By: Scott Bischoff
The second day of practice for the 2020 Senior Bowl took place Wednesday afternoon, and I made a point to focus on the quarterbacks and wide receivers during today’s sessions. Here are some observations from each of the practices.
South Team:
Justin Herbert, QB, Oregon
Herbert makes throwing the football look easy, and he has looked fantastic at times through two days. Herbert is sometimes hesitant, and it takes time for him to pull the trigger which leads timing issues with his target. Still, he has performed extremely well and has answered some of the physical questions about his play. The wind is always an issue in Mobile as most quarterbacks have struggled to drive the ball through the wind, but Herbert has no issues here. He has put the ball into the right spots for his receivers, and generally looked like the best quarterback here.
Van Jefferson, WR, Florida
Jefferson runs very precise routes and does an excellent job of uncovering for his quarterback. He creates early separation and showed excellent ability to catch the ball, even when coverage was tight. He does not look super explosive, but he is getting it done.
Collin Johnson, WR, Texas
Johnson is huge, and he does an excellent job of stacking the defender (forcing them to shorten their stride by taking away the space they need for their feet, and then moving at a different angle to create separation) down the field. He has the ability to win with the ball in the air down the field, and he flashed that ability today.
Devin Duvernay, WR, Texas
Duvernay is explosive, and he is both quick and fast. It also helps that he runs excellent routes because of his incredible footwork, and he showed all of his skills today. He created separation early in his routes, and he also won down the field too. It was another good day for Duvernay.
Jauan Jennings, WR, Tennessee
Jennings is an interesting watch as he is more physical than just about any other receiver here. He gets off press coverage easily with excellent technique, and he runs precise routes to get open. He is also good with the ball in the air, and he looks like he catches the ball extremely well.
North Team:
Jordan Love, QB, Utah State
Love made some throws early in practice that were 40-plus yards down the field, and they were perfectly located, and that was impressive to see. He seems to have some of that “it” stuff as he can make magic happen out of nowhere. He has plenty of arm strength, and he can deliver from different arm angles too. I think he looks the part of a first-round quarterback, but he needs to continue to be consistent with his decision-making.
Anthony Gordon, QB, Washington State
Gordon has a very quick release, and he gets the ball out lightning quick.
Shea Patterson, QB, Michigan
Patterson throws the ball with plenty of velocity and spin as it leaves his hands, but the ball kind of slows and wobbles when he is taking a vertical shot, and that speaks to potential mechanics issues. He has not looked great in Mobile as he has been late, and tentative.
Michael Pittman Jr., WR, USC
Pittman is a big receiver, but there are moments when he is getting moved off his landmark by a corner playing him physically. It is a touch surprising to see him get moved around like this, and that is disruptive to the timing of the offense.
K.J. Hill, WR, Ohio State
Hill is a savvy route runner, and he built off Monday’s strong start with another excellent day today. He is a whirlwind, difficult to cover in all areas of the field. Hill wins close to the line of scrimmage, in the middle of his route, and vertically. He looks NFL ready from a route running standpoint, and will provide excellent production for where he ends up getting drafted.
Denzel Mims, WR, Baylor
Mims caught multiple deep passes from Love, and he created separation at the line of scrimmage and then won with speed to haul in long throws. He appears comfortable catching the ball, and looks like a dangerous weapon with excellent big-play ability.
Scott Bischoff is a contributor for LionsWire and staff writer for FootballGuys. He co-hosts a podcast on the “Detroit Lions on WJR” podcast page with Sean Baligian.