Senior Bowl: Top 5 standouts from Day One...

Senior Bowl: Top 5 standouts from day one

By Blaine Grisak of DowntownRams

The Los Angeles Rams have a history of drafting players from the Senior Bowl. Here are the top-5 standouts from day one in Mobile.

Senior Bowl

The Los Angeles Rams have a history of drafting players that compete in Mobile, Alabama during the Senior Bowl. With this year’s strong class and this being the only time these players will get tested before the draft, that shouldn’t change. The NFL Combine got canceled, meaning this is possibly the only time teams will get to see these players test in person.

Despite some weather, day one was a successful day down in Alabama. Here are five players that stood out:

OG/C David Moore – Grambling State

The great thing about the Senior Bowl is how you get to see small school players compete against players that went to the “Power-5”. Take the helmet off of the player and you would have never guessed that Moore played at Grambling State. From his first snap of the day, he was dominant.

He started off strong in 1-on-1’s and that continued when American side went into 9-on-7. That is where he really shined. Moore stayed square, finished his blocks, and simply did not get beat. In fact, there were times where he was flat out dominant.

WR Shi Smith – South Carolina

The Rams may not need a wide receiver, let alone one with the skill set of Smith. He’s more of a physical wide receiver and will excel in the slot in the NFL. While the Rams could go for that to replace Josh Reynolds, it’s much more likely that they try to draft someone who can take the top off of defenses.

However, it’s impossible not to point out what Smith did on Tuesday in Mobile. He made arguably the catch of the day and was constantly creating separation in the intermediate parts of the field.

QB Jamie Newman – Wake Forest

Tuesday wasn’t necessarily a day for quarterbacks to shine and with the camera angles, often times it was difficult to see who was throwing the ball. However, what I did see out of Newman impressed me. The deep ball to Shi Smith was a perfectly thrown pass from Newman.

In 7-on-7’s there were a lot of check downs, however, Newman threw a pass with high velocity down the seam that was also impressive. We’ll see more from the quarterbacks as the week goes on, but he should push Mac Jones and Ian Book for the best quarterbacks in Mobile.

OT Dillon Radunz – North Dakota State

Radunz garnered a lot of hype pre-Senior Bowl and right away it was clear to see why. In 1-on-1’s I only saw him get beat once late. He was physically imposing and that’s what you like to see from offensive tackles.

During 9-on-7’s he once again stood out. Radunz was constantly opening up holes in the running game and getting to the next level. The National Team ran to his side a lot and every time he opened up a hole.

WR Trevon Grimes – Florida

Outside of Smith, there was one other wide receiver that really impressed me and that’s Trevon Grimes. His day started rough as he got blanketed by a defensive back. However, he recovered nicely and had one play that really caught my eye.

Again, he’s not that vertical deep threat that the Rams need, but he’s similar to Reynolds in that he is a big-bodied wide receiver with not great speed but can go up and get the ball. He’s also effective in the run game.