2024 Senior Bowl: One player at each position who should interest the Eagles in Mobile

The 2024 Senior Bowl boasts one of the deepest rosters the all-star game has produced in recent memory. From two potential first-round quarterbacks to several early-round offensive linemen, this week’s practices won’t disappoint from a talent perspective.

With the Eagles holding the No. 22 pick in the draft, the Senior Bowl presents an opportunity for the Birds to start building relationships with these prospects. It has paid off in recent years, with both third round-picks last year — Sydney Brown and Tyler Steen — beginning their draft processes in Mobile, Ala.

Before Tuesday’s first practice, here is one player to know from each position group the Eagles should have interest in.

» READ MORE: NFL mock draft 1.0: Who goes first? Who do the Eagles take? Who gets Marvin Harrison Jr.?

While several teams selecting early in the draft will have a need for a quarterback, the Eagles do not, with a long-term investment in Jalen Hurts. However, tracking the performances of the headliners of the group in Mobile, Oregon’s Bo Nix and Washington’s Michael Penix Jr., could prove important for the Eagles’ sake. Both have appeared in first-round mock drafts, but the certainty around their stocks is unknown. A big performance in Mobile from either player could increase the number of quarterbacks taken in the first round, allowing talented players to slide down the board.

Tennessee’s Joe Milton is worth monitoring as a possible Day 3 selection. Possessing a rocket arm, Milton can create with his legs, and while his down-to-down accuracy must improve, he could really intrigue teams with his skill set.

With no true headliners in the group, this year’s Senior Bowl class features players with speed, power, receiving profiles, and more. Particularly for the Eagles, one running back stands out from the rest: USC’s Mar’Shawn Lloyd, who spent his final season with the Trojans after spending his first three seasons at South Carolina.

What makes Lloyd special is his vision and ability to get downhill quickly as a runner. An efficient runner averaging over 7 yards per carry on just 116 carries with nine scores, Lloyd makes his damage after contact. According to Pro Football Focus, Lloyd forced 56 missed tackles and 457 of his 820 yards came after contact.

The Eagles’ running back room may look different if D’Andre Swift tests free agency, and Lloyd could be a potential mid-round target.

Just like the running back room in Mobile, the wide receiver room has players of different body types, sizes, and skill sets. Players like Johnny Wilson, Brennan Rice, and Luke McCaffrey are the skyscrapers of the group, while others like Jacob Cowing, Ainias Smith, and Malachi Corley are smaller, shiftier players who are explosive with the ball in their hands.

Somewhere in the middle is Florida wide receiver Ricky Pearsall, a player the Eagles should be heavily interested in with his route-running savvy and blocking ability on the perimeter. The third wide receiver role was largely unanswered all season for the Birds, but having a player like Pearsall, who had 425 snaps in the slot and 353 snaps out wide in 2023, according to PFF, would be an upgrade.

With just a 3% drop rate, Pearsall is a dependable, sure-handed wideout who understands spacing and how to attack a defensive back’s leverage. By the end of the next week, Pearsall could be a big riser who isn’t getting the credit he deserves currently as a prospect.

The Eagles didn’t get much production out of their tight ends not named Dallas Goedert this season, so adding one in the draft isn’t out of the realm of possibility.

Of the six tight ends set to depart for Mobile, Penn State’s Theo Johnson is among the most versatile, with the athleticism to run routes downfield along with blocking effectively in the trenches. Johnson balances the ability to separate at the top of breaks at his size (6-foot-6, 240 pounds) and creating after the catch as well as any tight end in this class. Of his 341 receiving yards in 2023, 170 came after the catch.

As the league continues to shift toward 12 personnel (one running back, two tight ends), Johnson could give the Eagles a blend of a blocking and receiving threat.

» READ MORE: The Eagles have the No. 22 pick in the 2024 NFL draft. Here are 4 prospects they could target.

The most fascinating group at the Senior Bowl is the offensive tackle class, with five players who have the size and skill set to be selected in the first round. In The Inquirer’s recent mock draft, BYU tackle Kingsley Suamataia was the Eagles’ selection at 22, and Oklahoma tackle Tyler Guyton was among the players listed as potential first-round targets.

One player to add to this list is Arizona tackle Jordan Morgan, who will see snaps at both guard and tackle in Mobile. An easy mover in pass protection who held his own this season against elite Pac-12 pass rushers, Morgan consistently showcases the ability to hit his landmarks as a run blocker with excellent knock-back power on first contact. While he can stick as a tackle at the NFL, showcasing his potential versatility at guard could widen his draft potential.

Oregon’s potential first-round center Jackson Powers-Johnson, who has a rare combination of athleticism and strength to work in space, headlines the interior offensive line group, but several college tackles will be working in the interior next week.

Another center though, West Virginia’s Zach Frazier, is a player who could rise, similar to Minnesota’s John Michael-Schmitz doing so during last year’s Senior Bowl. As a former four-time state champion wrestler in high school, Frazier plays with excellent leverage. His lower-body torque in the run game allows him to win at the point of attack and consistently drive defenders to the ground.

With uncertainty around Jason Kelce’s future, there’s no guarantee Cam Jurgens is the immediate answer. With two second-round picks this year, the Eagles could beef up the interior of their offensive line by adding Frazier.

Texas defensive linemen T’Vondre Sweat and Byron Murphy are the stars of the group who will be highly drafted, but the group as a whole has a number of versatile linemen who can fit across several different schemes. One in particular who is flying under the radar is Duke defensive tackle DeWayne Carter, who has the length and power to overwhelm interior offensive linemen as a pass rusher.

Carter, who finished 2023 with 41 tackles and 3½ tackles for losses, was credited with 18 pressures, per PFF. He can make plays from the three-technique, one-technique, and even has juice as a standup rusher. While the Eagles have plenty of talent and invested a handful of picks in the defensive line the last couple of years, Carter would be a nice Day 3 addition.

UCLA’s Laiatu Latu is the best and most complete edge rusher heading to the Senior Bowl, headlining a diverse group that features both underclassmen and upperclassmen thanks to a rule change for college all-star games. Although the Eagles added Nolan Smith in the first round last year, adding an additional edge rusher, with the uncertain future of Brandon Graham, could become a priority.

The Eagles have a couple of speed rushers already but could add a player like Alabama’s Chris Braswell, who implores a heavy-handed style of pass rushing. Last season marked a massive jump in production for Braswell, who finished with a career-high eight sacks and three forced fumbles, winning 18% of his pass rush reps, according to PFF. His game-wrecking presence could put him in the spotlight in Mobile against several NFL-ready offensive tackles.

Selecting him No. 22 overall could be a little rich, but the power combined with the bend around the edge is worth adding to an already diverse Eagles edge room.

North Carolina State linebacker Payton Wilson is by far the best and most impactful linebacker of the group, but several other players have intriguing, three-down potential. Miami safety James Williams, who will play both linebacker and safety, is a player we mentioned as someone to watch closely after the Senior Bowl reveal show earlier this month.

Here, though, we’ll spotlight North Carolina’s Cedric Gray, a rangy, athletic linebacker who meets blockers head on and is an excellent quarterback spy on third downs. Finishing with 121 tackles (11 for losses), four pass breakups and one interception, Gray does a nice job when he drops back into coverage.

While the Eagles doubled down on their faith in Nakobe Dean and valuation of linebackers, getting a player like Gray would be an upgrade from last year’s linebacker room.

» READ MORE: Six players from Senior Bowl roster reveal the Eagles should monitor

Penn State’s Kalen King is a player who has the most to gain from a strong week in Mobile, but the Eagles could be keeping a close eye on Toledo defensive back Quinyon Mitchell, looking to become the first Mid-American Conference defensive back to be selected as a first-round pick since 2014 (Jimmie Ward). Mitchell has the size (6-foot, 196 pounds) and ball production (six interceptions, 38 pass breakups over last two years) to do so.

The Senior Bowl will be a step up in competition for Mitchell, who mainly played in off-man and zone coverages at Toledo. Proving that he can play press man coverage at a high level and be as productive as he was against MAC opponents would go a long way for his draft stock.

Michigan’s Mike Sainristil is the headliner for that style of defensive back, but Missouri’s Kris Abrams-Draine has the ball skills, footwork, and athleticism to be a high-level slot corner. Mainly playing outside corner at Missouri, the former wide receiver turned defensive back is smooth out of his backpedal and can locate the football effectively while in coverage phase. His inside-out ability would be valuable in the Eagles’ secondary room.

The underclassmen rule change has affected the safety room more than any other group in Mobile. Just five of the 10 safeties are seniors, which should make it a fascinating group to keep a close eye on.

Maryland’s Beau Brade is one of the more intriguing players of the group, touting ball skills, range, physicality, and excellent instincts. The Terrapins’ leading tackler (75) flies around on tape, adding the ability to make plays in the box as a run defender, patrolling the short and intermediate passing game.

A potential mid-round pick, Brade has playmaking ability that would fit nicely alongside Reed Blankenship and Brown in the Eagles’ safety room.