NFL DRAFT 2023

Shrine Bowl Day 1: Which prospects stood out and could be worthy of a Broncos look?

Jan 28, 2023, 7:00 PM

LAS VEGAS — You didn’t have to look far around these parts to see the East-West Shrine Bowl trumpeting San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy.

Purdy, a rookie who was Mr. Irrelevant as the last draft pick in 2022, was in this spot 12 months ago. Now, he prepares to start in the NFC Championship Game. Whether he impressed in Shrine Bowl practices depends on who you ask. But his rise is a reminder of the talent on hand as the pre-draft process kicked into high gear with practices Saturday morning at UNLV’s football facility.

So, who could be next to leap from Shrine standout status to big-time contributor?

We’ll start with the East team.

***
EAST PRACTICE

MASE: Plenty of players here are incomplete puzzles, but you can see how the pieces could fall into place. One of those who showed flashes of a high ceiling was Wake Forest WR A.T. Perry. A smooth and fluid receiver, he needs to execute his cuts sharper. But he also displayed a knack for finding gaps in coverage, leading to multiple downfield connections. Perry’s instincts and quick reads of coverage are hard to coach into any receiver, but more precise routes can be. With proper instruction, he can develop into a very good No. 2 receiver.

The front seven had some standouts. I liked the way Florida LB Amari Burney diagnosed run plays, and on a couple of snaps he seemed to be a step ahead of the offense. West Virginia interior DL Dante Stills burst through consistently and was borderline unstoppable at times. Texas interior DL Moro Ojomo had burst off the snap and exploded into the backfield to defuse a handoff to Utah RB Tavion Thomas.

That said, Thomas had a terrific day. He had two double-digit gains after cutbacks, and displayed the patience and decisiveness necessary to operate in zone-blocking schemes. (Of course, the Broncos’ 2023 offense is TBD, but Thomas’ skill set translates.)

Among the quarterbacks, Minnesota’s Tanner Morgan looked the most ready for this level. He had one play where he appeared to hold the football too long, but generally did well at using his mobility to buy time and pose difficult questions for defenders. I was curious to see how Fordham QB Tim DeMorat fared, but he struggled and appeared mechanical in how he processed the field. DeMorat also threw an interception late in the session.

Another small-school prospect, Wingate punter Ethan Evans, was solid in his punt drills. All but one of his hang times surpassed 4.0 seconds, and he closed an eight-punt period with five punts that covered at least 50 yards.

CECIL: I love players who immediately stand out in practice. I never know which player will be the guy who tends to make the most plays, but it’s fun to find out! That player on Saturday was WR Jalen Cropper from Fresno State. I like the way he immediately gets off the line of scrimmage and into his routes. Cropper was snatching footballs out of the air left and right. His hands almost attack the ball as it comes to him, then he quickly tucks the pass away to prevent a defender from stripping the ball. Cropper stood out right away, and he continued with a consistent performance throughout practice. Let’s see if he can continue that tomorrow.

Entering these practices, I was super excited to see Tavion Thomas. I wrote about him in my offensive preview of the Shrine Bowl, and I’m happy to report that he lived up to the hype. Thomas has a powerful stride, and his legs almost attack the ground as he runs. He is a huge back who runs with power, but in these practices (with no live tackling) it’s difficult to see the best part of his game. There are concerns about his ability as a receiver, and I thought Thomas did a good job of quieting some of that doubt. Thomas did drop one pass thrown to him on a swing route, which clearly upset him, and after that he did his best to catch everything thrown his way. I also liked his pass-protection ability during team drills.

I’m looking for EDGE players the Broncos could be considering on Day 3 of the 2023 NFL draft. I think I found one in Caleb Murphy from Ferris State. Murphy, the first non-FBS player to win the Ted Hendricks Award, and his work as a pass-rusher is well known in the scouting community (25.5 sacks, an NCAA all division record). However, on Saturday I loved the way he set the edge against run. His ability to get after the quarterback is unquestioned, but at 245 pounds, scouts want to see him hold up against the run. I thought he did a great job of that on the first day of practice.

Everyone wants to find the next Purdy at this game. Just a year ago, I watched Purdy play during the week of practice when he had doubts about whether or not his football career continued. With Purdy playing in the NFC Championship Game as the starting quarterback of the 49ers, everyone wants to discover that next guy. Tanner Morgan from Minnesota was the best quarterback I saw from the East team. I like that Morgan is an athletic quarterback, threatening a defense with his arms and his legs. Morgan can work in RPOs, and I thought he made quick decisions as a passer.

I could have had three linebackers in my top-5 players from the East practice. I pared that down to just one to feature other players, with the best linebacker of the day behind Anfernee Orji from Vanderbilt. There’s no live tackling, so scouting linebackers is difficult because they can’t do their primary job. However, I want to see what they do in coverage. Orji looked good in space, intercepting DeMorat in the middle of the field.

EAST TOP 5:

MASE:

1. WR A.T. Perry, Wake Forest
2. RB Tavion Thomas, Utah
3. IDL Moro Ojomo, Texas
4. IDL Dante Stills, West Virginia
5. LB Andersen Orji, Vanderbilt

CECIL:

1. WR Jalen Cropper, Fresno State
2. RB Tavion Thomas, Utah
3. EDGE Caleb Murphy, Ferris State
4. QB Tanner Morgan, Minnesota
5. LB Anfernee Orji, Vanderbilt

***
WEST PRACTICE

CECIL: The best player of anyone on either the East or the West was Minnesota CB Terell Smith. He was everywhere on the football field. Smith was the PBU specialist today. Smith did it three times by my count – and he knocked passes away in different ways and on different routes. He has a knack for recovering if a receiver gets by him with the recovery speed to make up ground quickly. Smith has great “click and close” ability to drive on the pass when the receiver is in front of him. He also knows how to read receivers’ body language to time when the pass is incoming.

I first noticed Liberty WR Demario Douglas on special teams. This is an important note, because unlike Mase, I do not take notes during special teams. Instead, I will check twitter or catch up on text messages and emails. Douglas did enough during special teams with his burst that he first made my notebook. He also made plays as a wide receiver – mainly based off his quickness and speed.

You can’t tackle during practice, but there are a few “love taps” out there. Players can thud up opponents, and that’s certainly what Trey Dean III (Safety, Florida) did on Saturday. Dean looks intimidating roaming around on the field. There were more than a couple of times that Dean had some extra physicality to break up a play. Some of his opponents took issue with that, and he even got flagged for a pass interference penalty, but it didn’t stop Dean from being mean on the field. That’s a great sign for his pro future.

Louisiana WR Michael Jefferson kept making big plays for the West offense. He showed the ability to gather in poorly thrown passes – and there were a lot of those from the quarterbacks on the West. Jefferson adjusts to passes with ease, and I like his concentration on tough plays. He might have had the toughest touchdown catch of the day. In the back of the end zone falling to the field with a defender draped over him, Jefferson was still able to make plays.

I try not to helmet scout. I come into this game with a clean slate on these players, regardless of what they did in college or which team they play for. My daughter Katarina is pre-med at Oregon State, so seeing a player from Corvallis gets me excited. When I first took a note on FB/TE Jack Coletto I made a mental note of not overdoing it on the Beaver. However, as the day went on Coletto kept making plays. He’s listed as a fullback, and blocking with interior running at times is part of his game. I’m catching most of my notes on him are about his ability as a receiver and even some skill after the catch. A team like the 49ers would love a player like Coletto who is in the mold of their starting FB Kyle Juszczyk.

MASE: The Patriot Way meant a different style of practice compared to that of the Falcons-run East squad. Bill Belichick’s staff emphasized red-zone work in team, seven-on-seven and one-on-one periods. In those, Terell Smith shone. What Cecil wrote about Smith, I’ll happily corroborate. But one other item worth noting is his technical proficiency; he doesn’t resort to grabbing when a receiver has a step on him.

The liveliest arm on either team Saturday belonged to UCLA QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson. I had the highest expectations for him of any quarterback on hand. He zipped the football into tight spaces and made a handful of throws the other five quarterbacks on hand could not.

The practice was physical, and Florida’s Trey Dean III and Rutgers’ Christian Izien both delivered big hits from the safety position. But that also meant a chance for the O-linemen to get comfortable. The West’s O-line controlled matters up front, and no one there was better than William & Mary tackle Colby Sorsdal. Mississippi’s Mason Brooks wasn’t quite as consistent as Sorsdal, but plays with a nasty streak.

Finally, I would be remiss not to touch on punter Michael Turk. The backstory on Turk is fascinating. The nephew of former NFL punter Matt Turk and the late long-time long snapper Dan Turk, Michael Turk participated in the NFL Combine three years ago. He earned notice there for a prodigious bench-press tally — 25 repetitions, the most for any punter since 2003. But he went undrafted and subsequently petitioned to become re-eligible in college football.

Turk had 14 punts over two periods. Eight sailed at least 50 yards. He averaged 51 yards a punt — in spite o of a shank that sailed out of bounds and nearly made it to the bleachers set up for media on the east side of the practice field. At one point, Turk had three consecutive blasts of at least 55 yards — all of which had over 4.60 seconds of hang time. Eight of his 14 punts had hang times of at least 4.50 seconds.

WEST TOP 5:

CECIL:

1. CB Terell Smith, Minnesota
2. WR Demario Douglas, Liberty
3. S Trey Dean III, Florida
4. WR Michael Jefferson, Louisiana
5. FB Jack Coletto, Oregon State

MASE:

1. CB Terell Smith, Minnesota
2. P Michael Turk, Oklahoma
3. OT Colby Sorsdal, William & Mary
4. WR Michael Jefferson, Louisiana-Lafayette
5. QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson, UCLA

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