The American team had their second practice of Senior Bowl week on Wednesday afternoon. The players wore full pads.
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Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe had another practice that showed he needs a lot of development for the NFL. Milroe had several wild passes and also had some issues with throwing it to the wrong team. In the first 11-on-11 team scrimmage session, Milroe did not see Notre Dame linebacker Jack Kiser sink into coverage down the seam, and Kiser snatched an interception in front of a receiver. It was a disappointing play that looked like basic cover 2 with three defenders closing down on the receiver after Milroe stared down the target. Milroe did have a long completion to TCU’s Jack Bech, but that play resulted from Bech outpositioning and leaping two defenders for a superb catch. Milroe did throw a nice pass deep down the field in stride to SMU running back Breshad Smith, who created separation on Florida linebacker Shemar James, but that was a one-on-one play with no pass rush or line in front of Milroe. In the final team scrimmage, Milroe used his check down for some nice gains, but his practice performances have been disappointing overall.
There is no doubt that Milroe has a good skill set with a powerful arm and excellent running ability. However, he is very streaky and has to get more accurate. Team sources think Milroe would have been better off going back to school and getting more reps at the college level to improve before moving on to the NFL. But it is what it is, and Milroe is going to be a big developmental project at the pro level. His pro offense is going to need to be reworked and catered to what he can do. The Senior Bowl week has not helped Milroe.
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LSU tight end Mason Taylor is one prospect who has helped himself and made money this week. He had a strong start on Tuesday and was superb on Wednesday. In the one-on-ones, Taylor torched Oklahoma safety Billy Bowman Jr. on a deep corner post. In the team scrimmage, Taylor was moving the chains, getting open on an out route. A few plays later, Taylor leaped over Auburn linebacker Jalen McLeod and then showed strong hands holding onto the ball when McLeod tried to smack it out. Taylor is a polished tight end who is a good athlete, an excellent route-runner, has quickness and reliable hands. He also can block and has very good feel in coverage. His NFL pedigree is apparent, and Taylor could be a top-50 pick next April.
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Texas A&M defensive end Shemar Stewart has received some first-round projections from some draft pundits, and Stewart flashed some of that ability on Wednesday. In the one-on-ones, he had an impressive win with a bull rush through Arizona’s Jonah Savaiinaea. He had a few other reps end in some initial penetration before the linemen recovered to stall Stewart short of the marker. In the first team scrimmage session, Stewart flew around LSU right tackle Emery Jones to get a strip-sack that was recovered by the defense. Later, in two-on-twos, Stewart got ridden out of his gap by LSU’s Miles Frazier as Stewart was on rollerskates going backward. This practice showed Stewart in a microcosm. He has a lot of talent with natural size, speed, and power. However, he needs development and is not polished. Hence, Stewart is more of a candidate to be a late first or second-round pick.
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The American team is loaded along the defensive line, and they continue to show their next-level talent. Ole Miss defensive end Princely Umanmielen had some nice wins in the one-on-ones, including an impressive outside rush with a swim move back to the inside to get a win over Kansas’ Logan Brown. Teammate Walter Nolen had an awesome rush with a bullrush rocking Garrett Dellinger back before spinning away to get the sack. Umanmielen and Nolen have good skill sets and serious talent for the NFL. However, they both have character concerns and issues with consistency on the field. Thus, they are a more complicated evaluation.
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Kentucky defensive tackle Deone Walker entered the 2024 season as a potential first-rounder before a disappointing season. Walker was not impressive on Tuesday but had some better plays on Wednesday. He had a win in the one-on-ones with a bullrush through Dellinger. In the team scrimmage, he had a tackle for a loss after bursting past Logan Brown to get into the backfield. However, he also had some losses, including a speed rush that was stopped with ease by LSU’s Miles Frazier. Walker needs to use his mass and size to overwhelm blockers, as pro offensive linemen are not going to be beaten by him trying to be a smaller, athletic, speed rusher. The 6-foot-6, 350-pounder needs to become a power player by getting stronger and having a more physical mentality.
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Georgia wide receiver Arian Smith has excellent speed and is a dangerous deep threat to burn defenses deep down the field. Smith struggled with lots of dropped passes with the Bulldogs, and that was a problem for him in practice on Wednesday. Smith had a number of drops in the early sessions of the practice. Later in the one-on-ones, he got open running deep down the field on some go routes but had passes overthrown. Smith badly needs a combine and pro-day performance where he doesn’t drop passes.
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Georgia running back Trevor Etienne has not been especially impressive as a runner, but he had a good practice on Wednesday as a receiver. He got open juking McLeod with a break to the inside and then cutting back to the outside. Etienne then made a phenomenal adjustment to the ball on a leaping back shoulder grab to get the better of close coverage from Auburn linebacker Eugene Asante. Etienne could be a mid-rounder that provides some value as a backup.
