Five Senior Bowl Prospects to Watch for Giants

It's Senior Bowl week and the Giants will no doubt be out in full force to scout some future talent such as the five players included here.

Author:
Brandon Olsen
Publish date:
Jan 30, 2023 10:00 AM EST

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New York Giants

Last week, we looked at which NFL Draft prospects the New York Giants could be interested in at the East-West Shrine Bowl. Today, we look at which prospects are participating in the Senior Bowl this week in which the Giants could be interested.

Alabama LB Henry To'oTo'o

The SEC has long been considered the highest level of college football. For over a decade, the Alabama Crimson Tide has consistently been at or near the top of the SEC. A major part of that has been a dominant defense that has had Henry To’oTo’o at the middle linebacker spot for the past two years.

To’oTo’o transferred from the Tennessee Volunteers before the 2021 season and improved significantly in his time under Nick Saban. There’s still work to be done with To’oTo’o, but he’s already strong in arguably the most difficult part of playing linebacker with his instincts.

To’oTo’o was used as a pass-rusher from the off-ball linebacker spot in 2022 with much success, mainly due to his ability to time his shot and then shoot the correct lane. On 95 pass-rushing plays in 2022, To’oTo’o registered three sacks and 14 total pressures.

As a run defender, To’oTo’o sometimes struggles to identify cutback lanes and counter runs. On the flip side, with his lateral agility and length, To’oTo’o can recalculate and recover.

Nov 25, 2022; Austin, Texas, USA; Texas Longhorns running back Roschon Johnson (2) runs for yards during the first half against the Baylor Bears at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium.
Scott Wachter-USA TODAY Sports

Texas RB Roschon Johnson

For four years now, Texas running back Roschon Johnson has been one of my favorite players in college football, and for a good reason. As a true freshman in 2019, injuries forced Johnson - a quarterback at the time, to make the backfield move from quarterback to running back.

Immediately, Johnson was an incredibly talented ball carrier. While the main running back from Texas in the 2023 NFL Draft is Bijan Robinson, as it should be, Johnson is no slouch. At 6’2” and 223 pounds, Johnson will instantly be one of the biggest halfbacks in the NFL.

As a runner, Johnson has good but not great top speed, but runs with malicious intent and, with his frame, can ruin defenders’ days. The combination of patience and vision is the name of the game for Johnson, making him a plug-and-play runner from day one. Johnson had 2,182 rushing yards in his four years at Texas, 1,568 of those yards came after contact (an insane 71.8% of his yards coming after contact).

In the passing game, Johnson hasn’t been used much was given plenty of pass-catching work in 2019 as a freshman, and it looks like more of a “he wasn’t asked to do this” situation instead of “he can’t do this.”

As a pass protector, few running backs in the 2023 NFL Draft are as willing and able as Johnson is. In his college career, Johnson had 56 catches for 420 yards and three touchdowns with five drops, exceptional for a player without experience before the position change.

Nov 12, 2022; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Miami Hurricanes cornerback Tyrique Stevenson (2) intercepts a pass against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets in the second half at Bobby Dodd Stadium.
Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

Miami CB Tyrique Stevenson

Assuming Wink Martindale remains the defensive coordinator, being able to play press-man coverage might be the most important trait for a Giants cornerback. Few, if any, third or fourth prospects are as well-equipped for that role as Tyrique Stevenson out of Miami.

Stevenson is listed at 6’0, but the expectation when he measures in Mobile should be his wingspan in the 6-foot-2 to 6-foot-4 range. The modern press-man cornerback is a long, aggressive corner with clean press technique and that description is what would show up if you look up Tyrique Stevenson in the definition.

The biggest concern for Stevenson, especially going from the ACC to the NFL, is that he’s going to see significantly better athletes -- and he’s already someone that has average to above-average athleticism, which isn’t the end of the world, but it isn’t ideal. One-on-ones in the Senior Bowl will be big for Stevenson to demonstrate his press talent and to test his ability to run vertically.

Stevenson is sometimes a little slow to turn his head around to make a play on the ball, but he could become a pass-break-up machine with some coaching.

While he played primarily man coverage at Miami, Stevenson was previously with the Georgia Bulldogs-- a defense that plays a wide variety of coverage and is comparable to a modern NFL defense stylistically.

Nov 5, 2022; Stanford, California, USA; Washington State Cougars linebacker Daiyan Henley (1) pursues Stanford Cardinal quarterback Tanner McKee (18) during the second quarter at Stanford Stadium.
Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports

Washington State LB Daiyan Henley

Remember Deone Bucannon? The Washington State safety that was known for being a headhunting downhill player that moved to linebacker in the NFL (and was with the Giants in 2019)? Meet 2023 Deone Bucannon, Daiyan Henley, who, unlike Bucannon, didn’t move from safety to linebacker.

Henley was originally a wide receiver at Nevada before eventually moving to linebacker in 2020. People spend time talking about how receivers don’t have to deal with physicality, but Henley went looking for physicality.

There’s still a lot of room for improvement in Henley’s game, but the tools are there to become a valuable member of any NFL defense with his athletic profile, size, and mentality. After moving to linebacker for the 2020 season, Henley immediately stepped in as a starter, and while the growing pains were there, he’s made strides year after year.

Henley’s most valuable as an off-ball blitzer and situational player that primarily sees the field on passing downs. Luckily for Henley, in the modern NFL just about every down is a passing down.

Jul 26, 2022; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Minnesota Golden Gophers offensive lineman John Michael Schmitz talks to the media during Big 10 football media days at Lucas Oil Stadium. — Minnesota IOL John Michael Schmitz
Robert Goddin-USA TODAY Sports

Minnesota IOL John Michael Schmitz

There are few prospects as old as Minnesota's John Michael Schmitz (24), and most people will try to talk about that as a negative. Realistically though, Schmitz has some of the most refined hand work on the interior of this 2023 NFL Draft class, and that’s likely because of his extensive college experience.

Of his 2,492 career offensive snaps, 2,491 came at center (with one as an in-line tight end). That said, I still think Schmitz is capable of playing either guard spot in the NFL or his natural center position.

Schmitz has been one of the best interior linemen in college football for a few years now and is promising both as a pass-protector and run-blocker. With his hand technique and ability to anchor down, playing Day 1 is possible should the Giants seek help on the interior.

While he isn’t the most agile offensive lineman in the draft, Schmitz can still make plays on wide zone runs or pull plays.