Analysis: Winners and Losers From Day 3 of Senior Bowl

MOBILE, Ala. — The Senior Bowl officially wrapped up practices in Mobile on Thursday after inter-squad switching between the Dolphins and Panthers. Both continued strong performances and bouncebacks were on display on Thursday’s action-packed slate. Who is trending up and down after Thursday in Mobile?

Winner: Alex Leatherwood

After two days of ups and downs, Leatherwood put together a solid performance on Thursday. There are always going to be concerns about the stiffness in his lower half, and it could make him a guard at the next level, but Thursday was where Leatherwood’s hands were showcased. Leatherwood stonewalled both Wyatt Hubert and Quincy Roche on multiple ocassions with great play strength and precise hand placement. His length showed up on Thursday. It was probably not the week Leatherwood wanted, but it was a good way to end the week.

1/26/21 Practice SeniorBowl Photo by Jeff Hanson

Loser: Jamie Newman

For the second day in a row, Newman ends up on the wrong side of this list. The requisite tools for Newman are there in spades, but that was known coming into the Senior Bowl. If he wanted to improve his stock, Newman had to showcase better, more consistent accuracy. That accuracy has been increasingly sporadic as the week has drawn itself out. Newman missed multiple open receivers in the team session and seemed gunshy to ever push the ball down the field. Once he did, Newman threw yet another bad interception. It was a week to forget for the Wake Forest product.

1/26/21 Practice SeniorBowl Photo by Jeff Hanson

Winner: David Moore

Coming into this week, Moore, a Grambling alum, was a relatively low buzz player, but his buzz is now soaring into a potential Top-150 pick after his time in Mobile. Moore played at both center and guard and was fabulous in one-on-ones and in the team sessions. His play strength, in particular, was great. Moore moved people all week and gave up little ground with a shallow anchor. His athleticism is rather solid as well. With the versatility and performance level that Moore showcased, he will only go up from here.

Loser: Drake Jackson

Jackson’s rough week muddies the waters as to where his stock really is at this point. His length is a severe issues and he was beaten repeatedly on multiple days. Thursday was no different in one-on-ones, where Jackson was sloppy with his footwork and he did not have the anchor ability or core stregnth to deal with a bull rush up the middle. Not all is bad, as Jackson seemed decent enough in the team session, but there are just not a lot of high-end traits there.

Winner: Kylin Hill

Hill came into Mobile wanting to prove that he could be a three-down, lead running back at the next level. If that was the aim, Hill wonderfully executed his vision on Thursday. Hill appeared to be quick and deceptive in his routes with soft hands. As a runner, he seemed to have legitimate juice to create yards around the edge. Hill was incredibly competitive in pass protection and won a number of his reps. His stock is only going up after this week.

Loser: Grant Stuard

Thursday was undoubtedly the worst day of the entire cycle for Stuard. His athleticism is space was always a question, but he looked tight in the hips and overall clunky when moving in free space. As a result, lots of his coverage reps were absolute disasters. He simply looked like he did not belong there. Stuard looked like a linebacker who has the ceiling of a special teams ace, but will almost never see the field on the defensive end.

Winner: Damar Hamlin

Pitt safety Damar Hamlin’s week has flown under the radar, but he has been one of the best safeties in the one-on-ones, there is no question. A former cornerback, Hamlin showcased that acument and repeatedly was either compeittive at the catch point or had multiple pass breaks ups, and that continued on Thursday. Hamlin’s stock is increasing after a strong week in Mobile.

1/27/21 Practice SeniorBowl Photo by Jeff Hanson

Loser: Sam Ehlinger

Trying to learn and perfect the NFL offense, Ehlinger’s day was rocky at best. A lot of his passes just did not seem to have the air or velocity behind them needed. In the team session, Ehlinger missed a wide open receiver. Ehlinger just did not look like someone an NFL team should take any higher than Late Day 3 given a lack of enticing NFL physical traits. The arm talent did not seem to be there, and he did not have the accuracy to make for it either. Overall, a pretty bad Thursday for Ehlinger.

Winner: Michael Carter

Carter seens to prove each practice that he has a little more to his game. On Wednesday it was the receiving ability, and that was something he displayed once again on Thursday. However, today it was Carter’s shiftiness and elusiveness that was on dispaly in the team session. Carter’s lateral quickness and explosiveness are impressive and Thursday he made defenders miss with ease. Despite his size, Carter is a junkyard dog in pass protection that at the very least slows down most rushers he faces. It was another strong practice for Carter.

Loser: Tuf Borland

It has been a rough week for the Ohio State product in Tuf Borland. He just seems to be a guy, quite literally. There is not a lot that separates him from the pack other than a high football IQ. He is tight in the hips, does not have sideline-to-sideline range, and is a blatant liability in coverage. Overall, Borland looked limited on Thursday, which continued the trend from the previous two days.

Winner: Dillon Radunz

One of the best lineman in Mobile this week, Radunz was consistent on Thursday. His nimble footwork and outstanding core strength are massive traits as to why he held up against power and speed rushers alike on Thursday. Radunz is graceful and has excellent balance to anchor down and not give up any significant ground on any given rep. He showcased he had the traits be a Top-50 pick.

Alan Saunders contributed reporting from Mobile.