With the NFL Scouting Combine canceled due to COVID-19, the Senior Bowl is the premier scouting event of the offseason.
It is the only place where prospects from multiple schools will be in attendance, and a chance for coaches, general managers and scouts to get face-to-face time with the prospects.
Ravens General Manager Eric DeCosta traveled to Mobile, Ala. Monday afternoon, as Baltimore will get a better feel for the top seniors in this year's draft class. The Ravens have a rich history of drafting players they meet at the Senior Bowl, and this year will be no different.
Baltimore's contingent will be looking at every position group, but given the team's needs, it would seem outside linebacker, wide receiver, interior offensive line and defensive line top the list.
With that in mind, here are players to watch at the 2021 Senior Bowl:
WR Kadarius Toney, Florida
Toney isn't the big-bodied wideout Ravens fans have clamored for, but he would add more explosiveness. He's 5-foot-11 and a terror when he gets the ball in his hands, which he did in all different types of ways at Florida. After putting up 70 catches, 984 receiving yards and 11 total touchdowns, Toney is a potential late first-round prospect who has already been mocked to the Ravens in the first round. He could make some defenders look silly at the Senior Bowl.
The Ravens have drafted more players from the Senior Bowl in recent years than any other NFL team. Take a look at some players the team evaluated in the past during the senior all-star game.
DT Travis Jones, Connecticut (2022)
OT Daniel Faalele, Minnesota (2022)
TE Charlie Kolar, Iowa State (2022)
P Jordan Stout, Penn State (2022)
TE Isaiah Likely, Coastal Carolina (2022)
RB Tyler Badie, Missouri (2022)
WR Tylan Wallace, Oklahoma State (2021)
(Right) OL Ben Cleveland, Georgia (2021)
DL Daelin Hayes, Notre Dame (2021)
FB Ben Mason, Michigan (2021)
WR Devin Duvernay, Texas (2020)
WR James Proche II, SMU (2020)
OG Ben Bredeson, Michigan (2020)
LB Malik Harrison, Ohio State (2020)
DE Jaylon Ferguson, Louisiana Tech (2019)
QB Trace McSorley, Penn State (2019)
DB Iman Marshall, USC (2019)
DT Daylon Mack, Texas A&M (2019)
OG Ben Powers, Oklahoma (2019)
OL Bradley Bozeman, Alabama (2018)
WR Jaleel Scott, New Mexico State (2018)
OLB Tyus Bowser, Houston (2017)
DE Chris Wormley, Michigan (2017)
G Nico Siragusa, San Diego State (2017)
RB Kenneth Dixon, Louisiana Tech (2016)
WR Chris Moore, Cincinnati (2016)
DE Bronson Kaufusi, BYU (2016)
CB Tavon Young, Temple (2016)
CB Maurice Canady, Virginia (2016)
OLB Za'Darius Smith, Kentucky (2015)
DT Carl Davis, Iowa (2015)
TE Nick Boyle, Delaware (2015)
TE Crockett Gillmore, Colorado State (2014)
DE Brent Urban, Virginia (2014)
RB Lorenzo Taliaferro, Coastal Carolina (2014)
WR Michael Campanaro, Wake Forest (2014)
DT Brandon Williams, Missouri Southern (2013)
FB Kyle Juszczyk, Harvard (2013)
G/T Ricky Wagner, Wisconsin (2013)
OLB Courtney Upshaw, Alabama (2012)
T Kelechi Osemele, Iowa State (2012)
DE Pernell McPhee, Mississippi State (2011)
OT Michael Oher, University of Mississippi (2009)
QB Joe Flacco, Delaware (2008)
G Ben Grubbs, Auburn University (2007)
T Marshal Yanda, University of Iowa (2007)
FB Le'Ron McClain, University of Alabama (2007)
WR Mark Clayton, Oklahoma (2005)
QB Kyle Boller, California (2003)
DE Jarret Johnson, University of Alabama (2003)
DL Anthony Weaver, Notre Dame (2002)
DE Adalius Thomas, University of Southern Mississippi (2000)
CB Duane Starks, University of Miami (1998)
LB Jamie Sharper, University of Virginia (1997)
WR Nico Collins, Michigan
Collins has 6-foot-4 size and averaged 19.7 yards per catch in 2019. He didn't play in 2020 after Big Ten football resumed, so he has more to prove. But those 2019 numbers, with 729 yards and seven touchdowns, present some big-time upside.
WR Sage Surratt, Wake Forest
He's big (6-foot-3, 215 pounds) and physical. Surratt was a big-time basketball player who plays "above the rim" in football. He also has something to show at the Senior Bowl after opting out of Wake Forest's 2020 season following a breakout junior campaign in which he had 66 catches for 1,001 yards and 11 touchdowns.
WR Tylan Wallace, Oklahoma State
Wallace first showed up in 2018 when, as a sophomore, he was a finalist for the Biletnikoff Award given to the nation's top college wide receiver. He put up nearly 1,500 receiving yards and 12 touchdowns that year. He returned to school after tearing his ACL in 2019 and posted 59 catches for 922 yards and six touchdowns in nine games.
EDGE Shaka Toney, Penn State
There's another Toney to watch as Shaka is one of the best outside linebackers in a strong and deep class at the Senior Bowl. Toney has been steady over his career, notching 20 sacks and 28.5 tackles for loss. He's not the biggest guy at 6-foot-3, 240 pounds.
EDGE Jonathan Cooper, Ohio State
Cooper is coming off a dominant performance in the National Semifinal game against Clemson and is hoping to roll that into Mobile. He led Ohio State with 3.5 sacks in the shortened season after a 2019 campaign that was hampered by injuries.
EDGE Rashad Weaver, Pittsburgh
Weaver has the size at 6-foot-5, 270 pounds and the accolades, as he was named an All-American after notching 7 ½ sacks, 14 tackles for loss and three forced fumbles his senior year. He took a redshirt year in 2019 after tearing his ACL. He had some of his best games against the best college tackle duos in the country last season.
EDGE Quincy Roche, Miami
A transfer from Temple where he racked up 26 sacks in three seasons, Roche proved he could play at a higher level of competition at Miami. He notched 4.5 sacks and two forced fumbles and piled up a whopping 14.5 tackles for loss. Roche has good size at 6-foot-4, 235 pounds.
DL Tarron Jackson, Coastal Carolina
Jackson will be looked at to see if he fits best as a defensive end or EDGE player in the NFL. He had double-digit sacks in 2019 and 8.5 this past season, showing a good array of pass-rushing moves. He was named an All-American and the Sun Belt Conference Defensive Player of the Year.
DT Marvin Wilson, Florida State
An early-round pick entering the season, Wilson's stock has dropped somewhat due to a season-ending knee injury that required minor knee surgery. He has tons of power to be an excellent run stopper and provide some interior pass rush.
TE Hunter Long, Boston College
Long emerged as a receiving threat this season under a new coaching staff, catching 57 passes for 685 yards and five touchdowns. But before that, he earned a reputation, and All-ACC honors, primarily for his blocking. That kind of versatility could make him attractive to a team like the Ravens looking for more depth behind Mark Andrews and Nick Boyle.
C Creed Humphrey, Oklahoma
The center class is good this year, but Ohio State's Josh Myers is not expected to participate due to injury. That leaves Humphrey as the top center participating at the Senior Bowl and he's quite a sight at 6-foot-5, 325 pounds. He's a technician with size and power who can be a bulldozer in the run game and very strong in pass protection. Humphrey has a wrestling background and comes from the same school as Ravens offensive linemen Orlando Brown Jr. and Ben Powers.
OG Deonte Brown, Alabama
A big-bodied offensive lineman from Alabama is never a bad thing – just ask Bradley Bozeman. Brown stands in at 6-foot-4, 335 pounds and he can move people off the ball. Does he move well enough to be a pulling guard in the Ravens' system?
