National Football League

5 draft prospects who impressed in 2017 Senior Bowl

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 4:47 p.m. ET

Fansided, Ryan Quigley/FanSided via Inside the Iggles

Several players stood out in the 2017 Senior Bowl and a few of them could interest the Eagles in the draft.

The Reese’s Senior Bowl is one of the more underrated events in all of football. While much of the talk this time of year is surrounding Super Bowl LI, all 32 NFL teams, including the New England Patriots and Atlanta Falcons, had their eyes glued to the television Saturday to get a final glimpse at the nation’s top senior draft prospects.

Last season, Carson Wentz made a name for himself at the Senior Bowl, which ultimately led to the Philadelphia Eagles trading up to draft him with their No. 2 overall selection. First-year Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott also used the Senior Bowl to help catapult his draft stock. The list goes on and on for current NFL stars whose standout Senior Bowl performance garnered mass recognition, and that won’t change.

There were several standout performers at this year’s Senior Bowl and a few of them just may interest the Eagles in the draft.

Zay Jones, WR, East Carolina

You know you’ve had yourself a good day when Jerry Rice singles you out on social media.

Jones, a senior wideout out of East Carolina, is quickly gaining recognition after totally dominating all week in Mobile, Alabama. Jones tallied six receptions for 68 yards and a touchdown in the Senior Bowl and should have had two more touchdowns, but both of which were called back.

Here’s the play that stole the show:

Zay Jones with the unbelievable TD catch in the Senior Bowl. In a real NFL game that's six. #ECU pic.twitter.com/PjJvNXRvvV

— Dan Rosenblum (@YesIamAPirate) January 28, 2017

CBS Sports projects Jones will be a third-round selection. But after this impressive performance, it’s hard to imagine he’ll be unclaimed by the end of the second round.

Lorenzo Jerome, DB, Saint Francis

You’ve probably never heard of Lorenzo Jerome. But if you watched any of the Senior Bowl, you certainly know who he is now.

The 6’0″, 195-pound defensive back had the performance of his life Saturday, forcing a fumble and recording a pair of interceptions. Granted, both of his interceptions were gifts from the opposing quarterback, but a pick is a pick. At the end of the day, Jerome put himself on a lot of team’s radar, and that’s what the Senior Bowl is all about.

Jerome is currently projected to go between the fourth and fifth round, but his Senior Bowl performance could raise his stock a tad despite coming from a smaller school.

Kareem Hunt, RB, Toledo

Hunt carried the ball 15 times for 118 yards and was named North Outstanding Player Honors. On his longest run of the day, a 43-yard scamper down the left sideline, Hunt showed what made him such an exciting player in college—excellent vision, balance and the refusal to be taken down on initial contact.

Kareem Hunt with a nice run. pic.twitter.com/FdISqthum6

— LJ Chaney (@pacificscouting) January 28, 2017

We have the Eagles taking Hunt in the fourth round in our first Eagles only mock draft of the offseason. As a senior at Toledo, Hunt finished the season rushing for 1,475 yards and 10 touchdowns with an average of 5.6 yards per carry. He also tallied 41 receptions for 403 yards and another score.

Tanoh Kpassagnon, DE, Villanova

Kpassagnon (pronounced Tawn-oh pass-N-yo) is a skyscraper with arms and legs. The 6’7″, 280-pound defensive end recorded a sack in Saturday’s Senior Bowl and caught the eye of just about every team in the NFL thanks to his sheer size and strength.

As a senior at Villanova, Kpassagnon finally finished growing into his body and recorded 45 tackles, 21.5 tackles for loss and 11 sacks. The towering edge defender is currently projected to be selected between the third and fourth round of the draft.

On top of dominating on the gridiron, Kpassagnon was a double major at Villanova. With Villanova being located in the suburbs of northwestern Philadelphia, it’s hard to imagine the Eagles haven’t already done their fair share of homework on this physically imposing defender.

Josh Reynolds, WR, Texas A&M

Reynolds didn’t make the highlight reel catches that Zay Jones made, but he finished off the afternoon recording six receptions for 96 yards and a score. Following his lone touchdown of the day, the 6’3″ Reynolds used his height to make an over-the-shoulder catch on a fade route for a two-point conversion attempt, but was unable to get both feet down inbounds.

In three years with the Aggies, Reynolds caught 164 balls for 2,788 yards and 30 touchdowns. Reynolds is tall and has solid overall speed, but has a very small torso and is easy to knock around. With some added weight, Reynolds could become a formidable No. 2 receiver in the pros.