This is Charlie Campbell’s Tuesday 2016 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 2016 Senior Bowl Reports, click the link.
Follow me @walterfootball for updates, and stay tuned all week for tons of 2016 Senior Bowl coverage.
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2016 Senior Bowl: Tuesday Rumor Mill
By Charlie Campbell –
@draftcampbell
With all the general managers, coaches and scouts in attendance for the Senior Bowl, there is a lot of chatter going around. Here are some of the highlights from the rumor mill on Day 2.
Sources with a team picking in the top 10 say that the top four players on their draft board would be Ole Miss left tackle Laremy Tunsil, UCLA linebacker Myles Jack, Notre Dame linebacker Jaylon Smith, and Florida State cornerback/safety Jalen Ramsey. That is how their board would stack up if Jack and Smith didn’t suffer their knee tears. Obviously, this team loves Ramsey. There have been multiple other teams that have told WalterFootball.com that they have a second-round grade on Ramsey. Thus, there is a huge debate on the Seminole product. Across the board, there is nothing but consensus love for Tunsil, Jack, and Smith.
Scouts say that Alabama defensive tackle A’Shawn Robinson is a freak athlete with rare size and speed, but the knock on him is a lack of consistency. They say that if he had played consistently in college, he would be a candidate to go No. 1 overall to Tennessee. Robinson has a rare combination of strength, speed and athleticism. Teams feel that Robinson will be a three-down defender in his career and can contribute to the pass rush. After the Combine, don’t be surprised if Robinson becomes a hot prospect.
Some teams expect Alabama defensive tackle Jarran Reed to go in the top 20. They say he is a good athlete who is a solid defender. They love Reed’s run defense and feel some team will want him to be their nose tackle. Teams feel that Reed has quickness and speed to develop into a three-down player, but at least early on, if not throughout his career, he could be coming off the field in passing situations and be limited to a two-down defender role. Thus, they expect Robinson to go ahead of Reed.
It sounds like one prospect who made a mistake in entering the draft early was LSU Jerald Hawkins. Sources from multiple teams have said they’ve given Hawkins day-three grades. They say he has terrible leverage, gets fooled, has to get stronger, gets bull rushed, and is stiff. Teams really knocked Hawkins for a lack of strength. They don’t feel he is gifted enough to play left tackle in the NFL. They say that Hawkins has good length, and that his feet are his best attribute, so he is more of a developmental pick and backup. Multiple teams have grades on Hawkins ranging from the fourth to the sixth round.
Virginia cornerback Maurice Canady earned an invitation to the Senior Bowl, but sources say that they have major concerns about Canady in coverage. Canady (6-2, 195) has good size and length for the press-man systems that are en vogue with a number of teams in the NFL. However, sources say that Canady gives up too much separation and they’re grading him on the third day of the draft. Canady needs a big week in Mobile to get second-day consideration.
In speaking with scouts at the weigh-in, no player stood out for bad reasons as being very out of shape or over weight. One player who did trim down before the Senior Bowl was LSU guard/tackle Vadal Alexander. During the fall when scouts went through LSU, they said that Alexander was heavier. This morning he checked in at 6-foot-5, 336 pounds. Sources from multiple teams had weight concerns with Alexander, so it will be important for him to continue to lose weight and at least maintain this weight throughout the pre-draft workouts.
Many free agent running backs who are 30-plus years old with frequent injuries in their career have a hard time finding a team to sign them, but one potential exception this offseason is Bears running back Matt Forte. In speaking with a few teams, they feel that Forte could be a good role player as a receiving back and part-time runner to pair with a first- and second-down back. Forte won’t get a big contract, but he should have a few teams interested in signing him.
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2016 Senior Bowl: Wednesday's Rumor Mill
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2016 Senior Bowl Tuesday's Practice Report
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2016 Senior Bowl: Tuesday's Rumor Mill
2016 Senior Bowl Weigh-In: Quarterbacks
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2016 Senior Bowl Weigh-In: Tight Ends
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2016 Senior Bowl: Monday's Rumor Mill
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