2022 Senior Bowl: Malik Willis, Jalen Tolbert and other players who improved their draft stock this week

MOBILE, Ala. — The rain never materialized on Thursday, the final day of Senior Bowl practices, and both teams looked sharper on the turf at Jaguar Training facility on the campus of South Alabama. Twenty-four hours prior, conditions were decidedly different; the constant downpour was the story of the afternoon, followed closely by the wind. 

Not surprisingly, the skill position players were affected, whether it was the quarterbacks’ ability to grip and throw the ball, or the receivers, tight ends and running backs’ trying to catch said ball. There were no such concerns on Day 3 and there was a lot to like from both the American and National sides. Here are nine players (in no particular order) who had good weeks, and in the process, undoubtedly improved their draft stock.

Malik Willis, QB, Liberty

We’ve talked about Willis each day on CBS Sports HQ and written about him here, and that’s because a) This quarterback class is desperately looking for someone to emerge as the No. 1, and b) Willis has been up to the challenge here in Mobile, showing improvements each day. There’s so much to like in his game; yes, he’s only 6-feet even but he’s a solid 220 pounds, can outrun linebackers and safeties, and can throw the ball a mile. Save the height, these are all qualities NFL teams are now looking for in the franchise quarterbacks and the Russell Wilsons and Kyler Murrays of the league have proven that you don’t have to be 6-foot-5 to have success under center. 

Realistically, Willis is a second-round pick, and he would’ve been the sixth quarterback drafted a year ago, but that’s based on where his game is right now. Check back in 2-3 years and he could be a completely different player, perhaps similar to the way we talked about Josh Allen, Wyoming QB back in 2018 and Josh Allen, freakish NFL QB right now. 

One of the quickest ways to assure Willis’ success? Fit matters. Mac Jones was one of our favorite players in last year’s class, yes, but put him on the Jets and we’re looking at a completely different player. We count nine teams that could be in the market for a quarterback in the coming weeks and months — Detroit, Carolina, Atlanta, Denver, Washington, Minnesota, New Orleans, Pittsburgh and Tampa Bay (and we can make it an even 10 if you want to include the Texans, who will likely roll with Davis Mills for at least another season). 

Of those teams, the Panthers feel like the worst fit and for one reason only: their offensive line is in shambles and it would be a disservice to Willis, who will need time on the bench to grow into his role, to throw him out there with little in the way of protection. But those are problems for another day. This week, Willis did his job, and in the process, improved his draft stock — to the point that it wouldn’t surprise us if he ends up as the first quarterback selected when the actual draft rolls around in late April.

Jalen Tolbert, WR, South Alabama

The local product had some eye-opening moments this week. First things first, Tolbert passes the eye test and it’s not even close. He looks the part, and his game reminds us of Will Fuller. The issues — and it’s the same one that plagued Fuller at times: Tolbert can have some focus drops. He can run by defenders all day long, he’s a yards-after-catch machine with tackler-breaking ability, he’ll make incredible one-handed catches … and then have some head-scratching drops. The teams we spoke to this week don’t seem overly concerned, in part because he’s such a dangerous player.

Tolbert is unlikely to work his way into Round 1, but he’s a Day 2 talent all day long. The only question is how early on Day 2 can he go.

Roger McCreary, CB, Auburn

We’ve been doing mock drafts since the fall and we’d estimate that in at least 80 percent of them we have McCreary among the first 32 picks. He doesn’t wow you with his size (5-foot-11, 189), and he has short arms (29 inches), and we don’t expect him to run in the 4.3s at the combine. But none of that will matter when you see him play. He did it every week for Auburn against some of the best wide receivers in the country, and he did it in Mobile this week, where he was consistently in phase, and consistently made plays on the ball.

He may not end up in Round 1 but in a few years we may all look back and wonder why he wasn’t.

Devonte Wyatt, DL, Georgia

When it came to the Bulldogs defense, much of the conversation during the 2021 college season was about Jordan Davis, or Nakobe Dean, or Lewis Cine, and rightly so — those guys balled out all season long. Wyatt, meanwhile, flew under the radar as much as you can at nearly 6-foot-3, 307 pounds, while shining on the country’s best defense. He’s continued to shine this week in Mobile and perhaps the most impressive quality is his quickness off the ball. 

Tennessee’s Cade Mays is a really good player and sometimes really good players get beat, especially against someone with that type of explosiveness. There’s no shame in that.

Travis Jones, DL, Connecticut

It’s important to not put too much stock in the offensive line vs. defensive line one-on-one drills because it favors the defense. That said, it’s hard not to get excited about Jones’ performance, both in those drills and during UConn’s otherwise abysmal season. He’s built like a bowling ball and his low center of gravity coupled with his ability to win at the snap makes him an easy guy to like.

And there was this rep against one of our favorite players at the Senior Bowl, Zion Johnson:

Zion Johnson, OL, Boston College

We list Johnson as “OL” because he played left tackle at Boston College and played it at a high level. And while his arms are long enough (33 inches-plus) he’s only 6-foot-3. The Travis Jones rep above aside, Johnson has been clinical this week, all while playing either guard, or a new position, center. He was an easy Day 2 grade coming into the week and we wouldn’t be shocked if he ends up a first-rounder.

Here’s Johnson playing center, getting off a clean snap, and then stonewalling the aforementioned Travis Jones:

Jaylen Watson, CB, Washington State

We hadn’t seen Watson before the Senior Bowl but he got our attention early on in the week and he consistently had good reps. Here’s one vs. Cincinnati standout receiver Alec Pierce:

And here are two more impressive reps vs. North Dakota State’s Christian Watson. Expect to hear more about both Watsons as the week’s progress, but especially Jaylen after his showing in Mobile.

Honorable mention: Calvin Austin III, WR, Memphis

We’ve been talking Austin up all week so we won’t write hundreds of more words on him here. Just know that while, yes, he’s 5-foot-7, he plays much bigger. He consistently wins off the line of scrimmage, he’s an asset in the return game, and oh by the way, he can block 6-foot-4, 260-pound edge rushers who are destined for the first round.

Austin won’t be a Day 1 pick but we are curious to see how high he goes because of just how dangerous he can be.

Honorable mention part II: Jermaine Johnson, EDGE, Florida State

Like Austin, we’ve also spoken frequently about Johnson’s week. The Georgia transfer landed in Tallahassee and racked up 11.5 sacks, locked himself into a Day 2 draft grade in the process, and then came to Mobile and went off. It feels similar to what we saw from Montez Sweat back in 2019. He had a solid senior campaign for Mississippi State in ’18, registered 12 sacks, came to the Senior Bowl and did his thing. His week was highlighted by this one rep.

Which brings us back to Johnson. We’ve already detailed his takedown of massive Kentucky offensive lineman Darian Kinnard, but here he is showing off his quickness and good hands with this inside move against Tulsa’s Chris Paul:

Johnson, as they say, made himself some money this week.