Senior Bowl players on defense to watch, could possibly help the Broncos

For 17 years, I have gone on what I call the “All-Star Road Trip” in the month of January. I begin at the Shrine Bowl, once again in Las Vegas, where I get to scout some of the mid-round and sleeper prospects in the upcoming draft. Then, I travel to the Senior Bowl – still in Mobile, AL – where I get to see the best senior prospects and some future stars up close and personal. During this travel time, I get to catch up with my friends in the scouting community and get the latest intel about what teams are going to do this offseason.

There’s nothing better than on-field scouting of a player. Being on the field level, or watching them from the sidelines, you can see physicality that you just don’t get on the TV or computer screen. I have full access to practice footage thanks to my friends around the league, but it is paramount for me to be there in person. The “All-Star Road Trip” has been a valuable part of the process I take every year putting together my draft rankings.

In 2023, I might be more excited about this draft class than ever before. Some of my favorite college players are headed to the NFL, and I will get to see some of them over the next month. I will get to talk to these players, and I’ll get to talk to scouts and general managers about these prospects as well.

On Tuesday, Senior Bowl executive Jim Nagy – a great man and former NFL scout – went on NFL Network to announce the 2023 roster. Among these players, I see a lot of prospects the Denver Broncos should have interest in. However, I see a lot of players I’ve wanted to see and am overjoyed they will be at the Senior Bowl to showcase their talent for scouts in attendance.

Here are a few defensive players from the Senior Bowl roster reveal I’m excited about. These players could be of interest to the Broncos, but most importantly they’re some of my early favorites in this draft season. Before the week of practice, I’ll have a more specific article on who the Broncos should be looking for.

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Andre Carter II, EDGE, Army

In my 17 years on the road, I’ve seen some really good players come from the service academies (Army, Navy, Air Force) at these All-Star games. I may never have seen a player from the military like the Army’s Andre Carter II. At 6-feet, 7-inches and 260 pounds Carter is an absolute freak of an athlete.

He’s got a wingspan of nearly seven feet, and couple that with his burst/speed to see how he can get to the quarterback in the blink of an eye. Going up against the best seniors in the country at the Senior Bowl (and a strong group of offensive tackles), and Carter could cement himself as a first-round pick. In fact, he might be off the board by the time the Broncos pick near the end of Day 1 with the selection they got from the San Francisco 49ers.

New language in a congressional bill passed last year means that Carter should be able to start playing in the NFL right away unlike players in the past who had to serve two years in the military upon graduation from their academy. If Carter blows it up in Mobile, he could easily be a top-20 pick – and in a class where the pass-rushers are outstanding that says a lot about Carter’s game.

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Aubrey Miller Jr, LB, Jackson State

It’s great to see small-school talent compete at these All-Star games. The level of talent played against is always a concern for scouts when considering small-school talent. While Miller played the final two years of his college career at Jackson State, he transferred from Missouri and should be able to stand out among this level of competition.

Miller had a better 2021 than he did in 2022, but he was still a solid player both years. I’ll mainly be watching him in coverage during individual and team drills. Miller allowed a QB rating of 58.4 (2021) and 89.4 (2022) over the last two years. He’s a chase-tackling WILL linebacker who is always around the ball with his high football intelligence.

I like his ability to play sideline-to-sideline, and he’s not afraid to get his hands dirty as a run-stuffer near the line of scrimmage. His work in coverage will give teams hope or pause, and his performance at the Senior Bowl could have coaches thinking he’s a two-down player or a three-down linebacker in zone-heavy schemes.

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Julius Brents, CB, Kansas State

As I wrote this week for Denver Sports in my piece about what the Broncos need on defense in the draft, I think Kansas State cornerback Julius Brents would be a good pick. Last year at the Senior Bowl, I fell in love with UTSA CB Tariq Woolen. I wanted the Broncos to draft him in a bad way, largely because he’s big and runs a 4.2 40, but GM George Paton wanted guys like Delarian Turner-Yell and Montrell Washington more in the fifth round (where the Seahawks got Woolen).

We saw Woolen lead the league in interceptions and pick-sixes as a rookie, and that’s a huge miss for Paton. Brents won’t be as fast as Woolen, who timed as the fastest player in Senior Bowl history (since they’ve been using GPS) at 22.45 MPH. However, Brents is 6-feet, 4-inches like Woolen, and during his final season for Kansas State he only allowed a QB rating of 48.3 when targeted (which is outstanding).

I want to see Brents’ footwork in Mobile. He needs better change-of-direction ability, and that comes from his backpedaling to his click-and-close ability. Brents can show he’s made improvements in that department, which helps his overall game, during the drills at the Senior Bowl.

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