08 Senior Bowl article

[Kentucky Jet]

Scott Wright

President, NFL Draft Countdown

By now you have probably heard all about how this is a weak draft and not a very good crop of seniors and while that might be the case to a certain degree there is still plenty of talent at this year's Senior Bowl. In fact, even with Chris Long, Glenn Dorsey, Jake Long and Matt Ryan all sitting out the game will still feature twelve prospects who are in the first round of my most recent mock draft and a handful more who are on the bubble. If recent history is any indication at least one third of the first round will be made up of players who took part in the Senior Bowl. Those numbers speak for themselves. As always there will be a lot of interesting storylines to follow but here are some that I will be watching closely.

In football it seems as though everything revolves around the quarterback position so why not start there. This will be the fourth year that I have traveled to Mobile to cover the Senior Bowl and I don't know if there is a player I have been more excited to see than Hawaii's Colt Brennan. It's not that he's the best prospect down here or even close to it but he might have more questions surrounding him than any player in this entire draft and this week is going to provide a terrific opportunity to finally get some answers. How he performs this week will go a long way towards determining whether Brennan is a 2nd round pick or a 4th rounder. Delaware's Joe Flacco has received a lot of hype lately and this week will be his chance to show he's the real deal and belongs with the big boys. Running back is one position where the talk about a weak senior class holds true but a guy to watch is East Carolina's Chris Johnson, whose pure speed and explosiveness should really set him apart from the rest of the pack in Mobile. At wide receiver Limas Sweed missed most of his senior season with a wrist injury but he has the physical tools of a Top 10 pick and with a strong showing this week he could approach that status. Last year L.S.U.'s Dwayne Bowe was arguably the star of the week and his former teammate Early Doucet will attempt to improve on his fringe first round status. At tight end USC's Fred Davis is coming off an outstanding senior campaign and if he can continue that momentum in Mobile not only might he solidify himself as the top player at his position but he could also make a serious push for a spot in round one. When it comes to offensive linemen the tackle position is widely recognized as one of the strongest in the draft and with good reason. Jeff Otah of Pittsburgh. Sam Baker of USC, Gosder Cherilus of Boston College, Chris Williams of Vanderbilt and Carl Nicks of Nebraska are all either first rounders or have a legitimate shot at round one and they will all be in Mobile this week. Needless to say this is a great chance for them to separate themselves from their competition. Keep an eye on U.T.E.P. OT/OG Oniel Cousins too because he has a lot of fans in the scouting community and if he can showcase his elite athleticism and have a strong showing he could continue his eteoric ascent up draft boards.

At defensive end the word of the week might be 'tweener and no less than five of the ten guys here are being looked at as potential outside linebackers at the next level. The headliner of the group is Quentin Groves of Auburn and he'll try to have the same type of week as Manny Lawson did a couple of years ago. The other guy to watch is Eastern Michigan's Jason Jones and if you don't know about him yet you will soon. Inside at tackle Sedrick Ellis is perhaps the best player in this game and a legit Top 10 pick but could he challenge Glenn Dorsey for the top spot at his position? Probably not. However Oakland is picking in the Top 5, they need a stud defensive tackle and they might get a real good look at Ellis this week... It will also be interesting to see if the light finally comes on for career underachievers such as Dre Moore of Maryland, DeMario Pressley of North Carolina St. and Andre Fluellen of Florida St. this week. At linebacker Keith Rivers and Dan Connor will continue their battle for the #1 ranking but Tavares Gooden of Miami (FL) and Beau Bell of UNLV are both great athletes with excellent physical tools and could shine in a setting like this. One of the early front-runners to be this weeks breakout star is cornerback Leodis McKelvin of Troy, who has all the physical tools you look for in a cover guy. Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie of Tennessee St. is another small-school corner who will be attempting to prove he can get the job done against top competition while Patrick Lee of Auburn and Charles Godfrey of Iowa are both big and fast and coming off excellent senior campaigns. There isn't a 1st-round caliber safety among the seniors but California's Thomas DeCoud will be in Mobile and he is the top guy on most team's boards. Keep an eye on Craig Steltz of L.S.U., because I think he is underrated and he should showcase his better than advertised athleticism and playmaking skills this week. Last year the Senior Bowl invited Mason Crosby, Nick Folk, Daniel Sepulveda and Adam Podlesh and all four were drafted and are coming off excellent rookie season so it's going to be difficult to top that crop of kickers and punters. With that said Georgia's Brandon Coutu has all the tools to be a good kicker at the next level while Georgia Tech's Durant Brooks won the Ray Guy Award as the nation's top punter as a senior. North Dakota State's Mike Dragosavich is one of the top sleepers in the draft and he could emerge as one of the top punters too with a good showing this week.

That is just a small sampling of the storylines that I will be watching develop throughout the week but there are countless others and always a surprise or two mixed in as well. As usual the lineup of players at this year's game is pretty darn impressive and beyond just the potential #1 picks there are so many second and third rounders that this game truly is a draftnik's dream come true. I hope you are looking as forward to this week's coverage as I am and I promise to do my very best to update as many times as possible and give you a feel for what is taking place. As always this is all brought to you 100% FREE courtesy of NFL Draft Countdown, the most popular draft site in the world. With that let the coverage begin!

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