The senior bowl doesn't necessarily feature prospects that are first round picks in the NFL draft (there ARE first rounders here but it's not a who's who of first rounders) -- those players are undergoing radical strength and conditioning drills to conquer the NFL Combine in the hopes of improving their overall numbers for their draft stock. It's a farce because scouts are judging players using drills that offer little football relevance. Yet these drills take precedence over the tape that features these players playing the game that they're being scouted for.
Weird.
Anyway... that's for another day. While the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks prepare for the Super Bowl next week, the rest of the NFL is descending on Mobile, Alabama for the annual senior bowl. A significant number of Cincinnati's scouting crew, presumably including Duke Tobin and their coaches (Marvin Lewis is an annual guest), are likely stationed in the warm breezes of Alabama sunshine to monitor practices this week, leading to Saturday's annual game.
If you're reclusive enough to believe that the Bengals are monitoring only specific positions, you're not paying attention to this team's recent work in the draft. That being said, people do draft based on need -- it's just that "need" isn't so much of a headline priority from the BPA crowd. For example, why would the Bengals draft a quarterback in the first round. They won't. That being said, we're envisioning that the Bengals will address linebacker, offensive line and defensive line in the NFL draft (not just the first round).
A few notes:
+ Paul Dehner Jr. offers a list of players that the Bengals could be looking at, including LSU offensive tackle La'el Collins:
He won't just be on the Cincinnati radar. He's arguably the top player at the event. Collins looks targeted for a first-round draft pick and a player capable of entering the league and starting as a blind side protector immediately. The Bengals know just how well an LSU left tackle can work out but at some point they need to not only fix the swing tackle position vacated by Anthony Collins, but think about life after the 33-year-old Andrew Whitworth.
+ Sports Illustrated's Chris Burke offers a look at the top 10 prospects to watch, including Michigan State wide receiver Tony Lippett:
Lippett is listed as a wide receiver for the event. Will he take any turns at cornerback? The 6-3, 185-pounder pulled double duty for Michigan State down the stretch, catching five passes and holding up well on the other side of the ball during that bowl win over Baylor. He finished the year with 11 receiving touchdowns and more than 1,100 yards, which is why he's starting off on offense at the Senior Bowl. His versatility is pretty unique, though.
+ Dane Brugler with NFL Draft Scout offers 10 defensive prospects to watch with Harvard outside linebacker Zach Hodges generating some interest as a hybrid player:
Arguably the top "small school" prospect at the Senior Bowl, Hodges will look to do what WR Tre McBride did at the East-West Shrine Game and show he can have success against FBS talent. Hodges played a hybrid role at Harvard, lining up inside, outside and also standing up as a rusher, so scouts will be eager to see how Hodges looks at a traditional linebacker spot.
+ Here's the senior bowl roster... get used to these names.
North team
Quarterbacks
Sean Mannion, Oregon State
Bryce Petty, Baylor
Running backs
Ameer Abdullah, Nebraska
David Cobb, Minnesota
Jeremy Langford, Michigan State
Ty Varga (FB), Yale
Receivers
Nick Boyle (TE), Delaware
Jamison Crowder, Duke
Antwan Goodley, Baylor
Ben Koyack (TE), Notre Dame
Tony Lippett, Michigan State
Tyler Lockett, Kansas State
Vince Mayle, Washington State
Ty Montgomery, Stanford
Casey Pierce (TE), Kent State
Devin Smith, Ohio State
Offensive linemen
Trenton Brown (OT), Florida
T.J. Clemmings (OT), Pittsburgh
Jamil Douglas (OT), Arizona State
Max Garcia (C), Florida
Rob Havenstein (OT), Wisconsin
Chris Jasperse (C), Marshall
Ali Marpet (OT), Hobart
Donovan Smith (OT), Penn State
Robert Myers (G), Tennessee State
Laken Tomlinson (G), Duke
Defensive linemen
Henry Anderson (DE), Stanford
Deion Barnes (DE), Penn State
Michael Bennett (DT), Ohio State
Marcus Hardison (DE), Arizona State
Hau'oli Kikaha (DE), Washington
Nate Orchard (DE), Utah
Danny Shelton (DT), Washington
Za'Darius Smith (DE), Kentucky
Louis Trinca-Pasat (DT), Iowa
Linebackers
Jordan Hicks (OLB), Texas
Mike Hull (OLB), Penn State
Zack Hodges (OLB), Harvard
Jeff Luc (ILB), Cincinnati
Defensive backs
Adrian Amos (S), Penn State
Ibraheim Campbell (S), Northwestern
Quandre Diggs (CB), Texas
Kurtis Drummond (S), Michigan State
Doran Grant (CB), Ohio State
Steven Nelson (CB), Oregon State
Damarious Randall (S), Arizona State
Quinten Rollins (CB), Miami (Ohio)
Eric Rowe (CB), Utah
Josh Shaw (CB), USC
Kevin White (CB), TCU
Specialists
Joe Cardona (LS), Navy
Kyle Loomis (P), Portland State
Tom Obarski (K), Concordia-St. Paul
South team
Quarterbacks
Shane Carden, East Carolina
Nick Marshall, Auburn
Blake Sims, Alabama
Running backs
Cameron Artis-Payne, Auburn
Jalston Fowler (FB), Alabama
David Johnson, Northern Iowa
Cameron Neighbors (FB), LSU
Receivers
Sammie Coates, Auburn
Devante Davis, UNLV
Phillip Dorsett, Miami (Fla.)
Rannell Hall, UCF
Justin Hardy, East Carolina
Josh Harper, Fresno State
Dezmin Lewis, Central Arkansas
Donatella Luckett, Harding
Nick O'Leary (TE), Florida State
C.J. Uzomah (TE), Auburn
Clive Walford (TE), Miami (Fla.)
Offensive linemen
La'el Collins (OT), LSU
Dillon Day (C), Mississippi State
Reese Dismukes (C), Auburn
Tayo Fabuluje (OT), TCU
Tre' Jackson (G), Florida State
Arie Kouandjio (G), Alabama
Shaq Mason (G), Georgia Tech
Ty Sambrailo (OT), Colorado State
Austin Shepherd (OT), Alabama
Daryl Williams (OT), Oklahoma
Defensive linemen
Kaleb Eulls (DT), Mississippi State
Trey Flowers (DE), Arkansas
Markus Golden (DE), Missouri
Grady Jarrett (DT), Clemson
Joey Mbu (DT), Houston
Owamagbe Odighizuwa (DE), UCLA
Preston Smith (DE), Mississippi State
Gabe Wright (DT), Auburn
Linebackers
Stephone Anthony (ILB), Clemson
Geneo Grissom (OLB), Oklahoma
Lorenzo Mauldin (OLB), Louisville
Denzel Perryman (ILB), Miami (Fla.)
Hayes Pullard (ILB), USC
Martrell Spaight (OLB), Arkansas
Lynden Trail (OLB), Norfolk State
Defensive backs
Imoan Claiborne (CB), Northwestern State
Clayton Geathers (S), UCF
Senquez Golson (CB), Ole Miss
Anthony Jefferson (S), UCLA
Cody Prewitt (S), Ole Miss
JaCorey Shepherd (CB), Kansas
D'Joun Smith (CB), Florida Atlantic
Jaquiski Tartt (S), Samford
Specialists
Andrew East (LS), Vanderbilt
Justin Manton (K), Louisiana-Monroe