The 2025 Senior Bowl kicked off in Mobile, Alabama, with Day 1 of practices giving us a first look at some of the top NFL Draft prospects. Let’s dive into the top takeaways from Day 1, highlighting key risers, potential fallers, and everything in between.
Risers
QB Tyler Shough Louisville
This format makes it tough for quarterbacks to stand out with a condensed week, new verbiage to digest, receivers that the quarterbacks don’t have built in rapport with, and a number of other factors playing a part. Despite all of that, Shough was in luck. He made a number of throws from different arm angles with zip and precision while also flashing accuracy on the move. The collegiate veteran put his experience to work and didn’t look rattled at all. He should be on any teams’ radar that is looking to address quarterback in the middle rounds of the NFL Draft.
TE Elijah Arroyo Miami
Arroyo’s name is on the shortlist in the running for the best skill player for Day 1 of the Senior Bowl. He was silky smooth during 1-on-1s, burning defenders up the seam. His footwork was exceptional as he earned separation early and often. Arroyo also tracked an over-the-shoulder target perfectly. Arroyo just backed up the talent that he showed in his final collegiate season, ranking 23rd in yards per route run and second in YAC per reception (per PFF). Without Gunnar Helm in Mobile, Arroyo had no problem pushing Harold Fannin Jr. aside as the most impressive tight end in Mobile on Day 1.
WR Jaylen Noel Iowa State
Noel can hang his hat at the head of the wide receiver table for the Senior Bowl after Day 1. Noel got open all day long, flashing route running, physicality, and some nice body control on the perimeter with a nifty back-shoulder catch. Noel looked the part of a receiver who ranked top-30 in yards per route run and receiving grade last year
RB Brashard Smith SMU
Smith spent the day whipping linebackers in 1-on-1 receiving drills, gaining quick separation and snagging all of his targets. He looked comfortable and crafty in route running drills as a possible mismatch weapon in the NFL while also standing out in the rushing department. Yes, players were unable to tackle today, so I’m not saying that Smith was a tackle-breaking behemoth today, but once the ball reached his possession on rushing plays, he looked shot out of a cannon.
RB Marcus Yarns Delaware
If NFL teams were hoping to see Yarns as a possible passing down back for their offense in Mobile, then they should be quite happy with how Day 1 unfolded. In his final season, Yarns ranked 19th in yards per route run among all FBS and FCS running backs with at least 20 targets. He finished college with 1.69 yards per route run and had a 16.4% slot rate in his final year (per PFF). Yarns was cooking in 1-on-1 drills today and snagging everything thrown in his direction. He has put himself on the late-round NFL Draft radar for NFL teams hoping to snag his services and avoid a bidding war in the UDFA pool
TE Thomas Fidone Nebraska
For a player with only 4.0 YAC per reception and 1.31 yards per route run in his collegiate career, my expectations were low, but he was a fluid mover in 1-on-1s and flashed in team drills. He’s a long-striding mutant gazelle with pterodactyl arms who can chew up yards in a hurry. He displayed soft hands and underrated route running all day. In what projects to be a deep tight end class for this year’s NFL Draft, Fidone made himself some money today.
WR Tez Johnson Oregon
Tez is the kind of WR who is supposed to show out in drills like the ones they run in Mobile. These favor 1-on-1s and 7-on-7s favor the offense, especially quick and shifty WRs. But the players still have to do out there and make plays, and Johnson did just that on Day 1. He consistently generated separation and displayed quickness and acceleration, and pretty much every DB who lined up across from him on Tuesday had trouble staying close to him. The only negative is that these prospects arrived on Monday for measurements, and at 5’9″ and 156 pounds, he was even smaller than his listed 5’10, 165 at Oregon. I’m looking forward to watching him the rest of the week.
QB Taylor Elgersma Laurier
The small school Canadian cannon came out, putting some RPMs on the ball. He had a number of “piss missiles” today, as NFL arm strength shouldn’t be a question for the decorated prospect from north of the border. The problem for Elgersma was touch and accuracy. In the brief clips that I was able to find prior to Mobile to familiarize myself with Elgersma’s game, I saw solid ball placement, so after only one day on the Senior Bowl stage, I’m not ready to bury the kid. He definitely needs to have better showings the rest of the week if he hopes to be this year’s Tyson Bagent.
Fallers
WR Xavier Restrepo Miami
Restrepo had a rough day. He looked stiff in and out of his breaks. With underneath routes and in-breakers, he got strapped up at the line and had defenders in his back pocket all day. This is worrisome as these will be the main routes in the NFL, and they should be Restrepo’s bread and butter. I’m hoping he bounces back this week, but it was a tough start for a player that I was excited to see.
QB Jalen Milroe Alabama
Milroe is a polarizing prospect who has a ton to gain this week. He didn’t gain anything on Tuesday, in my opinion. We know he has athleticism for days, which is all the rave in the NFL these days with more and more teams finding success with dual-threat quarterbacks. The questions about Milroe will be about his abilities as a passer. On Tuesday, he lacked accuracy and touch in drills that should favor the offense. At one point, it felt like we went roughly an hour between Milroe completions.
QB Riley Leonard Notre Dame
Fairhope native Riley Leonard returns to south Alabama. Leonard enters this week of practice needing to string some strong days together as a passer to hopefully improve his NFL stock. The mobility and athleticism aren’t in question, but Leonard needs to dispel concerns about his bipolar accuracy acumen. He didn’t do anything to quiet those worries on Day 1. Leonard tossed a flat ball to the second level, hitting a corner in the back, and bounced an underneath target later in practice. Leonard needs to improve, or he could see his draft stock plummet.
QB Jaxson Dart Ole Miss
There isn’t a whole lot to say about Dart’s Day 1, good or bad. He has a lot to gain this week and at the NFL Combine, because he has the potential to shoot up draft boards. The afternoon practice today lacked energy, and Dart often took checkdowns instead of pushing the ball to the deep and intermediate parts of the field. Maybe that was by design. Maybe he was just trying to avoid mistakes.
RB Trevor Etienne Georgia
The running backs didn’t do as much on Tuesday as they’ll likely do on Wednesday and Thursday, at least from an evaluation standpoint. There were no pass protection drills. There weren’t many 1-on-1 reps (though there were some), and the full squad and 7-on-7 reps seemed to be at half or 75% speed at times, especially in the afternoon session with the American team. Etienne looked fine, but there wasn’t a lot to go on due to the aforementioned limitations. He’s an intriguing prospect, so he’ll be a fun one to watch the rest of the week and then when we go full contact for the actual game this weekend.
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