An Early Look at Senior Bowl Prospects to Watch for New York Giants
The 2024 Senior Bowl is where the elite upperclassmen draft prospects showcase their talents and is just a few weeks away. Teams will get one last opportunity to see the top players in person and see some players up close for the first time. Here are some names that New York Giants fans should get familiar with as prospects:
WR Xavier Legette, South Carolina
Xavier Legette is someone I’ve mentioned in a previous mock draft as being a receiver I would want the Giants to target on Day 2. He’s an outside option that will likely have an athletic profile similar to DK Metcalf's. With height, weight, speed, and a “my ball” mentality on the boundary, he’s got future WR1 potential.
Watching him work in 1-on-1 drills at the Senior Bowl will be huge for him to work more in-structure (as opposed to scramble drills like we frequently saw at South Carolina) and go up against different talented cornerbacks. Legette also has experience as a kick returner, leading the Gamecocks in returns, return yardage, and average return length.
RB Ray Davis, Kentucky
The Giants have a decision to make in their running back room this offseason, with Saquon Barkley’s contract expiring. Whether or not he returns, a back like Ray Davis out of Kentucky would be a welcome addition to the room without someone willing to bring the boom out of the backfield.
Davis has that old-school running style that Giants fans haven’t seen since Brandon Jacobs and will likely be an early day-three pick. If he can showcase a little more as a receiver in Mobile, he can help his draft stock. Davis had plenty of catches, but those were almost exclusively behind the line of scrimmage; the Senior Bowl will likely have him run more routes downfield.
All of the Quarterbacks
Let’s call it how it is: the Giants must address the quarterback position for their long-term future. Luckily enough, Giants quarterbacks coach Shea Tierney will be the offensive coordinator for the National Team at the Senior Bowl, meaning that he’ll get to work up close and personal with the likes of Oregon’s Bo Nix, Washington’s Michael Penix, and Notre Dame’s Sam Hartman.
Interestingly enough, six of the seven Senior Bowl quarterbacks were transfers at one point in their careers, with only Michael Pratt staying put at Tulane. NFL teams will ask about that transfer process and get answers like playing time, NIL money, a better offensive system, or the supporting cast. We're not saying that will influence any decisions, but certainly, those answers should be of some interest.
S Kamren Kinchens, Miami
In my opinion, Miami’s Kamren Kinchens is the best safety in the 2024 NFL Draft. In this current draft class, however, that could still leave him as an early second-round pick, so still in range for the Giants to make a move for him. One-on-ones can be huge for defensive backs to show versatility and the ability to stick with NFL receivers.
Kinchens played man coverage more than most safeties in that Miami Hurricanes defense and when he wasn’t playing man coverage, he would often operate as the centerfield type of safety.
CB Josh Newton, TCU
I like to follow a general rule of thumb: if you can play cornerback at a high level in a complex defensive system, you can probably play cornerback at the NFL level. TCU’s Josh Newton did that for the Horned Frogs for two years after transferring from Louisiana-Monroe to TCU.
It’s clear that when he’s asked about his reason for transferring, he’s probably going to say it was for an upgrade in the level of competition, in which he rose to the challenge. Newton allowed less than 50 yards in every game this season except for one, against the College Football Playoff Texas Longhorns.
One-on-ones will be important for Newton to showcase his ability to NFL teams, given that his struggle came against the only elite competition he faced this season, and he might be slightly undersized on the boundary at a listed 6’0, which could mean he’s really 5’10 or 5’11.
The Senior Bowl will be played on February 3, 2024, in Mobile, Alabama.
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