Inside The 2024 Senior Bowl Day 1: WRs And D-Line Shine

The Senior Bowl has returned for the 2024 draft season and all of the Pewter Report staff was there to cover it live from Hancock Whitney Stadium in Mobile, Alabama. It was a sunny day with no clouds as the temperature hovered around 59 degrees on the day. In other words, it was a great day for football to watch some potential future Bucs players.

National Team Senior Bowl Practice

The National Team went out first to begin practice around 9:30 a.m. local time, which had a star-studded group of quarterbacks consisting of Oregon’s Bo Nix, Notre Dame quarterback Sam Hartman, and Tampa native from the University of Washington, Michael Penix Jr. While the quarterbacks had moments of precision passing and the ability to throw the deep ball, it was the wide receivers who made the highlights as the stars of the show.

Wide Receivers Had A Day

It was like picking straws for who was the best wide receiver because they each had their moments. At the top, though, was USC wide receiver Brenden Rice, who is the son of Hall of Famer Jerry Rice, and Michigan wide receiver Roman Wilson. Rice was burning defenders left and right, especially Penn State cornerback Johnny Dixon on three straight plays.

Rice showed a great ability to get by down the field and track the ball with ease. He was able to get open often in 11-on-11s and even closed out the last play of practice with another 1-on-1 victory.

Wilson’s strength going into the Senior Bowl was his big-play ability, and he was at his best in a group setting during 11-on-11s, making a couple of huge gains down the field taking the top off of the defense. Wilson probably had the longest play of the day on a deep ball right over the middle and constantly found space without many others around him. His separation on routes led to some wide-open plays, and that ability will serve him well for the rest of the week.

Another wideout who was torching defensive backs during the session was Florida wide receiver Ricky Pearsall. There’s winning clean and then there’s winning the way he did in 1-on-1s at the Senior Bowl. Pearsall left cornerbacks in the dust early on in the day, creating ample amounts of separation to get into the end zone. He also showed the ability to make some of the tougher catches that were short to intermediate to prove he could do more than just move it down the field.

A shoutout should also go to North Carolina wide receiver Devontez “Tez” Walker, who won many of his battles in each session of practice. He had a big moment at the end of practice, separating himself from Penn State corner Kalen King as he tried to press him at the line of scrimmage. Walker has some rawness to his game, but his NFL build paired with his suddenness in making cuts makes him another intriguing name from this group. There’s a lot to like about the wideouts heading into the rest of the week.

QB Outlook

When it came to the group of quarterbacks, nobody had a bad day, but none of the quarterbacks were rather spectacular either. Michael Penix Jr. had some good moments early. He had a laser of a throw over the middle that just beat the defender and into the hands of Malachi Corley. Then, he showed off the deep ball accuracy on a touchdown pass to UCF’s Javon Baker.

There were arguments made that Sam Hartman had the best day of them all. He constantly connected with receivers both intermediate and down the field and there weren’t many incompletions. Nix was accurate as well but didn’t have throws that would be identified as splashy.

Big Named OLs Live Up To The Hype On Day 1 Of The Senior Bowl

In the trenches, some of the big names that Pewter Report has highlighted for the Senior Bowl were very noticeable. Jackson Powers-Johnson was great in pass protection by putting defenders on the ground. His physical nature was quite present. Offensive tackle Taliese Fuaga made quite the noise too when he got the better of Laitu Latu in their 1-on-1 matchup.

Of the running backs who shined, Marshall’s Rasheen Ali had a big run. Marshawn Lloyd had a big run as well and Dylan Laub from New Hampshire was able to get to the outside for a big gain.

One Star And One Small School Defender Make Noise

It was no surprise at all that UCLA edge rusher Laitu Latu dominated on the day outside a rep against Taliese Fuaga. Everything there is to like about Latu was on display, especially his speed and power. Often Latu was able to move right by the opposing offensive tackle, especially on these plays.

Every year at the Senior Bowl, there are players of the small school variety who have something to prove. This season, one of those players is Toledo cornerback Quinyon Mitchell. Of the corners from the National Team on Tuesday, Mitchell was one of the best. His standout play happened while covering Rice on a throw from Nix. Mitchell had five interceptions in 2022 and just one in 2023, so it looks like he’s trying to get back to that form. Covering the standout receiver of the day is a good start.

American Team Senior Bowl Practice

The defense was certainly the story for the American Team when it was their turn to practice in the afternoon. The defensive line completely dominated in 11-on-11s, stifling any attempt at a running attack and constantly getting in the quarterback’s face during the pass rush.

Florida State defensive tackle Braden Fiske particularly stood out. He had such a quick get-off that at times you had to wonder if he was ahead of the snap itself.

The back end of the defense had quite the day as well. Fresno State cornerback Carlton Johnson had an interception off of Spencer Rattler over the middle. It was a nice play, with Johnson reading Rattler’s eyes and making a break on the ball.

There was a big day from Auburn safety Jaylin Simpson as well. He broke up a pass intended for Kansas State tight end Ben Sinnot. The ball was essentially in his hands, but Simpson knocked it out at the last moment. Missouri corner Kris Abrams-Draine nearly came up with a pick after a dropped pass.

Offensive Standouts

One wide receiver who had a good day for the American team was Louisville wide receiver Jamari Thrash. Thrash showed off tremendous speed going deep down the field and making a touchdown catch early on.

The best of the bunch on day one of the Senior Bowl had to go to Georgia wideout Ladd McConkey, though that’s not too much of a surprise.

McConkey displayed impressive quickness and route-running savviness that will surely raise his draft stock. McConkey was a name to watch heading into Senior Bowl week, and he could now find himself entering early Day 2 conversations.

Tulane quarterback Michael Pratt found chemistry with Florida State tight end Jaheim Bell. While the American Team quarterback room lacks a lot of the name recognition of the National Team, Pratt had the best day of the group. He has the accuracy and also showed off some of his sneaky athleticism. Otherwise, it was a down first day for the rest of the signal-callers from the American Team side.

Of the running backs at the Senior Bowl, Georgia’s Daijun Edwards was able to scamper for some big gains on a run and in the screen game as well. Overall, it was a rough outing for that group, but there’s an opportunity to bounce back in the next two practices.

Pewter Report will have coverage over the next two days of everything from the Senior Bowl coming up.