The Buffalo Bills have made good use of their scouting missions at the Senior Bowl in recent years.
Besides quarterback Josh Allen, who impressed Bills scouts at the 2018 all-star game, Senior Bowl alumni on the Buffalo roster include Harrison Phillips, Taron Johnson, Levi Wallace, Tyler Bass, Dane Jackson, Carlos Basham and Spencer Brown.
In fact, the Bills have drafted 15 players over the past four years who have played in the game.
The Bills will be on the lookout for more good draft finds when the NFL scouting world converges on Mobile, Ala., this week for the 73rd Reese’s Senior Bowl.
It’s the unofficial kickoff of the draft season, in which the top collegiate prospects begin 13 weeks of intense scrutiny leading to the draft on April 28.
Last year, a record 106 players from the game were selected.
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Practices will be held Tuesday to Thursday, and the game is set for 2:30 p.m. Saturday, televised on the NFL Network.
As usual, most of the picks in the first round are expected to be underclassmen, not participating at Mobile. The Bills have the 25th pick in the first round.
A big story nationally will be the performance of the quarterbacks. Four of the top five QB prospects in the draft will be in Mobile, and all have a chance to boost their stock.
It’s not a great year for quarterbacks. None in this year’s class likely would have been picked ahead of the five quarterbacks who went in the top 15 picks in the first round of the 2021 draft. Nevertheless, it’s easy to imagine three landing in the first round this year.
The one with the most to gain may be Liberty’s Malik Willis, an elite physical talent with dual-threat ability in the Cam Newton mold. He’s raw. Can he step up in competition this week and look good?
Here’s a look at five players (plus a few more) for Bills fans to watch, with an eye toward Buffalo’s needs:
Roger McCreary, CB, Auburn. It’s a good year for cornerbacks, and Wallace’s contract is up. McCreary is 6-foot, 190 pounds. He’s a two-year starter who made first-team All-America and first-team All-Southeastern Conference. He’s viewed as NFL ready and adaptable to any scheme. He’s a good tackler, something the Bills value in their cornerbacks. Early projections put McCreary in the 25th to 40th pick range.
Cameron Thomas, DE, San Diego State. Even though the Bills took edge rushers with their top two picks last spring, the contracts of aging veterans Jerry Hughes and Mario Addison are up. Thomas had 11.5 sacks and 71 tackles this season. He has long arms. He easily could move up to late first-round range in a draft considered good at edge rusher. Other good edge rushers to watch this week will be Cincinnati’s Myjai Sanders, Penn State’s Arnold Ebiketie and Florida State’s Jermaine Johnson II.
Zion Johnson, OG, Boston College. It’s a good year for interior offensive linemen, a Bills need. He has long arms, he’s physical and he played in a power running offense for the Golden Eagles. He played his first two seasons at Davison. He played left tackle in 2020, left guard in 2021. He could push himself into late first round consideration. Oklahoma guard Marquis Hayes has the size and demeanor to be a Day 2 pick. Memphis guard Donald Parham is a converted tight end who has the athleticism to play guard or center. He could be a Day 2 consideration.
Calvin Austin III, WR, Memphis. Isaiah McKenzie is a free agent. While the Bills have Marquez Stevenson waiting in the wings, no team can have too much speed. Austin is only 5-9 and 165 pounds but he is electric with the ball in his hands. He had 74 catches for 1,149 yards as a senior for Memphis. Even though he didn’t get many carries in college, he’s a jet-sweep threat. He had a 69-yard TD run vs. Navy on his lone carry in 2021. He can return punts, too. It will be interesting to see how fast he runs at the NFL Scouting Combine, which could solidify a Day 2 draft ranking. He won nine Tennessee state championships in track in high school. Even though he’s small, he’s not skinny.
Trevor Penning, OT, Northern Iowa. Penning is likely to be a top-20 pick and might even push into the top 10. The Bills won’t be taking him and don’t need a tackle. But he’s a former teammate of Bills tackle Spencer Brown. The Bills came away from last year’s Senior Bowl impressed with how Brown handled the step up in competition. Penning likewise could boost his stock. He’s one of numerous intriguing smaller-school linemen at the game, including Texas-San Antonio’s tackle-guard Spencer Burford, Chattanooga guard Cole Strange and Fordham tackle Nike Zakelj.
“Spencer Brown and Trevor Penning will go down as the best offensive tackle duo in FCS history,” said Senior Bowl executive director Jim Nagy.
