This is Charlie Campbell’s Thursday 2015 Senior Bowl Rumor Mill. Charlie is reporting live from Mobile, Ala., and he’ll describe what he sees at practice and whom certain prospects talk to all week.
If you want to see other 2015 Senior Bowl Reports, click the link.
Follow me @walterfootball for updates, and stay tuned all week for tons of 2015 Senior Bowl coverage.
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2015 Senior Bowl: Thursday Rumor Mill
By Charlie Campbell –
@draftcampbell
With all the general managers, coaches and scouts in attendance for the Senior Bowl there is lots of chatter going around. Here are some of the highlights from the rumormill on day four.
Sources with the Texans, Titans, and Colts all were disappointed that the Raiders didn’t keep offensive coordinator Greg Olson. The reason is because he landed with the Jaguars, and they feel he will get Blake Bortles to make strides in year two. Around the league, Olson is held in high regard, as he was able to engineer a great season out of Josh Freeman in 2010. Freeman flamed out in fewer than 20 games after Olson left Tampa Bay. As the Jaguars’ quarterback coach in 2012, Blaine Gabbert even had a positive touchdown-to-interception ratio with an increase in completion percentage. With the Raiders, Olson was able to win some games with Terrelle Pryor and Matt McGloin in 2013, before doing a masterful job of developing Derek Carr in Oakland last year. Sources say that Bortles should be ecstatic about Olson’s hire, and the Jaguars should consider themselves lucky to land Olson, as the Bears and Rams were interested in getting him to come to their coaching staffs.
The Giants signed Rashad Jennings last year in free agency and drafted Andre Williams last May. Despite those moves, sources say the Giants may not be done at the position. New York could look to add a change of pace back on day three or in free agency. They would be targeting a back with some speed and slashing ability.
The Giants have taken some offensive linemen in recent drafts and still are looking to continue to improve their blocking up front. Sources with the Giants say a player that has impressed them is Division III offensive tackle Ali Marpet. New York likes how Marpet competed at the Senior Bowl and feels that he could be a nice developmental pick. Keep an eye on the Hobart product landing with the Giants on day three of the draft.
Earlier in the week in the rumor mill, we discussed how Brian Cushing could be a candidate to restructure his contract with the Texans. That is still on the table, but Cushing’s contract could keep him from being a cap casualty because of the dead money it would inflict on the salary cap if he were cut. Cushing could help his team by lowering his cap figure. After an underwhelming 2014 season, it seems warranted.
One of the most impressive players on the field has been Washington defensive tackle Danny Shelton, and sources say that Shelton has also been impressive off the field in the team interviews. Shelton’s family has been through some tragic things, but has come out of it with a great outlook and is getting high-character marks. Teams have also asked him about if he feels he’s only a two-down player and his response is he’s a six- or seven-down player. He doesn’t need to go to the sideline to regain his wind, as he conditioned himself to play against up tempo offenses in college so he feels and plans to be ready to stay on the field with good snaps for all four quarters. Shelton has aced the Senior Bowl.
One player who has had a mixed Senior Bowl is Iowa defensive tackle Carl Davis. He has displayed a nice skill set with strength, size, and a burst. However, Davis has flunked the team interviews. He has said he didn’t work hard in practice at Iowa because he was going against young scout team linemen and he didn’t want to risk injury against some overzealous underclassmen. He told teams that he should only play about half the snaps in a game in order to be effective. Teams felt he came across as very arrogant and lazy. Davis is going to need to turn that around before his Combine and pre-draft visit interviews.
Two running backs have been better than teams expected this week. Those two players are Northern Iowa’s David Johnson and Minnesota’s David Cobb. Sources say both are tough, physical runners who have answered some questions about their quickness. Johnson especially has helped himself.
Sources say that Duke guard Laken Tomlinson has done a lot to improve his draft stock. Early in the 2014 season, teams were disappointed in Tomlinson and felt he was a day-three pick. However, they liked how Tomlinson played in the back half of the year as well as his performance at the Senior Bowl. Now, they view him more in the Round 3-4 range.
2015 Senior Bowl Home
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2015 Senior Bowl Recap
Senior Bowl-Only NFL Mock Draft
Interview with Denzel Perryman at 2015 Senior Bowl
Interview with Garrett Grayson at 2015 Senior Bowl
2015 Senior Bowl: Friday's Rumor Mill
Interview with Nate Orchard at 2015 Senior Bowl
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2015 Senior Bowl: Thursday's Rumor Mill
2015 Senior Bowl Thursday's North Practice Report
2015 Senior Bowl Thursday's South Practice Report
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2015 Senior Bowl Thursday's South Team Prospect Meetings
Interview with Devin Smith at 2015 Senior Bowl
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2015 Senior Bowl: Wednesday's Rumor Mill
2015 Senior Bowl Wednesday's North Team Prospect Meetings
2015 Senior Bowl Wednesday's South Team Prospect Meetings
2015 Senior Bowl Tuesday's North Practice Report
2015 Senior Bowl Tuesday's South Practice Report
Interview with T.J. Clemmings at 2015 Senior Bowl
2015 Senior Bowl: Tuesday's Rumor Mill
Interview with Danny Shelton at 2015 Senior Bowl
2015 Senior Bowl Tuesday's Prospect Meetings
2015 Senior Bowl Tuesday's North Practice Report
2015 Senior Bowl Tuesday's South Practice Report
2015 Senior Bowl: Monday's Rumor Mill
2015 Senior Bowl Weigh-In: Quarterbacks
2015 Senior Bowl Weigh-In: Running Backs
2015 Senior Bowl Weigh-In: Wide Receivers
2015 Senior Bowl Weigh-In: Tight Ends
2015 Senior Bowl Weigh-In: Offensive Linemen
2015 Senior Bowl Weigh-In: Defensive Linemen
2015 Senior Bowl Weigh-In: Linebackers
2015 Senior Bowl Weigh-In: Defensive Backs
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