Senior Bowl practices finished up down in Mobile, Alabama, on Thursday. So it's a good opportunity to run through some things that stood out to me this week. Let's dig in.
1. QB Josh Dobbs made the most of his opportunity. He made a lot of throws this week that you just didn't see from him consistently in college. He was the third-best quarterback in Mobile, behind Pitt's Nathan Peterman and Iowa's C.J. Beathard (and he wasn't that far off of Beathard). Having watched him throughout his career, Dobbs' performance was very, very surprising.
2. WR Zay Jones is crazy fast. He played in East Carolina's Air Raid system, which features a lot of bubble screens and didn't showcase his potential as a vertical threat. This guy has unreal speed. He ran past guys consistently at the second level and tracked the deep ball really well this week. Could he be a Day 2 pick? I need to go back and watch more of his tape, but it's possible. I'm really interested to see what he runs at the combine.
3. Matchup to watch Saturday: North WRs versus South CBs. Eastern Washington's Cooper Kupp was one of the week's biggest stars, but the North team also features Jones, Syracuse's Amba Etta-Tawo and Michigan's Amara Darboh, all of whom had good weeks of practice. They'll face off against the two standout cornerbacks this week: San Diego State's Damontae Kazee and Tennessee's Cameron Sutton. (It's too bad LSU's Tre'Davious White suffered an ankle injury and won't be playing in the game; he looked really good before getting injured.)
4. Pitt QB Nathan Peterman had a great overall week, but ... one weakness of his showed up on the practice field: He doesn't have a very strong arm. It was noticeable on Thursday when the wind was blowing pretty good. Peterman just couldn't drive the ball down the field consistently. It's not a deal-breaker, but it's something for quarterback-needy teams who play in windy conditions to keep in mind (Jets, Bears and Browns, to name a few). He fits more in a short-to-intermediate passing attack, which will limit his market and keep him from being a high pick.
5. OL Antonio Garcia made himself some money. The Troy product is right near the top of my list for the biggest draft risers after this week. He showed great athleticism along with the ability to play both tackle and guard. He had the best day of any offensive lineman on Thursday.
6. DT Montravius Adams has all kinds of tools. He was the most explosive of all the interior linemen down in Mobile. I just don't know if I can trust him. He was very inconsistent throughout his career at Auburn. But Adams forced evaluators to go back and take a second look at his tape after some flash plays this week.
7. UCLA DT Eddie Vanderdoes was super impressive. I know he has durability issues and he's not the best athlete, but Vanderdoes' effort was consistently outstanding this week and he plays with great technique. I'm a fan.
8. The most intriguing players: Boston College DB John Johnson and West Virginia CB Rasul Douglas. Johnson showed a ton of versatility. He can play cornerback if needed and cover a lot of ground as a safety. And with Douglas, I know he's a little stiff, but at 6-foot-2 and with long arms, he has a lot of great tools to work with. Either or both of these guys could be off the board by the end of Day 2.
9. Temple LB Haason Reddick isn't just a pass-rusher. He had the third-most tackles for loss in the FBS this season, but because of his size (6-1½, 237), he's going to need to transition to an off-the-line linebacker role in the NFL. He proved he's perfectly capable of doing so with his play this week. There's no doubt in my mind that Reddick is going to play in this league for a long time.
10. I'd want LSU LB Duke Riley on my team. He made a ton of plays in coverage and versus the run this week. He was just always around the ball.