3 Players That Can Raise Their Draft Stock at the Senior Bowl

The Senior Bowl is the perfect opportunity for players to make a name for themselves. There’s a lot of stock put into the Senior Bowl, and a big week in Mobile can do wonders for a player looking to rise in the rankings for the NFL Draft. Although there’s still plenty of time until the Senior Bowl, this year’s edition already looks stacked with a mix of top-level seniors as well as players looking to still prove themselves to teams. Here are 3 players that can raise their draft stock at the Senior Bowl with a big week.

1. Dillon Radunz, OT North Dakota State

A lot of where Dillon Radunz is drafted will depend on the Senior Bowl. Radunz exited last season as one of the top tackles in this draft class. There was much to like about Radunz after his junior season. He has NFL size at 6’6 299 and had a good year for the Bison. He’s an athletic and quick tackle, especially at his height. He looked like a guy that with a good Senior season could possibly be a first-round pick.

Then COVID happened. The Bison ended up only playing one game this season against Central Arkansas. Meanwhile, other tackles such as Notre Dame’s Liam Eichenberg and BYU’s Brady Christensen started making names for themselves and started rising up draft boards. Suddenly offensive tackle has become a crowded position.

Radunz needed a good week at the Senior Bowl regardless to prove that he could hold his own against top-level talent, now a good showing at the Senior Bowl is even more crucial for Radunz to go early in the draft. Does Dillon Radunz have enough power for top-level competition and the NFL? Can he actually move people in the NFL? Is he just a good serviceable lineman or is he a real top-level talent at tackle? There are a lot of questions surrounding Dillon Radunz that he can answer at the Senior Bowl.

2. David Moore, OG Grambling State

David Moore is a player I am heavily rooting for at the Senior Bowl. There’s so much potential for greatness in the Grambling State senior. He has this compact frame that you want in a guard, and he has the nastiness you want from a guard. I don’t want my guards to be nice guys on the field. I want nasty and aggressive and David Moore is both of those. He has strong cinder blocks for hands and has a ton of power. He is always the aggressor in the run game. Above all, David Moore is fun. It is fun watching David Moore pancake defenders.

David Moore is far from a perfect prospect though. He still is a bit raw with balance and leverage. There are certain nuances to his game that are still developing. He’s not a finished product yet, it’s important to remember that he’s still a developing prospect. So far he’s sort of been able to get by on being stronger than his opponents in the SWAC. Will he be able to do the same and dominate the higher level competition? He held up his own against both Louisiana Monroe and Louisiana Tech, now can he hold his own at the Senior Bowl? If we see David Moore dominate and punish opponents at the Senior Bowl like he’s done in the SWAC, expect to see him shoot up draft boards.

3. Tony Fields Jr, LB West Virginia

Tony Fields Jr. could possibly be the steal of the draft at linebacker this year. Some might look at his size at 6’1 220 and think he’s too small to be an NFL linebacker. He won’t be able to get off blocks and will get destroyed in the run game. I remember the same things were said about both Darius Leonard and Deion Jones when they were coming out of college. 

Tony Fields Jr has the chance to be the next undersized linebacker that makes an impact in the NFL. He’s a very athletic linebacker with good speed and agility. He is explosive and moves well in space, with the potential to be really good in coverage.

The former Arizona Wildcat played 3 years in Tucson before transferring to West Virginia this season. He was a tackle machine at Arizona, reaching over 85 tackles each year. In 8 games this season he has 79 tackles and has reached over 10 tackles in 5 of those games. He has the experience and the resume to match his athleticism.

Maybe Fields isn’t the next diamond in the rough undersized linebacker. Maybe he truly is too small for the NFL. At the Senior Bowl though he will be able to prove his case as a big sleeper in this draft.

Writer

-By: Jacob Keppen