Eight Players Who Stood Out One Way or Another at 2024 Senior Bowl

Coach Gene Clemons has a look at some of those who helped--and hurt--their respective stock following the performances in the annual Senior Bowl game.

Author:
Gene Clemons
Publish date:
Feb 4, 2024 9:13 AM EST

In this story:

New York Giants

The 2024 Senior Bowl has concluded, as NFL teams everywhere gathered in Mobile for the annual event to get up-close-and-personal looks at the talent assembled. For the NFL community, the practices tend to be more important in terms of player evaluation, the game itself a mere formality.

However, prospects can still help or harm their profile with their play when the cameras and lights turn on. So before you turn your attention to the combine coming up in late February, let's look at a few players who may have helped or hurt themselves during the Senior Bowl game.

Stock Up: QB Spencer Rattler, South Carolina

Outside of Michael Penix Jr, Rattler had the best showing throughout the week of practice. He followed that up with a brief but effective performance in the game. He only played the first two series in the game, but he showed poise, decision-making, accuracy, and leadership.

He finished the game with four completions on four attempts for 65 yards, which included a 29-yard touchdown pass to Georgia wide receiver Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint. He earned the game MVP despite being on the losing team. He also earned much respect and more hours of film evaluation to determine where he should be slotted in the overall quarterback conversation surrounding the draft.

Stock Up: RB Emani Bailey, TCU

Bailey held it down for the perceived undersized backs. At 5’ 7'' and 208 pounds, Bailey ran the ball tough between the tackles and could break through and bounce off defenders. He finished with ten carries for 53 yards.

However, he also showed off his ability to catch the ball out of the backfield with four receptions for 34 yards. Probably the most impressive thing he did was tackle Washington State defensive back Chau Smith-Wade on the one-yard line to prevent an 84-yard interception return for a touchdown. It's plays like that, mixed with versatile skills, that make coaches and scouts fall in love with a player.

Stock Up: DB Jarvis Brownlee Jr., Louisville

Brownlee had a fantastic Senior Bowl week. He demonstrated the skills of high-level defensive backs in the NFL and impressed most onlookers with his performance. He continued that stellar play during the game as he shut down most of the receivers, intercepted quarterback Sam Hartman in the red zone, and returned it 32 yards to kill a late first-half National team drive.

Stock Up: DL Braden Fiske, Florida State

Fiske was a monster all week for the American squad. He dominated in 1-on-1s and was consistently disruptive during team reps. Then, on game day, he was moved to the National side because of a lack of healthy bodies, and he beat up the American offensive line during the game.

His day was so special because he was the only defensive lineman with film dominating both offensive lines. His motor is the key to his dominance, which was displayed during the game. He made four tackles and shared a sack. He also ran down Emani Bailey from behind.

Stock Up: LB Cedric Gray, North Carolina

Gray was flying around all game. He displayed his tackling ability while also demonstrating coverage skills. He tied for a game-high seven tackles. In addition to being around the ball carrier, he used his speed and agility to stay close to receivers in coverage. He stepped in front of a couple of passes that probably should have ended up interceptions. He had the most productive day as a linebacker.

Stock Down: WR Tez Walker, North Carolina

Many people believed the Senior Bowl would be a coming-out party for Walker, but he was inconsistent in catching the ball all week during practices. During the game, he showed the explosiveness to run past defenders consistently but, on several occasions, could not haul in a pass.

They were all contested catches and would have been great grabs, but they are catches that we routinely see NFL receivers make. The game also did not feature him getting involved other than deep balls, which did not allow him to show he has versatility. He will definitely get back in the lab to hopefully have a better showing at the combine.

Stock Down: RB Cody Schrader, Missouri

A game like this is usually a great showcase for running backs that have found success because of how tough they are, but Schrader could not find any running lanes, nor was he able to create his own. His five receptions for 54 yards were impressive, but a good performance running the ball would have been another notch in his belt. Unfortunately, he ran the ball seven times for 12 yards. He was not able to get away from defenders.

Stock Down: QB Joe Milton, Tennessee

Milton Looks like an NFL quarterback. He's big and athletic. He has a bazooka for an arm. He can make all the throws. The question with Milton is, can he be consistent and make good positive decisions when things are off script? In this game, he proved that those are still really big places of growth for him. He threw a couple of really bad interceptions.

One was when he was scrambling to his right and threw back across his body left, directly into the waiting arms of a defender. He also struggled with a few touch passes on dump-off passes and intermediate throws. He's still the type of Josh Allen-esque talent that teams will want to take a chance on; he just may need the same type of development that Alen received.Many people believed the Senior Bowl would be a coming-out party for Walker, but he was inconsistent in catching the ball all week during practices.

During the game, he showed the explosiveness to run past defenders consistently but, on several occasions, could not haul in a pass. They were all contested catches and would have been great grabs, but they are catches that we routinely see NFL receivers make. The game also did not feature him getting involved other than deep balls, which did not allow him to show he has versatility. He will definitely get back in the lab to hopefully have a better showing at the combine.