Day One Senior Bowl Practices
The Patriots sent quite the contingent to Mobile for the Senior Bowl practices. Led by Head Coach Mike Vrabel they also have EVP for Player Personnel Eliot Wolf, VP of Player Personnel Ryan Cowden, Director of Player Personnel Matt Groh and Director of College Scouting Camren Williams. Not only will they have eyes on the players, but more importantly get the opportunity to speak with the players themselves through informal interviews. From early reports the brain trust has interviewed almost all the players.
I will again highlight players that have been mentioned in multiple reports as outstanding in the practice. This is sourced from several different reports.
Elijah Arroyo TE Miami – The 6’4” 251-pound receiver received 5 different mentions from various sources. I saw several clips and some live shots on NFL Network and Arroyo looked like a WR running his routes. He left DBs in the dust. Arroyo missed most of 2022 and 2023 seasons with a major knee injury. In 2024 he had a 35-590-7 stat line with Cam Ward as his QB.
Jack Bech WR TCU – the 6’1” 214-pound receiver made the catch of the day on a crossing route with the ball thrown outside his body. Bech make the leaping adjustment and came down with the ball. The word on Beck is that he is a very reliable receiver and an excellent downfield blocker. There is also the human-interest story about all the players wearing #18 on their helmets in honor of his brother Tiger Bech who played for Princeton. Tiger was one of the 15 people killed in the truck attack in New Orleans.
Willie Lampkin C UNC/Coastal Carolina – Lampkin is only 5’10”, 278-pounds which is incredibly small for a D1 lineman. Despite his size deficiency he started 38 games for Coastal Carolina, topping off his career there with Sun Belt Offensive Lineman of the Year. He transferred to UNC for his final season and started another 11 games at Center and garnered 3rd Team All ACC honors. The guy can play, as evident by his two matchups against massive 6’7” 340-pound Deone Walker yesterday in the Senior Bowl practice. Lampkin won both. I saw a video where Lampkin stoned Walker at the LOS and wouldn’t let him get off.
This from Eric Edholm of NFL.com “He (Lampkin) said a few teams have floated the idea of him being sort of a do-it-all guy: being able to play all three interior OL spots, hopping in as a sixth blocker in heavy sets and even lining up in the backfield as a fullback.” The Patriots are probably going to utilize a Fullback which has been a staple in a Josh McDaniels Offense. If you could get a player that fills multiple roles like FB, an extra TE or backup Center he would be tremendously valuable.
Josh Conerly OT Oregon – Conerly played well up until the final matchup of the day when he got beat by Boston College Edge rusher Donavan Ezeiruaku. He may have solidified his selection in the late 1st round. The All-American would have been a 1st round pick even if he had skipped this competition. He had nothing to prove yet showed up and put on a show!
Greg Zabel OL North Dakota State – Another player with multiple accolades from practice observers. Most claim he was the best lineman out there. Zabel has short arms and will move inside to Guard or Center. He played all three positions yesterday and played them all very well. His technique is excellent. Because of his short arms, he is not a candidate for the Patriots. Doug Marone is a stickler on arm length for Tackles.
Anthony Belton OT North Carolina State – The 6’5” 345-pound player reminds scouts of former Patriot Trent Brown. CLNS media’s Taylor Kyles is down in Mobile and had Belton as his top players. I saw video’s of Belton stonewalling the defenders. If the Patriots are interested in a Left Tackle to develop, Belton may just be that player.
Omar Norman-Lott DT Tennessee – The 6’3” 315-pound DT is one of the quickest players on the line. Norman-Lott looks like he got shot out of his stance. That’s how quick his 1st step is. He reminds scouts of Buffalo’s Ed Oliver.
Brashard Smith RB SMU – He is a converted WR in the mold of Antonio Gibson. Smith played wide receiver for Miami. He had the best run of the day.
Other players of note:
Jalen Royal WR Utah State
Clay Webb OG Jacksonville State
Quincy Riley CB Louisville
Maxwell Hariston CB Kentucky
Mike Pellegrino and Brian Belichick not returning
I didn’t expect Brian Belichick to return but I was very disappointed that Mike Pellegrino was not retained. Pellegrino did an outstanding job for the Patriots for 6 seasons. I didn’t think Belichick did a good job with the Safeties and not upset that he is leaving. I always felt that Belichick got the job because of his father and never did an adequate job.
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Merrimack Valley native and lifelong fan of the New England Patriots. My earliest memories of the Patriots were attending as a child with my dad, the off-season practice at Phillips Academy. I was at the Patriots game at Harvard Stadium in 1970 where Bob “Harpo” Gladieux was called out of the stands by the stadium announcer over the PA to play in the game. Analyzing the draft since ESPN first started to televise it in 1980 and former writer for the Lowell Sun Newspaper.
