Winners and Losers from the Senior Bowl
With the 2024 Senior Bowl week behind us, we are now able to take a step back and examine the different implications of the performances we witnessed. NFL hopefuls found themselves either helping or hurting their case, and while stocks went up and down the rest of us were left to try to make sense of it all. The reality is that the Senior Bowl is just a small snapshot of a player, and while it can have an influence on where a prospect eventually lands and in what round they are drafted, several of the players will not see their draft stock changed much. Still, there is value in analyzing what we saw and attempting to determine what, if any, impact it will have on the players. One thing that does seem to be true is that there are clear winners and losers every single year. This year is no different. Several players came into the week under the radar only to put themselves on the map, forcing teams to take notice. On the other hand, some players were considered solid prospects that faltered, creating more questions than answers surrounding their NFL potential. Here are three of the biggest winners and three of the biggest losers coming out of the 2024 Senior Bowl week.
Winners
Spencer Rattler, QB, South Carolina
While Rattler looked to have stumbled earlier in the week during practice he was great from then on out. Coming into the week no one knew exactly what to expect from Rattler. He is undersized and at times has shown poor decision-making skills. But the young QB oozes talent. While he only played two series, his team won the game 16-7 and he ended up winning the 2024 Senior Bowl MVP, going 4-for-4 for 65 yards and a touchdown. He possesses a huge arm (an attribute he showed off in possibly the most impressive play of the game when he threw a 29-yard TD pass to Georgia’s Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint), moves in the pocket well, and is extremely tough. You could make the argument that as one of the few players to play in a pro-style offense, he had an advantage, but that shouldn’t be a knock against him since it is that same experience that could allow him to adapt to the NFL game sooner than some others. There are still many questions regarding Rattler’s NFL potential, but by looking like one of the better QBs at the Senior Bowl, I would not be surprised to see Rattler end up as a third-round pick.
Spencer Rattler is moving up draft boards after Senior Bowl performance, per multiple scouts. pic.twitter.com/sUAuZ4YxyP
— NFL Rumors (@nflrums) February 5, 2024
Kimani Vidal, RB, Troy
Anyone who follows college football closely came into the Senior Bowl rooting for Kimani Vidal. He is the type of player that football fans love to see improve their draft stock at events like the Reese’s Senior Bowl. Vidal is a running back from a small school who possesses a lot of heart, and although at 5-foot-8 he is undersized, especially for any sort of workhorse role, he plays as if he’s much bigger. But it was this small stature and ability to stay on his feet that allowed him to sneak through gaps in the line all week. Vidal also displayed the type of versatility that is desirable in today’s NFL, working as a pass-catcher out of the backfield and in the slot. Many might see this as an anomaly since this was not the way he was utilized at Troy, but just because this wasn’t a major part of his game in college doesn’t mean it couldn’t be in the NFL. With teams looking for dual-threat running backs, Vidal helped his stock by showing he is capable of being a part of any air attack. As I said, Vidal will likely never be a three-down back and he doesn’t have a lot of goal-line appeal due to a lack of size, but he could be a solid change-of-pace back who can be used all over the field as a pass-catcher for any team in need of that type of role. As long as he doesn’t hurt his value at the combine, Vidal’s arrow seems to be pointing up.
Kimani Vidal, RB Troy running with great vision and strength today at the #SeniorBowl. pic.twitter.com/VIIDC3LjAN
— Travis May (@FF_TravisM) February 1, 2024
Malachi Corley, WR, Western Kentucky
You might see a theme developing. The players that tend to interest me the most, both at the Senior Bowl and at the combine, are players that are under the radar right now. Players from small schools who would be tested as they go up against players from larger schools. Coming into the Senior Bowl I had questions as to whether Western Kentucky’s Corley would be able to hold his own against secondaries from more prominent schools. The answer, as it appears right now, is yes. Not only did he hold his own, but he was dominant at times, showing exceptional footwork at the line, an ability to create separation with a knack for finding the soft spot in zone coverage, reliable hands, and incredibly difficult to tackle with the ball in his hands. Corley, a player whose name wasn’t on the tip of everyone’s tongue, made a case for being the type of receiver who can step in as a reliable target in Week 1. Corley was primarily a slot receiver at Western Kentucky but was used more out wide this past week and found success in that role. Like Vidal, Corley plays bigger than his 5-foot-11 stature and could be used out of the backfield as well as in the passing game. If Corley was not on the radar of NFL teams, he is now. This performance likely catapulted him into the second or third round of the NFL Draft.
I’m not saying that he should be drafted at 33, but Malachi Corley feels like the type of guy who Dan Morgan wants on his roster
What a bully. pic.twitter.com/xlefJlWgnw
— Edgar Salmingo, Jr. ✌🏽 (@PanthersAnalyst) February 4, 2024
Losers
Bo Nix, QB, Oregon & Michael Penix Jr., QB, Washington
It may seem like a bit of a cheat to lump Nix and Penix Jr. together but hear me out. Ahead of this past weekend, almost everyone knew what they were getting from these two signal callers. Both have proven to be accurate and successful on short-to-mid-range throws, and neither has shown anything resembling consistency in throwing downfield, and neither is known for their mobility. The hope was that, given this opportunity, either Nix, Penix Jr., or both would ball out and elevate themselves. While neither was a trainwreck and they did do the things that we’ve come to expect of them, there were also signs of concern. Penix lacked poise in the pocket and seemed to get flustered by almost any amount of pressure. If he had shown an ability to read coverages this wouldn’t have been a huge concern because it would have allowed him to get the ball out of his hands quickly, but this wasn’t the case. Penix appeared confused by different coverages and lacked the ability to adjust to different reads, leading to him either checking down a lot or leaving the pocket to make off-balanced, and off-target, throws. Nix wasn’t much better. He also had difficulty reading coverages and failed to get the ball downfield, opting instead for check downs. Nix also appeared panicked when pressured, forcing him into mistakes. Drafting QBs is always a crap shoot. There’s no guarantee that they will develop into caliber or difference-making contributors. With QB being the most important position in football this is a problem, and like it or not, neither Nix nor Penix Jr. did anything to help their cases. Both are still likely first-round picks, but the NFL Combine in March could go a long way in determining their future.
Kalen King, CB, Penn State
There’s an argument to be made that no other prospect has seen his draft stock drop more than Penn State CB Kalen King throughout the current draft cycle. Back in August, King was seen as a potential top-15, overall, selection. However, that projection has been plummeting after a lackluster 2023 season and Senior Bowl week didn’t do anything to change the conversation surrounding him. King was consistently burned in coverage. He also lacked the basic techniques you would expect from a top prospect, showing an unawareness to find the ball which led to him failing to get his head around to contest passes and often getting out of position by wide receivers running basic routes. While much of this can be improved, perhaps the most egregious part of King’s game was that he seemed to be playing with a lack of urgency, at one point failing to recognize the quarterback scrambling and getting beat to the pylon. King had the opportunities but failed to make even one splash play. When a player has the type of hype around him King had coming into the Senior Bowl it’s hard not to be disappointed, especially when elite defensive players, and cornerbacks in particular, are a much sought-after addition to any NFL team. He still has the NFL Combine, and if he performs well we could see a rebound in his stock. Regardless, as a 20-year-old with significant upside, King will still be drafted, but right now it’s hard to know just how high.
Devontez Walker, WR, North Carolina
Coming into Senior Bowl week, Walker was one of the most anticipated and talked about receivers participating. His size and speed make it easy to see a reality in which he succeeds at the NFL level. The one caveat to this is that, unlike other wide receivers in this draft class, Walker’s college opportunities were limited, providing a less-than-ideal sample size from which to draw. With only 168 targets over three seasons, the Senior Bowl was a chance for Walker to prove himself and show he has what it takes to produce in the NFL. Unfortunately, he failed to do so displaying poor footwork, unpolished route running, and recording a few big drops at key moments. While you never want to put too much stress on drops from young players (Ja’Marr Chase, anyone?), it would be impossible not to take notice of them. His size and speed also seemed to be a non-factor. In the end, Walker is likely to still have good draft capital. Nothing we saw was so concerning that a good NFL coach couldn’t fix it, and with the type of upside Walker possesses there will be teams that are willing to take that chance. Still, through Senior Bowl week it became very clear that the transition to the NFL is not going to be as smooth as once anticipated and any Walker suitor will have to be patient with his development.
