Today was the second day of practice at the NFLPA Bowl in Carson, CA. There were, again, no NFL scouts in attendance as they have been barred from going because the NFLPA chose to invite juniors that have declared for the draft. There were a couple UFL and CFL scouts, but attendance at the practices has been sparse to say the least.
The second team on the field Wednesday was the National Team:
Austin Wuebbels, G, Missouri - Wuebbels had maybe the best day among offensive lineman in pass protection. Once he got his hands on a rusher he did a very good job establishing his base, staying balanced and striking with his hands. None of the defensive lineman were able to better him on consecutive plays.Richard Crawford, CB, Southern Methodist - Crawford was my favorite cornerback for the second day in a row and it wasn't too surprising to see the CFL scouts in attendance all want to talk to him after the practice was over. He mirrored receivers very well and stayed right in their hip pocket. He breaks out of his backpedal very well and was able to close on the ball quickly because of it. He needs to improve on his ball skills, though, as he allowed some catches that shouldn't have happened because he was unable to beat receivers to the ball in the air.
Max Holloway, DE, Boston College - At 6'2, 253 pounds, Holloway is a smallish defensive end and doesn't have the elite speed necessary to make up for it. He has very active hands and gets good leverage to beat offensive tackles, but can get locked down once a tackle gets their hands on him. Might have to move to outside linebacker to be an NFL fit.
Bo Levi Mitchell, QB, Eastern Washington - Mitchell had a really strong day of practice, but wasn't as strong today. Similar to Kinne of the National Team, Mitchell doesn't have a huge arm but commands an offense well and has enough velocity on underneath passes to be successful. He's only 6'0 so I wouldn't expect too many teams to be willing to take a shot.
Keith Nichol, WR, Michigan State - Nichol is pretty quick in and out of breaks, but he's had a lot of drops in the first two days of practice. He has soft hands when it comes to the deep ball and he judges it in the air pretty well, but on underneath passes with velocity he lets it go through his hands far too often.
Aldarius Johnson, WR, Miami (FL) - Johnson certainly looks the part at 6'3, 208 pounds and makes all the athletic catches you'd want out of a receiver, but he lacks the second gear or crisp routes necessary to get open. When he's alone he can go up and make twisting catches in the air that are intriguing, but he isn't too difficult for the cornerbacks to lock down and beat to the ball.
Brandon Washington, OT/G, Miami (FL) - The junior that entered the draft early has showed impressive versatility, doing very well at offensive tackle and at guard. He does a great job in pass protection staying balanced and keeping his hands active. Probably a better fit in the interior. Similar athletically to Will Rackley and is probably the best bet at this point to be the highest player drafted among NFLPA Bowl participants.
Johnson Bademosi, CB, Stanford - Johnson looks for the interception often and breaks on the ball well enough to do so often. He has great hands and ball skills and came away with an impressive one handed interception to prove it. He has been beaten on double moves, though, when trying to come away with interceptions. Could excel in a zone scheme with a safety to protect him from allowing the big play.
Jarett Lee, QB, LSU - It's becoming more and more evident why Les Miles refused to put Jarett Lee in the game during the BCS National Championship. Lee exemplifies the title of "captain checkdown" in 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 drills. While he does a pretty good job putting throws on the right spots on timing routes, he's wildly inaccurate when he uncorks a deep ball. He has the arm to get it there, but the deep ball is very rarely on the mark.