Senior Bowl buzz: Latest on 2024 NFL draft, offseason moves

The sophomore class point is interesting. ESPN's top five quarterbacks in that 2022 recruiting class -- Texas A&M's Conner Weigman (No. 27-ranked recruit), Clemson's Cade Klubnik (No. 29), Alabama's Ty Simpson (No. 34), Ole Miss' Walker Howard (No. 42) and Penn State's Drew Allar (No. 51) -- have yet to establish themselves as no-brainer early draft picks. Weigman and Allar have put together the strongest college careers of the bunch, but they need a lot more high-end tape before entering the first-round conversation. (On the riser front, I wonder if South Florida's Byrum Brown will make a leap.)

Could that have an impact on executives' thinking this year? If a solid quarterback is available in the mid-to-late parts of Round 1, could he get picked partially because there might not be a comparable quarterback in a comparable spot next year?

"Smart teams look ahead to next year's class to assess this year's decision," said a front office executive. -- Thamel

Which NFL teams could move up for a quarterback?

Teams are starting to line up the imaginary dominoes, trying to forecast how the top of the draft will shake out. Most people I talked to in Mobile expect the Chicago Bears to make the pick at No. 1, presumably for Williams. That leaves the Washington Commanders (No. 2) and New England Patriots (No. 3) with the ability to control the draft, though both might take quarterbacks at their respective spots, too. Maye and Daniels are considered the next quarterbacks up.

The Las Vegas Raiders (No. 13) might be a team to watch. New coach Antonio Pierce is a big fan of Daniels from their days together at Arizona State, and word is that Pierce evaluated offensive coordinators with the loose possibility of Daniels in mind. People around the league are keeping an eye on the Minnesota Vikings at No. 11, too. They did a lot of quarterback homework last offseason and could eventually target one high in the draft with free agent Kirk Cousins' future in Minnesota uncertain. But moving from No. 11 into the top three would cost GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah a ton of draft capital. -- Fowler

NFL impact backs in the Sun Belt?

Even with two tailbacks taken in the first 12 picks last April, there's still a hesitancy for NFL teams to spend high-end draft capital on the running back position. One place that teams could look is the Sun Belt Conference, where a flurry of hidden gem tailbacks have emerged in recent years. Former Louisiana tailback Elijah Mitchell just scored the eventual game-winning touchdown in the NFC Championship Game last weekend for the San Francisco 49ers. And on opening day for NFL rosters, there were five former Sun Belt running backs.

Could Troy's Kimani Vidal be the next undersized back to come up big? Vidal, who is 5-foot-8 and 215 pounds, won the Sun Belt Offensive Player of the Year this season, running for 1,661 yards. In his career, he has 4,010 rushing yards and 700 receiving yards. He led Troy to back-to-back conference titles and scored 34 career touchdowns. Former Troy coach Jon Sumrall said that despite his size, Vidal is "maybe the best pass-protector that I've ever been around."

More from Sumrall: "He is yoked up. He's incredibly strong. He's ridiculously durable, very compact body type. I think he'll end up as people get to know more about him, he's going to elevate through the draft process much like [former Troy center Jake Andrews] did a year ago. ... He's self-driven, never has a bad day."

The other Sun Belt candidate at the Senior Bowl was Marshall's Rasheen Ali, who tied for the FBS-lead in rushing touchdowns (23) in 2021 as a true freshman and ran for 174 yards this season in an upset over Virginia Tech. Marshall coach Charles Huff told ESPN that Ali reminds him of Fred Taylor, the former Florida star and longtime NFL back, in terms of style. "He's got an old-school running style -- size, speed, natural vision, ability to make people miss in space, strong lower body."

Ali's draft stock will take a hit, though. The 6-foot, 209-pound back suffered a ruptured biceps tendon at the Senior Bowl on Wednesday, likely keeping him out of the rest of the pre-draft process and putting his potential status for Week 1 in the 2024 season in question. But he can still help a team once he's healthy.

Why has the Sun Belt become a running back proving ground? Sumrall said the reps are available, as Vidal had 297 carries this season, and Ali had 212. "There's no substitute for time on task," Sumrall said. "You may be a great athlete, but if you haven't done it, it's hard to know you're going to do it." -- Thamel

Could this be the best OT class in years?

The buzz around this year's offensive tackle class is immense. Veteran agents and scouts are predicting the first round could feature the most tackles in years, surpassing the 2020 class that featured six. From 2021-23, no more than five tackles were selected in any given year. But at least eight names will be in consideration this year, including several who were in Mobile: Oregon State's Taliese Fuaga, Arizona's Jordan Morgan and Oklahoma's Tyler Guyton.

Several others will be prominent Day 2 picks or could sneak into Day 1. Texas' Christian Jones and Houston's Patrick Paul had impressive moments this week at the Senior Bowl. Great offensive line play is scarce in the NFL, but will the supply meet the demand? It looks that way early. -- Fowler

A cornerback locking in first-round status?

Toledo cornerback Quinyon Mitchell emerged as the buzziest player at the Senior Bowl this week, virtually cementing himself as a first-round pick with a dominant performance.

"He was the best player on the field on Tuesday," said an area scout after that day's practice. "That's not a hot take. That's reality."

Part of the allure for NFL teams is the fact that Mitchell (6-foot, 196 pounds) decided to stick at Toledo. After a dominant All-MAC season in 2022 that included five interceptions, Mitchell had plenty of opportunities to bounce from Toledo for a high-end NIL deal. Instead, he stayed and thrived again; he leaves the school with 39 pass breakups over the past three seasons. And for the NFL personnel that came through Toledo this season -- including several general managers -- there's a distinct affinity for his decision not to chase a new logo for his senior year.

"I think there's an overt appreciation for loyalty through every conversation with NFL personnel that have come through our campus," Rockets coach Jason Candle told ESPN. "It's a rare thing when a young man goes through that process and doesn't get wowed by it."

Instead of trying to fit into a new team and system, Mitchell embraced a place where he had built relationships with teammates and staff and had consistent success. That continued and set his path to the first round.

"He puts stock and energy in things that matter," Candle said. "If you are playing the long game like he is, I think he knew where he'd end up being." -- Thamel

Two former head coaches as possible coordinators?

Chip Kelly and Jon Gruden were both mentioned as NFL playcalling options while I was in Mobile. Some people around the league had their antennae up about both, though the New Orleans Saints zeroing in on 49ers passing game coordinator Klint Kubiak as offensive coordinator would take Gruden out of the running for that job.

Kelly is a potential candidate in Washington under new coach Dan Quinn. The belief is Kelly, the former Philadelphia Eagles and 49ers coach, has interest in returning to the league, and that Washington will at least consider speaking with him. Kelly also had dialogue with the Raiders before they filled their OC opening with Kliff Kingsbury.

Gruden, who won a Super Bowl with Tampa Bay and last roamed the sidelines as the Raiders' head coach in 2018-21, helped out the Saints' staff this season in a behind-the-scenes capacity, and some in the coaching community believed the Saints had interest in hiring Gruden during the process. Quarterback Derek Carr had his best seasons under Gruden and is very familiar with the offense. Gruden has also been in the Saints' building this offseason. But his coaching outlook is complicated, as he has an outstanding lawsuit against the NFL over his controversial resignation (involving racist and misogynistic emails) from Las Vegas in 2021. -- Fowler

Why did Ben Johnson pass up head-coaching opportunities?

Many of my conversations at Hancock-Whitney Stadium this week started the same way: "What happened with Ben Johnson?"

The curiosity around the Detroit Lions offensive coordinator eschewing head-coaching opportunities for the second consecutive year was rampant. One near-certainty entering the coaching carousel was that Johnson would get one of the jobs. Now, that doesn't mean he has to agree to take a job. But he was considered a top candidate in the eyes of just about everybody.