Davis Webb had a great showing at the Senior Bowl

R.C. Fischer recaps the Senior Bowl from a fantasy football perspective.

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After scouting all the Senior Bowl prospects this month, watching tape of them during practice week, and then covering the Senior Bowl game itself, here are my final takeaways from the game/the week of Senior Bowl.

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— There were five quarterback prospects in this game that likely won’t see the light of day in the NFL (per my scouting), and then there was Cal QB Davis Webb – the game’s MVP.

In pre-scouting several game tapes and analyzing the advanced performance numbers of these QB prospects in early January 2017, I believed Webb was not only the definitive best of the group but a potential first-round talent. Most analysts project him as a mid-draft prospect, a ‘developmental’ QB. He went out to Mobile and was terrific all week. He was voted the best quarterback of the practice week by the Senior Bowl, while analysts stayed focused on debating whether Nate Peterman is ‘the next Kirk Cousins.’

Because Webb was so stellar in Senior Bowl practices it only made sense for Hue Jackson to pick lesser talented Tennessee QB Joshua Dobbs to start over Webb(!?). Dobbs started, did OK/looked limited as expected – a lot of one-read-and-fire simple passes. Nothing attention getting. Dobbs and Peterman battled for the opening of the game in a 3–0 offensive explosion through the first quarter and a half. And then Webb finally got in.

You could see in an instant what a real NFL quarterback talent (Webb) looks like compared to the collection of limited, really good college-level QBs (everyone else in Mobile) when Webb entered. He started launching NFL-like passes all over the field. Not blind heaves or a bunch of screens/bubble passes, but precise missiles to convert third-and-longs and working medium and deep with confidence. Webb’s mechanics were perfect. His release and velocity on passes were what scouts covet. His decision making was near perfect. His ball placement was near perfect.

I’ve scouted the Senior Bowl practice week and game in person and on tape for four years now. Three quarterbacks were so good in the Senior Bowl game it was obvious to me they were a step above the other QB prospects there by comparison – Jimmy Garoppolo, Dak Prescott, and now Davis Webb. Also note, those three QBs were not considered ‘good enough’ to start in their respective Senior Bowl years. They were not beloved or given ‘status’ by scouts and analysts at the Senior Bowl.

Webb played the best couple of series of football of any QB prospect in the Senior Bowl in my four years covering the game. The response from analysts during the game? “He’ll be a good developmental quarterback.” OK. Sure. You go with Nate Peterman. Some NFL team will grab Webb at a discount while Cleveland grabs Dobbs as their value pick and throws up a few more 1–15 seasons.

Davis Webb not only established that he is a legit NFL quarterback prospect this Senior Bowl week and game, he showed he is first-round material and in the argument for the top QB prospect in the NFL Draft. He benefited greatly from Senior Bowl week. His eventual landing spot in the NFL Draft is going to make him a big discussion point for upcoming dynasty rookie drafts and fantasy 2017 – a potential instant starter for an NFL team and thus a fantasy sleeper. Or he could be an overlooked prospect taken by the Steelers, Chargers, Giants or another team with an established, aging quarterback who Webb is buried behind for years like Garoppolo.

— O.J. Howard also greatly benefited from his decision to attend the Senior Bowl. Most prospects with his ‘accepted’ (by the media and analysts) lofty status are wise to skip Mobile so as not to damage their reputation. Howard was smart. He took a top-30 projection and vaulted into the top 10-to-15 this week.

Howard proved he is so clearly the best tight end prospect in 2017 (with a lot of great TE prospects this year) and one of the best tight end prospects in the past few years. He was terrific all week with his catching ability, blocking, perfect measurables, and fluid movements in every phase of the game. Where he shined in the Senior Bowl game itself was doing what NFL tight ends do – releasing off the line, getting open with linebackers and safeties hanging on you and making the catches over the middle under duress.

Given the lack of great TE prospects the past few years, O.J. Howard might be in the discussion as a top-three dynasty rookie draft prospect coming up and an instant top 5-to–10 tight end option for fantasy redrafts heading into the season.

— East Carolina WR Zay Jones went nuts in this game. The North team had bad/limited quarterback play, and they all quickly decided to just keep throwing it to Jones, who had more catches and receiving yards than all the other North team WRs combined. To his credit, Jones was catching everything and most of the grabs were somewhere between ‘sweet’ and ‘wow.’ He had six catches for 68 yards and a TD but just missed out on two more TDs with another 50+ yards. He caught a touchdown in the back of the end zone score but was ruled out of bounds (it was close) and later scored on a deep-ball catch that was called back for an O-Line penalty. Jones went from fifth-round sleeper to top 75–to-100 pick because of this game. Depending on his NFL landing spot Zay might have worked his way into the argument of top 12 prospects for upcoming dynasty rookie drafts.

His North teammates Eastern Washington WR Cooper Kupp and Louisiana Tech WR Trent Taylor are better pro prospects, potentially, but what happened to them was exactly what I feared going in. They are wide receiver technicians on a high level and need a precise quarterback to make them shine. and Nate Peterman and C.J. Beathard were not the keys to unlock their magic. If you’re a Kupp fan for fantasy then this game helped keep him a bit of a secret because he was outshined by Jones, but know that Kupp was the star of the practice week, voted the best wide receiver of the practice week, and is still the better pro prospect. And that’s not taking anything away from Jones.

— Toledo RB prospect Kareem Hunt rushed for 121 yards on 15 carries, one of the best rushing efforts in Senior Bowl history. Hunt far outshined the other running backs in this game. He had some nice holes to run through, but he also took hits and kept his balance, continuing to run downfield. He broke several tackles hitting the second level, displaying exquisite balance and toughness.

Hunt was at risk of falling to a late-round draft pick because he didn’t light up practice week or have a good weigh in session – just 5′10″/208 when he was advertised as 220+ pounds. However, his showing in the Senior Bowl game likely put him back in a top 150 overall draft prospect discussion. I’m still a skeptic of him for upcoming dynasty rookie drafts and fantasy 2017, but his showing Saturday pulled me back from ignoring to interested to see his measurables at the NFL Combine.

Quick Hits

— Wisconsin RB Corey Clement got hurt early and was out for most of the game. We cannot hold his quiet performance against him.

— Small school Tiffin QB prospect Antonio Pipkin did what was feared in this game. The moment was too big, and he flopped. After showing improvement each day at practices and looking like a legit NFL prospect, he finished with two bad interceptions on four throws. A few guys made millions because of improving their draft stock Senior Bowl week, Pipkin cost himself. He may have tossed himself from late-round sleeper to undrafted free agent because of this game. It’s unfair. There is something here for a team to work with, but NFL teams aren’t big on developing 6′0″ small school QB prospects.

— St. Francis LB/DB Lorenzo Jerome had three tackles, one TFL, one FF, and two interceptions. He offered one of the most compelling college tapes I saw this month among the Senior Bowl prospects. He may be the shock of the NFL Combine with his speed and agility and thus become a radical IDP rookie prospect.

— Kansas State DE/LB Jordan Willis had two sacks and two forced fumbles, winning Player of the Game for his team. Willis is an intriguing edge-rush prospect, but these two big plays/sacks may have been more blown blocking allowing Willis to rack numbers. Not to diminish Willis, but he wasn’t dominant, just fortuitous in this game.

— Everyone wanted to see if Temple LB Haason Reddick could transition from pass-rush DE in college to middle linebacker for the pros. Playing that role in this game, Reddick was tied for the most tackles with nine. He accounted himself well. His stock continues to rise.

— Texas A&M WR prospect Josh Reynolds led all receivers in catches (six), yards (96) and TDs (one). His TD catch from a perfectly thrown ball by Davis Webb was a thing of beauty. He caught a 39-yard bomb over his shoulder with the DB’s arm swatting at the ball. This caps a week where Reynolds improved his draft stock significantly. Depending upon the NFL Combine and what team he lands with, Reynolds might be in the first-round dynasty rookie draft discussion.