Does Carson Wentz’s pedestrian Senior Bowl performance put a damper on his draft stock?

The talk throughout the week in Mobile, AL was how impressive North Dakota State’s Carson Wentz and Ohio State’s Braxton Miller were performing in practice for the North All-Stars. In fact, Miller was even voted best practice performer by the NFL scouts in attendance. It made sense then that all eyes would be on them Saturday when the best seniors in the country took to the field for the last time before the scouting combine at the end of February.

Unfortunately for both Wentz and Miller, their play during practice did not translate to the game on Saturday. The game was dominated by the South All-Stars, who won 27-16. 

Don’t let the score fool you. It was 20-3 with 1:53 left in the third quarter, before USC’s Cody Kessler ran for a one-yard touchdown to make it 20-10.

The defensive line play for both sides was the most impressive position on the field. There could be as many as 14 linemen selected in the first two rounds of the draft. 

Most of the talk coming into this year’s draft have been around how good the defense is, and how the offense lacks a true star or franchise player. That certainly seemed to be the case on Saturday.

The Senior Bowl has historically featured some impressive talent over the years, many of whom have gone on to be fantasy stars at the next level. Just last year, Ameer Abdullah and David Johnson led their respective teams in rushing, while Tyler Lockett hauled in a few receptions himself.

With that said, let’s take a look back at some of the performers from this year’s game.

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QUARTERBACK

As I mentioned, Wentz came in as the top quarterback prospect but was rather unimpressive in the game. He finished 6-of-10 for 50 yards, zero touchdowns and zero interceptions. To his defense, he had a few passes with long gain potential that were dropped by his wide receivers. 

Still, he seemed to be fazed by the defensive line play of the South All-Stars throughout the first quarter. The knock on Wentz coming into this game was how he would react to facing top-level defensive players since he played against mid-level talent at North Dakota State. Based on his performance on Saturday, it seems like he still has a lot to prove to scouts before he can be considered a top pick in the draft.

Wentz has been projected to go as high as No. 2 to the Cleveland Browns, at No. 4 to the Dallas Cowboys, or even lower in the first round. The North All-Stars were coached by head coach Jason Garrett and the Cowboys coaching staff, and there were a lot of rumors spreading throughout the week that they liked what they saw from him.

The quarterbacks who did look impressive are all thought to be middle round picks. Mississippi State’s Dak Prescott was the MVP of the game and finished 7-of-10 for 61 yards, one touchdown and zero interceptions.

Prescott made a name for himself two years ago, when he led the Bulldogs to an upset victory over Alabama. He returned for his senior year and was an early Heisman candidate, but his team finished with a record of 9-4 (4-4 in the SEC). 

Prescott finished the season with 3,793 yards, 29 touchdowns and just five interceptions. He is projected to go either in the third or fourth round.  

Arkansas’ Brandon Allen was impressive for the South as well. He led them in passing yards, going 7-of-10 for 106 yards, zero touchdowns and zero interceptions. He is also projected to be drafted in the middle rounds.

The North finally got something going on offense when they were quarterbacked by Louisiana Tech’s Jeff Driskel. At 6’4, 231 lbs., he has the size and arm strength to play at the next level. He was almost perfect on Saturday, going 8-of-9, for 108 yards, one touchdown and zero interceptions.

While there are no franchise quarterbacks heading into this draft unlike past years, the middle rounds are filled with quality arms who could turn out to be the next Russell Wilson, depending on which team drafts them.

RUNNING BACK

The South’s running attack was led by Texas Tech’s DeAndre Washington, TCU’s Aaron Green and Alabama’s Kenyan Drake, who combined to rush 20 times for 94 yards, and two touchdowns (Green and Drake).

DeAndre Washington is just 5’8, 185 lbs. He is projected to go in the later rounds (fifth to seventh) and is being compared to Branden Oliver.

Aaron Green is 5’11, 201 lbs., and is also projected to go in the later rounds. While he had some nifty cuts while rushing and was able to hit his holes, he is more of a role player than a feature back.

Kenyan Drake is 6’1, 210 pounds and is projected to go in the fourth or fifth round. He is the forgotten running back coming out of Alabama because most of the attention being focused on Derrick Henry all season, but he has the ability help a team both rushing the ball and catching it out of the backfield.

WIDE RECEIVERS/TIGHT ENDS

The fantasy world has been spoiled the last couple of drafts with so many wide receivers having an immediate impact in fantasy. This draft doesn’t have that. 

Everyone was looking forward to seeing what Braxton Miller would do, and he only managed two receptions for eight yards. Miller did show his versatility, as he had a rushing attempt and handled kickoff returns.

Michigan State’s Aaron Burbridge had two receptions, for 43 yards and a touchdown. He is projected to go in the third round. He is coming out of a pro-style offense at Michigan State, so he could have an impact on a team right away. But at just 6’1, 208 lbs., he must show that he can learn to run crisp routes since he won’t be able to rely on just his size at the next level.

Southeast Missouri State’s Paul McRoberts led the South All-Stars with four receptions for 46 yards and one touchdown. At 6’3, 197 lbs., he is also a middle-to-late round pick.

No wide receiver made a name for themselves in this one. In fact, the two leading receivers for both squads were tight ends. 

Ohio State’s Nick Vannett led the North All-Stars with three receptions for 58 yards while South Carolina’s Jerell Adams led the South All-Stars with three receptions for 49 yards. Neither of them is expected to be a high pick, though.

One tight end who was clearly recognizable was Kansas State’s Glenn Gronkowski. That’s right…Glenn is Rob Gronkowski’s little brother. Unfortunately for Glenn, he’s about three inches shorter and 35 pounds lighter than his older brother and is being looked at more as a fullback than a tight end.

With the games now done, the focus will shift to the scouting combine and then individual pro days. Unfortunately for fantasy owners, there does not seem to be a “big-time” fantasy player ready to step in and have a major impact in this year’s draft. 

However, like the entire draft process, it’s always a great unknown, both for NFL general managers as well as fantasy owners. Depending on which teams these players end up on, one or two could become fantasy relevant in 2016.

I can’t wait to find out!

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A.J. Stone is a correspondent at FantasyPros. To read more from A.J., check out his archive and follow him on Twitter @ajstone18.