Senior Bowl Day 1 Practice Risers

Day 1 at Mobile is in the books. Who stood out?

Elijah Arroyo | TE | Miami

The smoothest route runner of the tight end class from Day 1, Arroyo displayed impressive separation on his 1 on 1s and in team sessions.

His hands were impressive as well, not dropping any of his targets on the day. More performances like Tuesday’s would make a case for Top 3 Tight End in this class.

Grey Zabel | OL | North Dakota State

Zabel comes from the FCS powerhouse of North Dakota State, but he needed to prove himself against better competition in Mobile. So far he has done so, with very impressive anchor and versatility.

Zabel lined up all along the line in the interior, despite playing his 3 most recent seasons predominantly at Tackle. In his 5 year career he had 689 interior snaps (only 17 at Center) compared to 2,038 at Tackle, so it isn’t unheard of for Zabel. The Bison lineman has a case for Top 50 on Big Boards if he shifts inside at the next level, as the biggest area of concern was his length on the outside.

Aireontae Ersery | OT | Minnesota

Ersery had a very impressive day, with strong winning reps against Donovan Ezeiruaku, Mike Green, and Landon Jackson.

His hands were always in the right spot, his quickness and anchor were very impressive. Moving like that at 339 lbs is not normal. Green and Ezeiruaku were two of the better Edge players on the day, but their reps against Ersery were low points of the day for each.

Jack Kiser | LB | Notre Dame

Kiser was perhaps the best coverage linebacker of the day, routinely winning on inside routes in coverage on one on ones. The Hoosier native’s hip flips looked smooth and quick, which was surprising considering his reputation at South Bend wasn’t as a coverage linebacker but more as a run stopper and blitzer.

Kiser flowed to the ball well vs the run and also had some good hits in 11 on 11s as well.

For a player who just finished playing in the National Championship game 8 days ago, his commitment to working at the Senior Bowl and his good conditioning to have this much energy is commendable.

Smael Mondon Jr. | LB | Georgia

Mondon Jr. had a very good day. In drills he was looking very fluid. On 11 on 11s he was constantly communicating to the defense, getting people into position, and was effective vs crossers and in the run game.

Very confident player, but it is certainly earned. Seemed to earn the respect of his American Team teammates from the jump.

He also earned the adoration of my colleague Destin. Whether he changes his Twitter name to an official fan account is another matter entirely (might be pending the Colts Draft).

Jaylin Noel | WR | Iowa State

Jaylin Noel looked very smooth today, with strong body control on full display with perhaps the WR highlight of the Day, a toe dragging sideline grab on Quincy Riley.

The 5’11 200lb Wide out showed some impressive separation on 11 on 11s and 7 on 7s lining up on the outside and facing press, helping to answer one of the biggest draft questions on his profile in the process.

Marcus Yarns | RB | Delaware

This Fightin Blue Hen was flying today. Yarns displayed very quick feet and cuts, hitting the burners on a few catches out of the backfield.

No linebacker was able to keep up with him today, proving that Yarns’ skillset as a receiving back translates against better competition. In an interview after practice, Yarns said he loved to model his game after Le’Veon Bell.

Joshua Farmer | DT | Florida State

Farmer played some bully ball today. He generated a lot of push and power with his 35.25” arms against the interior OL.

His get off was really nice and he used his natural leverage well at 6’2 to get inside the arms. Made a strong case to rise in the top 50 of draft boards.

Maxwell Hairston | CB | Kentucky

Hairston did an excellent job today, winning reps against both speed and physicality. The Wildcat had his claws out, sticking well to his WRs. His short area quickness really stood out, as his decisiveness in making plays on the ball was on display with the pass breakup of the day vs Jack Bech.

Carson Vinson | OL | Alabama A&M

The sole HBCU player in this Senior Bowl, Vinson had a lot to prove against the top talent in Mobile. Vinson showed nice strength at the anchor, good speed to the corner, and hand usage in quite a few reps. Most notably against LSU’s Sai’vion Jones and Texas A&M’s Shemar Stewart.

The Bulldog earned his spot at the Senior Bowl, and once again proved that talent can come from anywhere in the football world.