall made plays in the team portion too.
Jackson Powers-Johnson, C, Oregon
Damnnn Jackson Powers-Johnson! pic.twitter.com/OTg7fy5IC1
— Billy M (@BillyM_91) January 30, 2024
Powers-Johnson earned the Rimington Trophy in 2023, recognizing the best center in college football. On Tuesday, he looked the part. His ability to anchor and out-leverage defensive linemen who tried to overpower him stood out.
Quinyon Mitchell, CB, Toledo
Nobody’s gotten much going against Toledo CB Quinyon Mitchell today — he’s physical, plays with clean footwork, and manages space really well.
Here’s a great rep with an early jam and late contest. Pretty work. pic.twitter.com/VpTwYhCXWS
— Robert Schmitz (@robertkschmitz) January 30, 2024
Mitchell has a chance at being the first cornerback drafted, but will have to overcome criticisms that he didn’t face top competition in the MAC. Against a receiving corps that included UNC’s Devontez Walker and the aforementioned Pearsall, Mitchell locked down everybody.
Ricky Pearsall, WR, Florida
WR group standing out early here at @seniorbowl. @GatorsFB WR Ricky Pearsall is one of them.
Clean win off press and a nice contested catch for the touchdown in 1-on-1s pic.twitter.com/S8PaVtmbmu
— Trevor Sikkema (@TampaBayTre) January 30, 2024
National Team cornerbacks had a tough time defending Pearsall in the one-on-one drills. The former Gators receiver was too quick off the line to be jammed and his smooth route-running kept leaving defensive backs in the dust.
Taliese Fuaga, OT, Oregon State
Fuaga vs Latu pic.twitter.com/W2seVuTrEe
— Billy M (@BillyM_91) January 30, 2024
Fuaga is projected to be a first-round pick in April and looked like one Thursday. The 6’6, 332-pound tackle was quick enough in his pass sets to leave opposing pass rushers no choice but to try to go through him. Even UCLA’s Laiatu Latu, arguably the top edge rusher of the class, couldn’t do much with that.
Roman Wilson, WR, Michigan
QB Sam Hartman ➡️ WR Roman Wilson#TheDraftStartsInMOBILE pic.twitter.com/58BWGpN1q0
— Real Friends & Football (@rff_football) January 30, 2024
Wilson isn’t the biggest receiver at 5’11, 186 pounds, but he looked like a shifty deep threat Tuesday. Cornerbacks struggled to stick with him in coverage and Wilson made a few big plays deep.
Georgia WR Ladd McConkey
McConkey was made for this drill lol pic.twitter.com/kbOplpUoRr
— Billy M (@BillyM_91) January 30, 2024
McConkey couldn’t be covered in one-on-one drills. The Georgia wide receiver was way too sharp in and out of his breaks for the American Team cornerbacks to keep up.
Tyler Guyton, OT, Oklahoma
Tyler Guyton is nice pic.twitter.com/LUrK5Kihpx
— Billy M (@BillyM_91) January 30, 2024
Guyton has a chance at being a first round pick and used his mammoth 6’7, 330 frame well Tuesday. While he’s a tall player, Guyton wasn’t out-leveraged by opposing linemen and handled bull rushes well. He was beat pretty cleanly by Houston’s Nelson Caesar on one rep, though.
Kris Abrams-Draine, CB, Missouri
#Mizzou DB Kris Abrams-Draine vs Texas A&M WR Ainias Smith pic.twitter.com/hoObBVJKp4
— ★★★★★ (@TSV__1) January 30, 2024
At 5’11, 173 pounds, Abrams-Draine may need to find a home as a nickel cornerback in the NFL. On Tuesday, he looked up for the task as an über competitive player in coverage who wasn’t afraid to get physical.
Christian Jones, OT, Texas
.@TexasFootball OT Christian Jones had a very impressive session in OL/DL 1-on-1s. Super experienced player with 48 starts in his career. Really impressive how poised and in control he was on his reps.
This was one of a few clear wins from him pic.twitter.com/Gzl0X6L96j
— Trevor Sikkema (@TampaBayTre) January 30, 2024
Jones is one of the most experienced players of the class after spending six years at Texas and he showed off that polish. The 6’5, 318-pound tackle was cool, calm, and collected as he handled opposing rushers in drills.
Javon Foster, OT, Missouri
Missouri OT Javon Foster's 1-on-1 reps pic.twitter.com/TinEcIdrQf
— Taylor Kyles (@tkyles39) January 30, 2024
On more than a few reps, Foster managed to take an American Team defensive lineman and bring them to almost a complete stop. Once he had his hands on a rusher, Foster anchored down and there was nowhere left to go for his opposition.
