MOBILE, Ala. — Every aspect of the NFL has been impacted by the coronavirus pandemic, and the Senior Bowl is no different.
The chances to interact with players are more limited. The free-for-all in the lobby among scouts, coaches, personnel executives, agents, players and media at the Renaissance Riverview hotel and convention center in downtown Mobile is gone, replaced by a strict protocol that allows just 10 employees from each team into that bubble.
But within that environment, the representatives of each team still have the chance to do what they did in past years: meet the players face-to-face. And with the NFL Combine being wiped out because of the pandemic, this is the best chance to meet with 130 prospects beyond Zoom conferences.
The practices themselves will still be the same, although they will take place in front of fewer team staffers and media members than normal.
So, for all the changes, this week will still look closer to normal than anything else on the NFL calendar. If anything, the importance of the week is heightened. To make a positive impression here is to add a layer of confidence in one’s prospects that cannot come from anything else over the next three months.
And the Broncos should have their eyes on players like these:
LB CHAZZ SURRATT, NORTH CAROLINA
Surratt is a converted quarterback who started seven games at that position for the Tar Heels in the the interregnum between No. 2 overall pick Mitchell Trubisky and likely first-rounder Sam Howell. He didn’t move to linebacker until 2019, and immediately earned first-team All-ACC honors in his first season there.
With timed speed of 4.5 seconds in the 40-yard dash, Surratt has the physical tools to cover in space. His background as a quarterback also helps him as a defensive play-caller; he is intelligent and thinks in terms of the 11 players on the field, not just his own role. He plays aggressively, but given his relative lack of experience at the position, sometimes gets caught out of position. Nevertheless, he might have the most upside of any linebacker in the draft.
QB MAC JONES, ALABAMA
In past years, the prospects here would have been broken into North and South squads. That ensured that all players from regional favorites Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, LSU and the Mississippi schools ended up on the South squad.’
That changed early this month, when the Senior Bowl announced it would select American and National teams. A similar division of players from 1991-93 led to the game being contested between teams representing the AFC and NFC. This allows for better balance of prospects among the teams.
It also means that NFL scouts get to see Jones without the twin security blankets of Heisman Trophy-winning wide receiver DeVonta Smith and running back Najee Harris, who will suit up for the National team. Furthering the intrigue for Jones is the fact that he will work with the coaching staff of the Carolina Panthers, who hold the No. 8 pick and are dissecting this year’s quarterback prospects. That doesn’t mean the Panthers will select Jones; after all, the Broncos coached Josh Allen here three years ago and passed on drafting him. But it raises the stakes — and possibilities – for Jones as he looks to show that he isn’t a product of Alabama producing skill-position standouts at an assembly-line rate.
QB JAMIE NEWMAN, WAKE FOREST/GEORGIA
Newman transferred to Georgia last year, but did not play a snap in Athens after opting out of the 2020 season due to COVID-19 concerns. Had Newman played for Georgia — and played well, specifically improving his accuracy — he could have elbowed his way into the first-round conversation. Instead, he will have to show that he can execute pro-style concepts while quickly shaking off the rust that can gather when you haven’t played a game in 13 months.
Newman has the raw tools: strong arm, enough mobility, and — at 6-foot-4 and 230 pounds, the size and frame to withstand hits. No prospect has more to gain this week. But a shaky few days could push Newman deep into Day 3.
CB BRYAN MILLS, NORTH CAROLINA CENTRAL
Mills, like every prospect from outside of FBS, has the same issue: he didn’t have much of a season, if any. Games were scarce for FCS, Division II and Division III schools, so all of those prospects must prove something similar to Newman: that they are in football shape despite not having played a season.
He has outstanding length and instincts to make plays on the ball, picking off five passes during the 2019 season. As is always the case for small-school prospects, the question is whether they can make the level jump. Last year, Kyle Dugger (Lenoir-Rhyne) and Jeremy Chinn (Southern Illinois) flourished and played their way into Day 2. Mills hopes that he can be next.
THE SMALL-SCHOOL OFFENSIVE LINEMEN
OK, this isn’t a single player, but a cluster of them.
Mike Munchak is always on the hunt for mid-to-late-round prospects, and new Broncos general manager George Paton has shown a willingness to mine levels beyond FBS for talent. So keep your eyes on guard Quinn Meinerz of Wisconsin-Whitewater, tackle Spencer Brown of Northern Iowa and guard David Moore of Grambling. All three have the opportunity to turn heads and raise their stock this week.
