Senior Bowl Exec Offers High Praise for Cardinals' Draft

Jim Nagy, Executive Director of the Reese's Senior Bowl, praised five Cardinals draft selections who participated in his event in February.

Ohio State Buckeyes wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. (18) is defended by Rutgers Scarlet Knights / Joseph Scheller/USA Today / USA TODAY

When Jim Nagy speaks, people in the football world tend to listen. That is for a good reason. Since 2018, he has served as the executive director of the Reese's Senior Bowl, one of the premier post-season events designed to showcase college talent preparing for the next step.

Before the Senior Bowl, Nagy spent 18 years in a variety of roles in the NFL. From 2001 through 2018 he worked in the scouting departments of the Commanders (2001-2002), Patriots (2002-2009), Chiefs (2009-2013), and the Seahawks (2013-2018).

True Arizona Cardinals diehards might notice a bit of an overlap in years in New England with current Cardinals GM Monti Ossenfort - who worked as an area scout alongside Nagy from 2006-2008.

Nagy knows ball and his event, the Senior Bowl, showcases top college talent for NFL scouts every January or February. This past event included five players who would go on to be drafted by the Cardinals.

On X (formerly Twitter), Nagy gave a brief overview of what Cardinals' fans can expect from the selections.

Here's what #BirdGang fans can expect from their @seniorbowl rookies:

🌵DE Darius Robinson (Round 1, Pick 27)- Among biggest risers in pre-draft process. Voted "Overall Practice Player of Week" in Mobile by poll of scouts/execs. Big jump this fall from 2022 tape. Versatile… pic.twitter.com/3WomePHh38

— Jim Nagy (@JimNagy_SB) May 9, 2024

Every year, Nagy selects his offensive and defensive sleepers. Players he thinks are undervalued in the media but will prove to be good players in the NFL.

This year, the Cardinals drafted both of Nagy's sleepers. G/T Isaiah Adams (Illinois) with the 71st pick and CB Elijah Jones (Boston College) with the 90th pick.

Adams looks to compete for the left guard position during the offseason and Jones will be competing for a starting cornerback role against fellow 2024 draftees Max Melton (43rd overall) and Jaden Davis (226th overall).

The other Cardinals' draft picks who participated in the Senior Bowl are Darius Robinson (27th overall), Melton and Christian Jones (192nd overall).

As the event's motto states, "The Draft Starts in Mobile," and that has proven to be the case through the past years. Most every team in the league sends representatives to Alabama to evaluate players who were not considered "blue-chip" or attended large programs more known for NFL production.

FIveThirtyEight developed an interesting statistical metric to study the success of Senior Bowl players in the NFL. While you can read a more detailed description of this metric, the Meaningful Snaps Over Expected (MSOE), the short answer is that, yes, Senior Bowl players do tend to have success at the next level.

The position group that shows the most success in the league are defensive backs. According to the study, "no position had a higher player-season hit rate or total surplus value than defensive back."

This is great news for Cardinals fans as the team desperately needs help in the secondary. If Melton or Jones (hopefully both) turn out to be productive players for the team, that will represent a big win for the Cardinals (and the Senior Bowl).