The American team had their second practice of Senior Bowl week on Wednesday afternoon. The players wore full pads under sunny skies with some wind.
The star of the American squad’s Wednesday practice was Missouri defensive lineman Darius Robinson. He dominated in the one-on-ones and in the team scrimmage. During the run-blocking one-on-ones, Robinson notched an impressive win against Oklahoma offensive tackle Tyler Guyton, shedding the block and closing with speed to the interior. Texas A&M guard Layden Robinson had a draw with Robinson when the Aggies guard pushed him deep into the pocket after the Robinson achieved some initial penetration.
In the pass-blocking one-on-ones, Robinson was superb. He used a swim move to dispatch Arkansas center Beaux Limmer, and Robinson executre some speed rushes for other wins. In the team-scrimmage portion of practice, Robinson used speed again to fire his gap and get a sack of Tennessee quarterback Joe Milton. Throughout the practice, Robinson infiltrated the backfield and caused disruption behind the line of scrimmage.
The 6-foot-5, 286-pound Robinson has versatile size and length for the next level. He would be a good fit to play as a base end in a 4-3 who kicks inside to three-technique in the sub package. Robinson also could gain some weight and be a full-time defensive tackle. He also has the size and length to be a five-technique 3-4 defensive end. After this dominant Wednesday practice to go along with good 2023 tape, Robinson is a prospect on the rise for the 2024 NFL Draft.
Limmer had a number of spirited battles with Texas nose tackle T’Vondre Sweat. Sweat got the better of the one-on-ones on Tuesday, and that started up again on Wednesday with Sweat running over Limmer using a vigorous bull rush. However, Limmer rallied and got some wins, stopping Sweat with a nice anchor. Many centers are going to struggle with one-on-one blocks against Sweat, but Limmer improved and got the better of their battles after some initial wins by Sweat.
Limmer is battling and improving from rep-to-rep and practice-to-practice. Sweat needs to get in better condition for the NFL because he flashes early but seems to wear down quickly. A lack of work ethic and conditioning are going to be issues that Sweat must overcome to be a good pro.
South Carolina quarterback Spencer Rattler had the best practice of any of the American team’s signal-callers. Once again, Tennessee quarterback Joe Milton showed off a powerful arm, but he was terribly inconsistent. Rattler threw some strikes, including a perfect deep out to college teammate Xavier Legette for a big gain in the team scrimmage. Rattler also took off on a nice run in the scrimmage. Additionally, there was an ugly play on which Rattler fumbled the ball, dropping it when he was about to throw a screen pass. There is no doubt that Rattler has a live arm, athleticism, and a gunslinger’s mentality. However, he must improve his decision-making and ball security. Hence, Rattler is more of a mid-round backup for the 2024 NFL Draft.
Legette has not blown the doors off the Senior Bowl this week, but he has practiced well and clearly has starter ability for the next level. While he is 6-foot-1, 223 pounds, Legette plays taller and longer than his listed size. He has good speed to go with that size and strength. For the NFL, Legette could use some development and refinement with his route-running, but the talent is there for him to be a weapon at the next level.
Florida State defensive tackle Braden Fiske is a sleeper prospect who could be a nice value pick. He had an eventful practice that included some intense battles taking on Miami guard Javion Cohen. Fiske destroyed Cohen on bull rush and also got a win from using an intense rip move. Cohen exacted some revenge when he got a hold of Fiske on a rep and threw Fiske into the turf. Fiske did well in the team scrimmage, picking up a sack against Oklahoma’s Andrew Raym.
Fiske, however, does lack some strength, and that could be seen with this lateral anchor. He was getting blasted out of his gap by bump blocks, and he is going to need to address his lack of power in order to have a shot at becoming an NFL starter. Fiske could be a mid-round developmental pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.
There are some similarities with Oklahoma offensive tackle Tyler Guyton and Houston offensive tackle Patrick Paul. Both of them are massive blockers who move well for their size. Paul (6-7, 333) and Guyton (6-7, 328) are hit-or-miss in blocking though. Ole Miss defensive end Cedric Johnson got a win over Guyton with speed to the inside, but Guyton bounced back to negate an inside rush by Houston’s Nelson Ceaser. Paul got in trouble from standing up too tall and giving up ground on some speed-to-power rushes, but also showed some nice feet to protect the blind side of his quarterback in the team scrimmage. Paul also helped open a running lane.
Both Paul and Guyton have ability, but each needs to work on their consistency for the next level. Guyton stands a real shot of going in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft, while Paul will probably be a second-day pick because teams view him as being an eventual starter.
Texas A&M guard Layden Robinson had a mixed outing on Wednesday. In the pass-blocking one-on-ones, he lost a rep to Texas nose tackle T’Vondre Sweat on a swim move, but Robinson had a nice win over LSU tackle Jordan Jefferson, stonewalling a bull rush. Robinson also had a win over Aggies teammate McKinnley Jackson. Robinson showed improvement from the first day of practice in pass protection, and that is a good development for him to show pro evaluators because it suggests he can be a starting power right guard early in NFL pro career.
