Senior Bowl standouts: 5 players that boosted their 2022 NFL Draft stock

[time2rock]

Senior Bowl standouts: 5 players that boosted their 2022 NFL Draft stock

These five players really helped themselves with their 2022 NFL Draft stock after a great week down in Mobile for the Senior Bowl.

It is not officially draft season until the college football and NFL worlds collide down in Mobile for the Senior Bowl.

What makes this annual event in Alabama so compelling is players who have day two or day three draft grades are able to help themselves out with a great week. It allows small school guys to compete against the big boys, as well as players to truly introduce themselves to the NFL scouting world on an even playing field. This game is big, but the practices are what matter the most here.

Here are five players who turned enough heads in Mobile to see their 2022 NFL Draft stock soar.

Senior Bowl: 5 players who really elevated their 2022 NFL Draft stock

Kingsley Enagbare could be a second-round pick after a strong week in Mobile

While it was a tumultuous run for the South Carolina Gamecocks when Kingsley Enagbare was in school, the talented defensive end ended his college tenure on a high note. Not only did the Gamecocks go bowling in their first year under head coach Shane Beamer, but he got to take the inaugural mayo bath after winning the Duke’s Mayo Bowl. Enagbare was already a top-100 pick.

At 6-foot-4 and 265 pounds, the South Carolina defensive lineman asserted his dominance in the early part of this past week’s practices. While the Gamecocks have had a strong track record of edge players coming out in recent years, he may have done enough to merit being a high day-two pick instead of a lower one. Enagbare could be some team’s second-round pick in the NFL Draft.

Even amidst coaching turmoil, Enagbare remained a productive player while at South Carolina.

For a safety to flash like Jalen Pitre did in Mobile, that really speaks volumes

Admittedly, safety is the hardest position to figure out if a player is performing well or poorly at the Senior Bowl. However, Baylor safety Jalen Pitre seems to have bucked the trend in this year’s event. The linebacker/safety hybrid played a massive role in the Bears not only winning the Big 12 this past season, but getting to the Sugar Bowl and beating Ole Miss to get to 12-2 on the year.

He may not be all that physically imposing at 6-feet and 197 pounds, but the guy has a knack for getting to the ball and making big time plays. Pitre left Baylor with 195 total tackles, 36 for a loss of yardage, eight sacks and four interceptions. His inherent defensive versatility and showing up on the big stage should have him off the board earlier than expected in the upcoming NFL Draft.

From Matt Rhule to Dave Aranda, Pitre has been coached up defensively while he was at Baylor.

Devonte Wyatt may be the surprise first-rounder out of Georgia no one expected

No doubt about it. The defending national champion Georgia Bulldogs were well-represented in Mobile this week. While Georgia stands a fantastic chance to set the record for most players drafted, one player who may have done enough at the Senior Bowl to crack the top 32 is defensive tackle Devonte Wyatt. This underrated piece from an elite defense stood out big time in Mobile.

On a defense featuring Jordan Davis in the trenches and Nakobe Dean in the front seven, Wyatt had a knack for making plays in SEC country. At 6-foot-3 and 315 pounds, he has the frame to play several techniques along the defensive line in the NFL. Given that he is not a lock to go in the first round, he could be going to a strong team in the latter half of the draft. This would serve him.

Georgia has a handful of players taken in the first round annually and Wyatt could be one this year.

Jermaine Johnson bet on himself after leaving Georgia and it is working out

While his former college teammates won a national title last year, Jermaine Johnson bet on himself by transferring to Florida State. He would have been a rotational player alongside Davis and Wyatt in Athens, but he was the best pass-rusher in the ACC a season ago. Johnson had 11.5 sacks and 17.5 tackles for a loss of yardage playing for a sub-.500 Florida State Seminoles team.

Though he did not take part in every practice down in Mobile, there was no doubt who the best edge player at the Senior Bowl was. The 6-foot-5 and 260-pound outside linebacker/defensive end will make someone’s pass rush immediately better upon arrival. Even though Florida State did not win enough games to go to a bowl last season, Johnson made a smart decision for his career.

Aidan Hutchinson and Kayvon Thibodeaux will go off the board first, but keep an eye on Johnson.

Malik Willis may have done enough to be the first quarterback drafted in 2022

Though it remains to be seen how the rest of the draft process shakes out, Liberty Flames quarterback Malik Willis did his part to insert his name into the candidacy of being the first signal-caller selected this spring. While this is not a great quarterback draft class by any means, expect at least one or two of them to go inside of the top 10. Willis could be the first guy off the board now.

Of course, he will be compared and contrasted with Pitt’s Kenny Pickett, Ole Miss’ Matt Corral and North Carolina’s Sam Howell throughout the next several weeks. However, what Willis showed in Mobile was undeniable. He has the highest ceiling of any quarterback entering the draft. While he does offer a great deal of variance, Willis is a lock to go in the first round and probably top-16 now.

Willis could be the next franchise quarterback in cities needing one like Pittsburgh or Washington.

https://fansided.com/2022/02/05/senior-bowl-standouts-5-players-boosted-2022-nfl-draft-stock/

[UK_EaglesFan89]

Enagbore could be a pretty good option if we decide to address other positions in the first. At one point I think he was getting first round buzz. I think there's a good player there. 

[Outlaw]

11 hours ago, UK_EaglesFan89 said:

Enagbore could be a pretty good option if we decide to address other positions in the first. At one point I think he was getting first round buzz. I think there's a good player there. 

Realistically at our spots may be Ojabo, Johnson, and Walker. One of them need to be taken. 

[UK_EaglesFan89]

1 hour ago, Outlaw said:

Realistically at our spots may be Ojabo, Johnson, and Walker. One of them need to be taken. 

Yeah I'd agree with that although I'm not real big on Walker but yeah DE is such a need.

[time2rock]

5 hours ago, Outlaw said:

Realistically at our spots may be Ojabo, Johnson, and Walker. One of them need to be taken. 

Hoping for Ojabo with one of our 1s and Johnson in 2nd (even if we use one of our 5s to move up for him).  But not sure how realistic it is he lasts that long now.  

[Outlaw]

4 hours ago, UK_EaglesFan89 said:

Yeah I'd agree with that although I'm not real big on Walker but yeah DE is such a need.

He’d be 3rd place for me out of those 3. 

1 hour ago, time2rock said:

Hoping for Ojabo with one of our 1s and Johnson in 2nd (even if we use one of our 5s to move up for him).  But not sure how realistic it is he lasts that long now.  

Not a chance Johnson lasts until R2 after Senior Bowl week. 

[time2rock]

1 hour ago, Outlaw said:

Not a chance Johnson lasts until R2 after Senior Bowl week. 

While I'd rarely ever use "never" or "not a chance" it does seem extremely unlikely.  It's so hard to evaluate where you think a player will go, especially when a couple months ago they were considered a day 2 prospect (I have seen some sites slot him in the 80-90 range) and have a fantastic senior bowl and/or combine and they start moving up the rankings.  

[nipples]

We’ll see. It’s still so early in the process. I could see Willis going top ten and I could see him dropping to the second round. No clue right now. 

[time2rock]

5 hours ago, nipples said:

We’ll see. It’s still so early in the process. I could see Willis going top ten and I could see him dropping to the second round. No clue right now. 

I hope he goes top 10 just as long as it isn't to us via trade up haha.