Senior Bowl Links:
While I will have my Day 3 observations up later in the day, I wanted to post some links from some of the Senior Bowl coverage out there:
Scott Wright and Shane Hallam of DraftCountdown.com have been daily keeping an eye on which teams are meeting with which players. Now it isn’t a 100% complete list as it’s impossible to keep an eye on everyone, but it still offers great insight. You can see a lot of teams look at players that fit their primary needs, and/or schemes. The Jets are a great example as not only are they meeting with just 3-4 defensive players, but they are meeting with players like Von Miller and Ryan Kerrigan who are expected to be off the board 10-15 picks before the Jets get on the clock. Despite not having a shot at these players, New York has to do their due diligence to see if it would be worth trading up for one of them.
Tony Pauline of TFY Draft Insider has a post up detailing among other things why the Cowboys might avoid OT in round 1, where Colin Kaepernick could go in the draft, and more information about DT Stephen Paea’s injury. The Cowboys being a little afraid of taking an offensive tackle due to the labor situation is interesting, but obviously could end up being a moot point by the time the draft rolls around. I love Kaepernick, but Round 2 does seem a bit high. While it is unfortunate that Paea got injured I think coaches and scouts will like the fact that he toughed it out through practice all day.
Wes Bunting of National Football Post has a blog detailing how the three North quarterbacks have looked so far in practice. I think Bunting has an interesting, and probably very accurate take on the three North signal callers (Jake Locker, Ricky Stanzi, and Colin Kaepernick). He calls Kaepernick the best quarterback in this group at Mobile, but admits his flaws and thinks he is still a late round prospect. He calls Stanzi ‘consistent’, and a mid-round guy with some starting potential. I think he gives Locker a very telling assessment including:
“In all honesty he seems like a reps guy, someone who is going to take a lot of time to learn and develop in an NFL offense and you’re going to need to bring along slowly. The tools are there; there is no doubt about that. But from the shoulders up, I would have severe reservations about selecting this guy as a high pick (first round) and hitching my wagon to him as my franchise quarterback.”
Check back later for some of my thoughts on both the North and the South teams