The third practice of the West team in the East-West Shrine was held in St. Petersburg, Florida inside Tropicana Field. The players were practicing in full pads.
Sioux Falls offensive tackle Trey Pipkins is in the running with Syracuse defensive tackle Chris Slayton as the best player at this year’s East-West Shrine. Both Slayton and Pipkins are potential second-day picks according to team sources. They were the only two players mentioned as having a chance at going on Day 2 of the 2019 NFL Draft, according to a few sources. Pipkins finished off his week with quality showing in the final practice. He did well in the pass protection one-on-ones, moving his feet and using his length to seal off the edge. His one ugly play came when heavy Texas A&M nose tackle Daylon Mack bull rushed him into the pocket. Pipkins could stand to improve his technique and ability to anchor, but he has the potential to be a pro starter.
The 6-foot-7, 307-pound Pipkins has good length and a nice build to him. He showed nice feet in the position drills while also using his size, length and strength to tie up edge rushers in the pass-rushing one-on-ones. Pipkins has a big jump in competition, but after some developmental time as a backup he could be a starter.
Mack finished his quality week with a good practice on Wednesday. Aside from his win over Pipkins, Mack had impressive wins over Arkansas State guard Lanard Bonner. Mack used his fast hands to shed the block of Bonner and then followed it up by bull rushing him into the quarterback marker. Mack illustrated this week that he is a talented player, but not enough to erase the concerns about his work ethic and commitment.
There are some scouts who like Bonner and think he could be a day-three developmental player. While he lost some reps to Mack, Bonner looked nasty in one play as he rocked Arkansas defensive tackle Armon Watts to his knees and then knocked his helmet off with a hard shove. Bonner (6-5, 315) should play guard in the NFL and he could be a nice day-three pick who turns into something in a few years.
Another interior defensive lineman who had a good practice was Texas A&M guard Keaton Sutherland. Sutherland (6-5, 315) has good size to him and shows impressive feel and awareness. During the team scrimmage at right guard, he had his defensive tackle blocked and wisely looked to his right to grab and shove the defensive end that was about to dart by the right tackle. Sutherland did a nice job of contributing to holes and protecting his quarterback during the team scrimmage. He held his own in the one-on-ones as well. Sutherland had a really impressive rep riding Kansas tackle Daniel Wise around the quarterback marker as he had the tackle on roller-skates. Sutherland is a sleeper to keep an eye on.
LSU running back Nick Brossette has had a quality week of practice. He has a pro build with just enough quickness to be a contributing backup. He had a really nice play in the team red zone scrimmage to run a good route in the flat, make a hands catch, explode down the field and then bang his way into the end zone by going through a few defenders. Brossette could be a late-round pick who ends up making a roster or practice squad as a backup and special-teams contributor.
Boise State quarterback Brett Rypien had a quality outing to finish his week. He has good feel as a quarterback and looks like he has some potential to be a game-manager passer who works the short to intermediate part of the field. In the team scrimmage, he had a pro caliber play to stay patient in the pocket, climb forward to escape the rush while keeping his eyes downfield, and then find a receiver break open towards the sideline in zone coverage. Rypien does not have the size, arm or mobility of a typical NFL starter. Despite his physical limitations, Rypien shows some polish. He could be a third-day pick who earns a backup job.
This was probably the least eventful East-West Shrine practice. A lot of scouts had already left town so there was a much smaller crowd of evaluators on hand. Perhaps because of that, the coaches did not work the players as hard in scrimmages and one-on-ones as a lot of practice time was eaten up by install and special teams work.
WalterFootball.com will have more recaps from the East-West Shrine practices on Tuesday and Wednesday along with a run-down of the post-practice team interviews. Follow @walterfootball for updates.
