Biggest Senior Bowl Winners: Defense
Josh Frey
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The 2023 Senior Bowl has officially come to an end, and now, it’s time to talk about some of the best performers of the week. We’ve already talked about the offensive side of the ball, and now, here are some of my biggest Senior Bowl winners from the defensive side.
Iowa State EDGE Will McDonald IV
We can’t start this list without at least mentioning Will McDonald’s name. He easily had the most versatile set of pass-rush moves throughout the week, and his draft stock will rise as a result. He combines athleticism and power to be a force on the defensive front and will be worth a top 50 pick come April.
Georgia Tech EDGE Keion White
Have you ever seen a wrecking ball blast through an old building? If not, 1) it’s one of the more oddly satisfying types of content that you can watch, so I recommend it, and 2) that’s what Keion White looks like against the poor offensive tackles that are matched up with him. All week long, his bullrush moves proved to be too much for many of the offensive linemen to handle.
Wisconsin DT Keeanu Benton
Interior defensive linemen are becoming a more coveted commodity every year in the NFL, and Keeanu Benton out of Wisconsin might be one of the best in this draft class. Benton’s rip move proved to be lethal all week long, and his bull-rush isn’t too shabby, either. He looks more and more like a guy that could go in the second-round the more I watch him.
Washington State LB Daiyan Henley
After the three consensus top linebackers in this draft class (Clemson’s Trenton Simpson, Oregon’s Noah Sewell, and Alabama’s Henry To’oto’o), the position is very wide open. That’s why an impressive Senior Bowl was important to everyone at the position heading into this week, and it’s hard not to come away from the event thinking that Daiyan Henley did the most for his draft stock this week.
The Iowa State linebacker had some nice reps in pass coverage and his ball skills from a former life as a wide receiver certainly came into play. He won’t threaten Day 1 status by any means, but he is certainly an intriguing option in the middle rounds.
Kansas State CB Julius Brents
The 2023 Draft’s cornerback position is trending towards being one of the deeper classes we’ve seen at the position in awhile. There will be playmakers that can be found in the second or even the third day of the draft. One such player is Kansas State CB Julius Brents.
He is an incredible press corner, winning reps against some of the more premiere receivers at the event, including SMU’s Rashee Rice and Houston’s Tank Dell. Brents mightily helped his draft stock all week long.
Illinois S Sydney Brown
Sydney Brown never cracked one of the daily lists of winners from Senior Bowl practices, but he certainly showed out throughout the week. Again, like many of the others on these winners lists, Brown consistently showcased some of the best athletic ability on the field over the course of the practices and game.
However, I’ll close this final list out by stating this one more time: athleticism by itself does make an NFL player, particularly in the secondary. Brown jumps up the list by being one of the smartest players on the field. In team drills and the actual game, he was always in the right place at the right time whether that meant making a pass breakup or blowing up plays in the backfield.
5 Standouts from the Senior Bowl Game
Josh Frey is a Class of 2020 graduate of The College of Idaho with a bachelor’s degree in Creative Writing. He also earned minors in History, Human Biology, and Journalism. When he’s not writing about the NFL, Josh enjoys marathon training, playing video games, or rooting for the Milwaukee Brewers and Bucks. For more of his opinions, check out his Twitter account: @Freyed_Chicken.