February 01, 2022
Senior Bowl practices will begin on Tuesday, and since the Philadelphia Eagles currently hold 10 picks in the 2022 NFL Draft, this is an event that should be of high interest to their front office.
Here are 15 players we'll be watching on defense. You can find our 15 offensive prospects to watch here.
• Myjai Sanders, DE, Cincinnati: Sanders has an intriguing combination of length, explosiveness, and speed. His speed-to-power game needs continued refinement, but the tools are there.
• Logan Hall, DE, Houston: Hall is a somewhat raw pass rusher with intriguing size, power, quickness, and inside-outside versatility from a school that has produced a pair of first-round defensive lineman (Ed Oliver, Payton Turner) in recent years.
• Dominique Robinson, DE, Miami (Ohio): In 2018, Robinson had 13 catches for 156 yards and 4 TDs as a wide receiver. In 2019, he had 14 catches for 296 yards. In 2020, he moved to the defensive side of the ball, not to be a defensive back, but, um, an edge rusher? You don't see that very often. At Miami (Ohio), he wasn't even a starter (4.5 sacks in 11 games this season), but as a situational pass rusher he brings unique athleticism to the table, and he's very likely to test well at the NFL Combine. Fun project type.
• Arnold Ebiketie, DE, Penn State: Ebiketie is an import from Cameroon who originally enrolled at Temple, where he didn't play much in his first two seasons, but had 42 tackles, 4 sacks, and 3 forced fumbles during the COVID-shortened 2020 season. He transferred to Penn State in 2021, and had 62 tackles (18 for loss), 9.5 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, and 2 blocked kicks in his lone season with the Nittany Lions. He has a nice assortment of pass rush moves and great bend for a player thought to be early in his development.
• Kingsley Enigbare, DE, South Carolina: Enagbare is tailor-made for a defense that values versatility, as he played the "Buck" linebacker spot in South Carolina's defense. The short explanation of the "Buck" position is an edge rusher who will sometimes line up inside on obvious passing downs, but who also sees time as an off-ball linebacker, tasked with coverage duties. He'll probably become more focused as just an edge rusher in the pros, but with the versatility to play in multiple fronts.
• Cameron Thomas, DE, San Diego State: Thomas is a lesser-known DE prospect who is likely to start getting more attention as draft season ramps up. Like Milton Williams, Thomas was initially a DT in college who moved to DE. Also like Williams, he has impressive athleticism to go along with his inside-outside versatility.
• Zachary Carter, DE, Florida: Carter is an inside-outside versatile defensive lineman with 17 sacks over his last three seasons at Florida, with 7.5 in 2021 playing DE in their 3-4 defense. He played both on the interior, and at times outside of the OT. Carter has good size, and he's primarily a power rusher.
• Devin Lloyd, LB, Utah: If I could only choose one player to watch at the Senior Bowl, this is the guy. In 14 games in 2021, Lloyd had 111 tackles (22 for loss), 7 sacks, 4 INTs (including a pair of pick-sixes), 6 pass breakups, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery. Lloyd has size, speed, production, and because he was a wide receiver in high school, he has the ability to make the most out of big play opportunities when they're there.
• Chad Muma, LB, Wyoming: Muma lit up the stat sheet in 2021, racking up 142 tackles (more than 10 per game) and 3 INTs (two of which were pick-sixes) in 13 games. He has instincts, speed, and some pop. Intriguing Day 2 possibility for the Eagles.
• Quay Walker, LB, Georgia: In a Georgia defense packed with NFL talent, Walker is a player who has flown under the radar a bit. The first thing that jumps out about Walker is his size. At 6'4, 240, he has good length to affect passing lanes, and he can match up against bigger tight ends. He also possesses ideal athleticism to cover, and to run sideline-to-sideline against the run. But my favorite attribute of Walker's is his willingness to take on opposing offensive linemen, and shed their blocks with his violent hands. He is a three-down NFL linebacker, in my opinion.
• Derion Kendrick, CB, Georgia: Kendrick played quarterback in high school, and signed with Clemson to be a wide receiver, but because of Clemson's surplus of receivers and dearth of corners, Kendrick flipped to the other side of ball, despite never having played corner. He has good ball skills, but was a work in progress early in his career, technique-wise. He got benched at various times during the 2020 season for unclear off-field reasons, he was dismissed from Clemson's football team after the season. He was also arrested on gun and drug charges that were later expunged. He transferred to Georgia in 2021, winning national title at two different schools.
• Roger McCreary, CB, Auburn: McCreary is a physical, sticky corner with good ball production numbers who has faced guys like Ja'Marr Chase, DeVonta Smith, Treylon Burks, George Pickens, Terrace Marshall, Jahan Dotson, Rashod Bateman, and others throughout his college career.
• Alontae Taylor, CB, Tennessee: Taylor is a physical corner with some ball skills, who initially enrolled at Tennessee as a wide receiver.
• Coby Bryant, CB, Cincinnati: Smart corner who excels in zone coverage, and would be an easy fit in Jonathan Gannon's defense.
• Jalen Pitre, S, Baylor: Pitre is a versatile defender who can play safety and slot corner, and who was all over Baylor's stat sheet in 2021. He had 17.5 tackles for loss and 3 forced fumbles, which would both be impressive for a defensive lineman, to go along with 7 pass breakups and 2 INTs.
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