Takeaways from Day 2 of 2022 Senior Bowl practice

Heading into Mobile, I had my sights set on keeping up with the top QB prospects along with some prime wide receiver targets for Washington. But like everything in life, some things hit you unexpectedly.

One of those things was the elite play that I saw from the defensive line group down in Mobile. From Jermaine Johnson out of Florida State, to Perrion Winfrey out of Oklahoma mauling guys at the line of scrimmage, to guys like Travis Jones and Kingsley Enagbare being as consistent as can be, the Senior Bowl’s collective defensive line talent is out of this world.

Do you know what else is out of this world? How awesome tight end Trey McBride looked today. The Colorado State Ram was fantastic as a blocker and especially as a receiver. He came down with some tough contested catches and even had a few catches across the middle in 7-on-7 drills. He’s not only my TE1 this year, but a guy that looks like he can be a 8-year starter in the NFL.

Another skill position player that had themselves a day was Memphis wide receiver Calvin Austin III. He’s a bit slimmer than Rondale Moore, but just as quick and shifty with the ball in his hands. His fluidity and burst in and out of his breaks and his patience as a route runner was on display, as he is proving that he can be much more than just your gadget return specialist at the next level.

Lastly, from the non-quarterbacks, Florida running back Dameon Pierce had a strong outing on Wednesday afternoon. He had some impressive battles in pass protection, some really impressive bursts as a runner, but there’s one aspect that popped. Pearce is a really good receiving back, with real, “line him up outside” ability to catch passes at the short and intermediate levels of the passing game. His performance on Wednesday was a pleasure to watch.