NFL Draft Countdown
2022 NFL Draft Senior Bowl

Second Chance Senior Bowl Predictions: Offense & Special Teams

Los Angeles Rams

A few weeks ago we predicted who would make the Senior Bowl roster and have been about 50/50 for the invites thus far. From players not on our radar to guys who barely made the cut for our prediction, it has been interesting to see the process play out. Brain and I will take another crack at the rest of the roster (offense in this article fro me, and defense tomorrow from Brian). 

We predicted traditional rosters for the Senior Bowl, but they have continued with the expanded rosters of last season. This has been great to get more players opportunities to showcase themselves in the game, especially with the overall depth of the class. We will continue to project that amount of players, but it may shift before all is said and done. Also, there may be graduating juniors who will be eligible if they declare and may take these last few spots, but I’m not at liberty to know who is graduating and if they will declare.

This is also a prediction and not who I personally would choose if I were running the Senior Bowl. Each list would look different if based on my personal evaluations and who I think is the “best” at each position. The Senior Bowl generally does a great job of balancing that with potential draft capital and what players NFL teams are interested in seeing.

 

*=Invite confirmed but not accepted yet

 

Quarterback (8 Total)

Predictions

Aqeel Glass, Alabama A&M

Sam Howell, North Carolina

Kenny Pickett, Pittsburgh*

Carson Strong, Nevada

Dorian Thompson-Robinson, UCLA

 

Accepted Invites

Desmond Ridder, Cincinnati

Malik Willis, Liberty

Bailey Zappe, Western Kentucky

There have been some positive movement for QBs since our last article. It appears Howell and Strong are eligible for the Senior Bowl which is huge for the roster. This may end up one of the deepest Senior Bowl QB groups with Howell, Pickett, Strong, Ridder, and Willis getting a ton of buzz. Unfortunately, two likely players in Tennessee’s Hendon Hooker and Fresno State’s Jake Haener (transferring to Washington) are looking like they will stay in school. Filling those two spots are difficult, but I stuck with my original prediction of DTR representing the Pac-12 here. In addition, Glass is a likely undrafted prospect but would stay in state for the Senior Bowl and promote the HBCUs. Don’t discount the possibility of a bigger school name like Oregon’s Anthony Brown or an alternative small school player like Browns’ EJ Perry making the final cut. 

 

Just Missed

Anthony Brown, Oregon

Zerrick Cooper, Jacksonville State

Chase Garbers, Cal

Cole Kelley, SE Louisiana

EJ Perry, Brown

Brock Purdy, Iowa State

 

Running Back (8 Total)

Predictions

James Cook, Georgia

Hassan Haskins, Michigan

Mataeo Durant, Duke

Brian Robinson, Alabama

 

Accepted Invites

Dameon Pierce, Florida

D’Vonte Price, FIU

Abram Smith, Baylor

Rachaad White, Arizona State

My initial predictions for RBs don’t look too different from what happened though players like Dameon Pierce and Abram Smith were big misses on my part. Robinson is a definite invite, and Durant was on my original list last time so I am sticking with him. My top runner-up seem likely to go now with Haskins having very good seasons and getting some love. Cook has flashed his pass catching ability this season and getting more Bulldogs is never a bad thing. I am sad SDSU RB Pierre Strong Jr. didn’t fit onto the roster, but I am hopeful he will get a shot. 

 

Just Missed

Tyler Badie, Missouri

Max Borghi, Washington State

Ty Chandler, North Carolina

Ronnie Rivers, Fresno State

Pierre Strong, Jr., South Dakota State

 

Wide Receiver (16 Total)

Predictions

Tanner Conner, Idaho State

Dai’Jean Dixon, Nicholls State

Chris Olave, Ohio State

Jaquarii Roberson, Wake Forest

Samori Toure, Nebraska

 

Accepted Invites

Calvin Austin III, Memphis

Jahan Dotson, Penn State

Romeo Doubs, Nevada

Danny Gray, SMU

Velus Jones Jr., Tennessee

Bo Melton, Rutgers

Alec Pierce, Cincinnati

Reggie Roberson Jr., SMU

Khalil Shakir, Boise State

Jalen Tolbert, South Alabama

Tre Turner, Virginia Tech

WR can be tough to analyze from an NFL Draft lens due to the special teams prowess being a big factor in being added to the Senior Bowl roster. The group is solid, and adding a stud like Chris Olave would be an excellent addition. Roberson seems likely to be added after the ACC Title game, but the rest of the roster is tough to decipher. There is bound to be a few small school players but my top choice, Christian Watson, accepted an invite to the Shrine Game along with Indiana’s Ty Fryfogle. Dai’Jean Dixon and Tanner Conner are my next best and the Senior Bowl has scouted them. Toure is a special teams and wideout player who would fit, but we could see other guys like Lenoir-Rhyne’s Dareke Young get a shot.

 

Just Missed

Danny Davis III, Wisconsin

Avery Davis, Notre Dame

Xavier Hutchinson, Iowa State

Charleston Rambo, Miami (FL)

Jaylon Robinson, UCF

Jalen Virgil, Appalachian State

Dareke Young, Lenoir-Rhyne

 

Tight End (8 Total)

Predictions

Cade Otton, Washington

 

Accepted Invites

Greg Calcaterra, SMU

Jake Ferguson, Wisconsin

Isaiah Likely, Coastal Carolina

Charlie Kolar, Iowa State

Trey McBride, Colorado State

Jeremy Ruckert, Ohio State

Cole Turner, Nevada

The TE group is almost complete with one more open spot. There are a lot of possibilities for this spot but I went with Otton who is very deserving. Overall, it has turned into a strong group with elite pass catchers like Calcatera, McBride, Likely and Turner as well as two-way TEs like Ferguson, Kolar, and Ruckert. Pitt’s Lucas Krull did not receive an invite, but he could be the next up to pair with Pickett. San Jose State’s Derrick Deese Jr. might be the best blocking TE in the draft. 

 

Just Missed

Derrick Deese Jr., San Jose State

Brant Kuithe, Utah

Lucas Krull, Pittsburgh

 

Fullback (2 Total)

Invited

Jeremiah Hall, Oklahoma

Connor Heyward, Michigan State

Jeremiah Hall was an easy lock. Heyward wasn’t on my radar, but another H-Back type who has been impressive this year!

 

Offensive Line (22 Total)

Predictions

Alec Lindstrom, Boston College

Thayer Munford, Ohio State

 

Accepted Invites

Spencer Burford, UTSA

Daniel Faalele, Minnesota

Luke Goedeke, Central Michigan

Zion Johnson, Boston College

Braxton Jones, Southern Utah

Darian Kinnard, Kentucky

Max Mitchell, Louisiana

Marquis Hayes, Oklahoma

Ed Ingram, LSU

Abraham Lucas, Washington State

Dylan Parham, Memphis

Chris Paul, Tulsa

Trevor Penning, Northern Iowa

Bernhard Raimann, Central Michigan

Lecitus Smith, Virginia Tech

Cole Strange, Chattanooga

Andrew Stueber, Michigan

Matt Waletzko, North Dakota

Nick Zakelj, Fordham

The Offensive Line is pretty complete, but there are 2 spots left for big names. Lindstrom would be the top Senior Center of the class, so I imagine he will be given a chance to join teammate Zion Johnson. Munford accepted an invite last year, so it is likely he will return and showcase his versatility. It was tough not including a Georgia player like Jamaree Salyer though. It is a good Offensive Line group with some major upside as well. Some small school players who could really prop themselves up helps as well.  

 

Just Missed

Logan Bruss, Wisconsin

Obinna Eze, TCU

Jamaree Salyer, Georgia

Zach Tom, Wake Forest

Andrew Vorhees, Southern Cal

 

Kicker (2 Total)

Predictions

Gabe Brkic, Oklahoma

Noah Ruggles, Ohio State

All 3 Groza Finalists have a good shot at the Senior Bowl with Brkic, Ruggles, and Jake Moody all having fantastic seasons with good accuracy. If the NFL does prefer distance kicking, someone like Parker White could still get in. 

 

Just Missed:

Jake Moody, Michigan

Andre Szmyt, Syracuse

Parker White, South Carolina

Punter (2 Total)

Prediction

Adam Korsak, Rutgers

Jordan Stout, Penn State

 

Just Missed

Blake Hayes, Illinois

Michael Turk, Oklahoma

Andy Vujnovich, Wisconsin

The Big Ten is the land of Senior Punters with Korsak, Stout, and Illinois’ Blake Hayes all in heavy contention for the Senior Bowl. Korsak’s rugby style may be a turnoff while Stout’s ability to kick and punt makes him really intriguing to add for versatility.

 

Long Snapper (2 Total)

Predictions

Damon Johnson, Southern Cal

 

Accepted Invites

Cal Adomitis, Pittsburgh

My top Longsnapper accepted an invite in Adomitis! Johnson is a natural #2 while the rest of the Longsnapper class is muddled.

 

Just Missed:

Ross Reiter, Colorado State

John Taylor, Duke

Austin Spiewak, Iowa

 

See more from Shane on Twitter @ShanePHallam and on Draft Countdown here

Related posts

RB Pre-Draft Notes (2022 NFL Draft)

Shane Hallam

DB/Special Teams Prospect Comps (2022)

Shane Hallam

2022 NFL Draft: Declared Underclassmen

Brian Bosarge
%d bloggers like this: