Garrett Grayson increased his NFL Draft prospects at last week’s Senior Bowl

As we head into the 2015 offseason for the NFL, the biggest event for fantasy football purposes is the NFL Draft. The first step for the NFL Draft is the Senior Bowl in Mobile, AL. The game was this past Saturday and, in the week leading up to it, there were practices for NFL scouts to get an opportunity to assess the talent of the college seniors. While 111 of the best players were at the selective event, this post will focus on the five players whose draft prospectus was bettered and five whose prospectus worsened over the past week.

Five Up

Garrett Grayson (QB)

Garrett Grayson may have had the best week in Mobile, hauling in top QB honors and then going 8-15 for 115 yards in the game on Saturday. Grayson went to a non-Power 5 conference school, Colorado State, but distinguished himself as a pro-style QB with the Rams, and shined for NFL scouts this week. He threw for 4,002 yards and 32 touchdowns in his senior year, and finished fifth in the FCS with a 166.2 QB Rating. Grayson, who also demonstrated good zip and accuracy at the Senior Bowl, projects as a third- or fourth-round pick, and should make an NFL roster as a backup for 2015.

Phillip Dorsett (WR)

Another top performer this week was Phillip Dorsett. Dorsett was held without a catch in the Senior Bowl, but did enough to see his stock skyrocket. Many say that he is the fastest WR in the draft and, at a minimum, he can make an instant impact as a returner in the NFL. That may be selling him short, as he has shown good route running, and stole the show in Mobile as the best WR at the Senior Bowl. He could be a day-two draft pick and a true steal as a home-run threat. He has potential as a poor man’s DeSean Jackson or Mike Wallace, and could even be worth making a fantasy roster if he plays in a pass heavy offense without a true deep ball threat.

David Johnson (RB)

David Johnson came from an FCS school and was seen as a bit undersized, but his performance this week led to him being named top RB. In the game on Saturday, Johnson had a rushing touchdown along with 43 yards and 10 carries, as the South team utilized him as much as possible. Johnson ran for 1,000 or more yards in each of the past three seasons for Northern Iowa and is a strong, stocky runner with good hands. A lot of scouts see him as similar to Charles Sims of the Buccaneers, but he is a bit bigger than Sims. He could even end up as an H-back or TE in the NFL, as he is 6-2, 215 pounds and could bulk up a bit more if needed. Another factor for fantasy owners is that Johnson handled the kick returns, and handled them admirably, with three returns for 82 yards. Johnson is ranked as the fifth-best running back prospect in the draft and a fourth-round pick, but with this performance he could go in round three, as Sims did last year.

Kevin White (DB)

Kevin White was named the top defensive back for the week and then intercepted Bryce Petty in the game on Saturday. Oregon State CB Steven Nelson also had a good game. White was seen as a third or fourth round draft pick coming into the week, but his stock has risen to a comfortable third round grade and he could even end up as a second round pick. White is undersized at 5-9, 180 pounds, but he showed toughness in practice and was very active with his interception and defense of multiple passes. White’s speed allowed him to keep up with the fast WR class at the Senior Bowl and he could make an impact as a nickleback or covering slot receivers.

Clive Walford (TE)

As teams look for more TEs in their offense, receiving TEs are a huge commodity. Clive Walford could capitalize on that market with his skills. Although he only had one catch for ten yards in the game, analyst Mike Florio called Walford “the most explosive tight end in this year’s draft,” noting his 4.65 speed and 6-4, 254 pound frame. He lined up in the slot, on the outside, and on the line of scrimmage in practice and was able to make an impact at each location. His blocking leaves much to be desired, but he will be drafted as a receiving TE; he had 44 receptions for a team-high 676 yards this season and has 14 TDs over his career. He is projected as a second- or third-round pick as the second-best TE behind the University of Minnesota’s Maxx Williams.

Five Down

Sammie Coates (WR)

There are many that see Sammy Coates as a first-round pick, but he was thoroughly underwhelming in Mobile this week. Coates is a rare junior that was able to participate in the Senior Bowl, and had the opportunity to show his straight-line speed and work on his inconsistent routes in front of NFL executives. He is projected as the 31st pick of the NFL Draft to the New England Patriots by Mel Kiper Jr., but he did not perform in line with that projection. Coates did not have the burst this week that he had at Auburn, and was massively outplayed in the Senior Bowl. Coates only had one catch for 13 yards, and even had an offensive pass interference called on him against Oregon State CB Steven Nelson in the endzone. Coates needs a good NFL Combine to regain his first-round grade.

Blake Sims (QB)

Blake Sims was the starting QB for the Alabama Crimson Tide this year, but that may not be enough for him to make it to the NFL. Sims was already seen as a sixth or seventh round draft pick and the eighth ranked QB in a weak QB class and his performance in Senior Bowl practices did nothing to help his stock. Although other top QB prospects had weak appearances as well, Sims was especially shaky, particularly with errant passes and interceptions. Sims was 4-for-11 in the game on Saturday with only 50 yards. The NFL Combine is the last chance for Sims to make an NFL roster via the draft.

Devin Smith (WR)

Devin Smith could not have had a worse week than this at the Senior Bowl. Not only did he not have a good week, not distinguishing himself in practice and held without a catch in the game, but receivers like Phillip Dorsett and Tyler Lockett saw their stock rise substantially. Smith was seen as a second-round draft pick coming into the week, but both Dorsett and Lockett should be ranked more highly than Smith after their performances this week. Smith is bigger than Lockett and Dorsett, closer in size to Sammie Coates, but he needs to show a lot more to solidify his second-round grade.

Vince Mayle (WR)

Vince Mayle played in a fast-paced offense at Washington State, but looked completely over-matched during the NFL-style offenses run at practices and in the Senior Bowl, although he did have a 27-yard catch in the game. His strength is running straight and utilizing his 6’3, 219 pound frame. Unfortunately, that is not going to be enough to make it in the NFL. He is very raw, and is perhaps only worth a late-round flier. Mayle is seen as a fourth-round draft pick as his 4.5 speed and big body could see him as a good long-term project for an NFL team.

Ben Koyack (TE)

Although Ben Koyack has the strong Notre Dame pedigree and was known as a solid receiving TE–and caught a touchdown in the Senior Bowl–overall the week was disappointing. He couldn’t make enough of a difference in the passing game in practices, and his blocking was not strong. He is 6-5, 250 pound player, so you would expect him to be more physical at the line of scrimmage and get space in the passing game. Koyack is seen as a third-round pick, but was considerably outplayed by University of Miami’s Clive Walford and University of Delaware’s Nick Boyle in practices. Both Boyle and Koyack had two catches for the North team in the game on Saturday, with Koyack catching the aforementioned touchdown pass.

Chris Zolli is a correspondent at FantasyPros. To read more from Chris, check out his archive and follow him @thezman2010.