Senior Bowl 2022

The Senior Bowl All-Star classic fields an outstanding roster again this year. It is considered the most prominent college football all-star game in the United States and is the most critical stage in the NFL Draft process. The first game was played on January 7, 1950, featuring two squads made up of all-star NFL Draft prospects playing at the Gator Bowl Stadium in Florida. The following year, the game moved to Mobile, AL, where it is still played today.

In 2021, a new era in the Senior Bowl’s history began with the game moving to Hancock Whitney Stadium on the South Alabama Jaguars’ campus. Throughout its history, the Senior Bowl has produced over 55 players that went on to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The game is unique among college all-star games as the teams are coached by NFL staff. Former MVPs of the game include the likes of Dan Marino, LaDainian Tomlinson, Dak Prescott and Justin Herbert.

Date: Saturday, February 5, 2022
Time: 1:30pm CT
Where: Mobile, Alabama
Stadium: University of South Alabama, Hancock Whitney Stadium
TV: NFL Network

Senior Bowl – Players to Watch

Offensive Players
QB Sam Howell             North Carolina               6002     221
QB Malik Willis             Liberty                         6003     220
QB Kenny Pickett          Pittsburgh                     6032     217

RB Abram Smith           Baylor                           5113     211
RB Brian Robinson        Alabama                       6015     226
RB Dameon Pierce        Florida                         5090     220
RB Jerome Ford            Cincinnati                      5106     209
 
WR Alec Pierce             Cincinnati                      6026     208
WR Bo Melton               Rutgers                         5107     191
WR Christian Watson    North Dakota State        6040     211
WR Danny Gray            SMU                             5115     182
WR Jalen Tolbert          South Alabama             6012     195
WR Khalil Shakir           Boise State                   6000     193
 
TE Greg Dulcich            UCLA                           6036     248
TE Cole Turner             Nevada                         6060     246
TE Jake Ferguson         Wisconsin                     6043     244
TE Trey McBride           Colorado State             6031     249
 
OT Bernhard Raimann   Central Michigan           6061     304
OT Daniel Faalele         Minnesota                     6081     387
OT Darian Kinard          Kentucky                      6046     324
OT Max Mitchell            Louisiana                      6056     299
OT Spencer Burford      UTSA                           6037     293
OT Trevor Penning        Northern Iowa               6066     330
OT Abraham Lucas       Washington St               6061     332
OT Braxton Jones         Southern Utah               6051     306
OG Zion Johnson          Boston College             6026     314
OG Cade Mays             Tennessee                    6044     321
OG Chris Paul               Tulsa                            6033     324
OG Cole Strange           Chattanooga                 6043     304
OG Dylan Parham         Memphis                       6020     313
OG Ed Ingram               LSU                              6031     317
OG Jamaree Salyer       Georgia                        6025     320
OG Lecitus Smith          Virginia Tech                 6031     321
OC Luke Fortner           Kentucky                      6037     302
 
Defensive Players
DE Jermaine Johnson   Florida State                 6043     259
DE Kingsley Enagbare   South Carolina             6036     261
DE Logan Hall               Houston                        6057     278
DE Myjai Sanders          Cincinnati                      6043     242
DE Arnold Ebiketie        Penn State                    6023     250

DT Perrion Winfrey        Oklahoma                     6036     303
DT Travis Jones            UConn                         6043     326
DT Devonte Wyatt         Georgia                        6026     307
DT Eric Johnson            Missouri State               6042     300
DT Haskell Garrett         Ohio State                    6013     298
DT John Ridgeway        Arkansas                      6046     327

LB Chad Muma             Wyoming                      6023     241
LB Channing Tindall      Georgia                        6015     223
LB D’Marco Jackson      Appalachian State         6001     235
LB Damone Clark          LSU                              6023     240
LB Darrian Beavers       Cincinnati                      6040     252
 
CB Roger McCreary      Auburn                         5110     189
CB Tariq Castro-Fields Penn State                    6003     194
CB Tariq Woolen           UTSA                           6033     205
CB Josh Thompson       Texas                           5107     199
CB Jaylen Watson         Washington State          6014     197
CB Gregory Junior         Ouachita Baptist            5112     202
S Jalen Pitre                 Baylor                           5106     196
S Sterling Weatherford Miami (Oh)                    6035     230
S Tariq Carpenter         Georgia Tech                6022     225

East-West Game – All-Star Week

The 97th East-West Shrine Bowl returned this postseason after cancelling last year due to Covid. The longest-running college football All-Star Game returned with a new location at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. The West All-Stars defeated the East All-Stars 25-24 in an interesting contest.

It was Browns’ QB EJ Perry, 6-1, 212 who stole the headlines, directing a strong comeback that ultimately fell short in the final minute. He was named the game’s MVP despite playing on the losing team. The Boston College transfer went 13 of 18 for 241 yards and 3 TDs, after entering the game in the second half. Brown was able to make NFL throws into tight windows including the red zone. He drove the team down the field continuously almost pulling the game out.

February Newsletter – DraftInsiders.com will have extensive All-Star analyses

Notre Dame QB Jack Coan, 6-3, 217 went 10 of 13 for 91 yards and a TD in limited time. He went through his progressions soundly and was able to deliver accurate throws to his 2^nd or 3^rd options. He led the West offense right down the field on its opening drive, going 5 of 6 for 49 yards before the East was able to come up with a big goal-line stand.

Offensive Players  

RB Pierre Strong of South Dakota St, 5-11, 202                      
Made nice run on a screen TD reception.

RB Ty Chandler of North Carolina, 5-11, 203              
 Hard runner with quick feet impressed over practices and game.

TE Jelani Woods of Virginia, 6-7, 275
  Athletic TE is a smooth mover in his routes and made a nice play for a TD
 
WR Samori Toure of Nebraska, 6-2, 190
Caught two TDs in the 4th quarter. Lean and agile with good skill set.
 
Defensive Players  
WR Diego Fagot of Navy, 6-2, 235  
Active linebacker has fine instincts and tackling to finish. He elevated his grade with a fine week.

LB Nephi Sewell of Utah, 5-11, 226
Active backer displays keen instincts to read plays, stay clean and run to the ball to finish.
 
S Juanyeh Thomas of Georgia Tech, 6-1, 207
Big hitter and showed sound instincts and reads to get to the ball and finish.
 

Tom Brady Retires After Incredible 22 Year Career

From #199 to the GOAT

The amazing QB Tom Brady ended his NFL career after a record setting 22 year stay which included 7 Super Bowl titles along with 5 game MVP awards in two stops with the New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Bucs. The 44-year-old Buc QB Tom Brady stated that he owes time to his wife and children after a final run for the title. Retirement writing was on the wall for the GOAT after the Bucs lost in the divisional playoffs to the Rams. The greatest of all time made it official today, concluding an unparalleled career.

After being selected in the 6th round as the #199 overall draft choice in the NFL Draft 2000, Brady set virtually every QB record, Super Bowl wins, career victories, passing yards, TDs and playoff wins and divisional titles. He spent his first 20 seasons with the Patriots under HC Bill Belichick that includes 6 Super Bowl titles. He began as a 4^th string QB before moving up the ranks and earning starting time when Drew Bledsoe was injured by a late hit that cost him the rest of his season and eventually his starting job. Brady led the Pats to an upset SB win over the St. Louis Rams that began the legacy that arguably has transformed him into the greatest NFL player in history.

His short two-year career in Tampa, began with a 6-2 start that set the ground work for another playoff run including winning the NFC title in Green Bay before beat the Kansas City Chiefs in the Super Bowl. He returned in 2021 to win another unprecedented divisional title with a performance of over 5300 yards passing and 43 TD tosses.

He completes his career with 3 season MVP awards, 15 time Pro Bowler and the only player in NFL history to win a Super Bowl in three decades. His 7 Super Bowl victories in 10 appearances may stand for decades. Interesting in his three Super Bowl losses, he left the field (2x against the Giants and once vs Eagles) with a late 4^th quarter lead, only for the vaulted Patriots defense to fail at the close. In 2007, he led the Patriots to a perfect 16-0 record along with a record 50 TD passes at the time. Their dream of perfection ended in SB XVII with Eli Manning’s late game dramatics for a crushing disappointing 17-14 loss.

His statistics are amazing and ranks #1 in NFL history in completions (7,263), pass attempts (11,317), yards (84,520), passing TDs (624), starts (316), QB wins (243), Pro Bowl nods (15), and Super Bowl MVPs (five). In addition, Brady led the NFL in TD passes five times (2002, 2007, 2010, 2015, 2021), the most such seasons by any player in NFL history.

His 2021 performance is beyond belief for anyone, let alone a 44-year old QB. He threw for 5316 yards with 43 TD passes along with 485 completions. He led the Bucs to their first AFC South title since 2007. In his final game, he led the Bucs vs the Rams to recover from a 27-3 deficit only to lose to a game winning FG at the buzzer. This season, he ranks with Aaron Rodgers in the two-man MVP award chase.

His postseason performances are even more incredible with no rivals in every critical category. No QB comes remotely close to his playoff success. In his 22-season career, he made 19 appearances, started 47 games, earned 35 wins, 10 Super Bowl appearances, seven Super Bowl wins, 1,165 postseason completions, 13,049 postseason passing yards, 86 postseason passing TDs with the most 3 TD passing games, in addition to 14 game-winning drives, and nine fourth-quarter comebacks, all most in NFL history.

Brady leaves at the top of the game with accomplishments that no 44-year old athlete even dreams about. Only a few rare athletes were able to accomplish retiring at their peak – Roger Staubach, John Elway, Jimmy Brown and Barry Sanders on the elite short list.