Senior Bowl QBs Battling in front of Minnesota Vikings coaches and executives

How early is still anyone’s guess but nearly the entire organization, including most of the front office, much of the scouting department and the entire coaching staff is in attendance in Mobile, AL this week where a few projected day one QBs are competing at the Reese’s Senior Bowl.

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There have been multiple quarterbacks linked to the Vikings for the draft, with top names like Drake Maye or Jayden Daniels talked about in a possible trade-up, but that would most likely require a move up into the top 3. In the scenario that the Vikings stay put at 11 and take a top defender, there are still multiple directions they can take at the quarterback position.

Bo Nix – Oregon Ducks

One name that has been connected to the Vikings has been Oregon signal caller and Heisman Finalist Bo Nix. The biggest thing going for Nix is his experience, as he has over 50 career starts in 5 collegiate seasons between Auburn and Oregon, but he had many question marks coming into the Senior Bowl, and those came to call on day 1, where he struggled.

Let’s just say…

Bo Nix isn’t having the best showing at the Senior Bowl… pic.twitter.com/vEtsvBlYSS

— College Football Report (@CFBRep) January 31, 2024

Arguably his biggest concern has been his deep ball passing, and those have been highlighted so far in Mobile. Per Bleacher Report, most of Nix’s passes have been short throws, and while he has performed well for the most part in that area, when he has gone deep the throws have not been where they needed to be, missing low, high and behind.

“Nix is not normally this inaccurate on film, but it’s not surprising to see him late to trigger and generally a little anxious as a thrower. Both of those traits track with what he put on film, and both have cranked up in an unfamiliar environment. If there was a competition for the best quarterback in Mobile, Nix wouldn’t be first, second and probably not even third.”

Bleacher Report Scouting Department

But most reports out of Mobile surrounding Nix, especially from Thursday (day 3) have been a lot more positive. Some have even moved him all the way up their QB for the week, saying he has had the most impressive overall week of any QB there.

Michael Penix had a nice throw along the back of the end zone to the left side a few mins ago. Bo Nix just matched him with a nice in-stride throw to Malachi Corley on the right side pic.twitter.com/jVSveZFHVB

— Trevor Sikkema (@TampaBayTre) February 1, 2024

Related: Vikings Infatuated with Top-50 Toledo Cornerback Balling Out at Senior Bowl Practices

Michael Penix Jr – Washington Huskies

Another big name that has been talked about ending up in purple has been national championship runner up QB Michael Penix Jr. After a masterclass of a game in the national semifinal game, Penix Jr struggled in the final, notably with the heavy amount of pressure that Michigan Wolverines threw at him.

But there’s no doubting the impressive numbers he put up the past two seasons, compiling 9,544 yards and 67 touchdowns vs just 19 interceptions. His 65.4 completion percentage is concerning, but not alarming.

What is alarming is the fact that Penix put up those eye-popping numbers at Washington, after a rollercoaster of ups and downs at Indiana, where he totaled just 4,197 yards, 29 touchdowns and 15 interceptions (20 games) over four different seasons. Both of his seasons on the West Coast were individually more impressive than four combined seasons in Bloomington.

Here are some of the best throws from Michael Penix Jr in 1 vs 1 and team period pic.twitter.com/GwaOS5vLl2

— Dustin Mosher (@Dustin_Mosher) February 1, 2024

Penix is another prospect who has had some question marks coming into this week, most notably his age and injury history, with three of his seasons ending early due to injury, including two torn ACLs. Penix got off to a slow start at the Senior Bowl, struggling with his accuracy early on, but the lefty gunslinger was able to lock in as the week has gone and his reviews have been better in days two and three.

Spencer Rattler – South Carolina

Then, there’s the darkhorse 1st-round QB talent in Mobile, Spencer Rattler, who nobody has had on their radar as a possible first round pick since pretty much 2021. But that has changed in recent weeks, as steam around the former Sooner/Gamecock is suddenly bursting out of the kettle.

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Rattler threw for 3,186 yards, 19 touchdowns and 8 interceptions at South Carolina last season. His 68.9 completion percentage was the best since his redshirt sophomore year in Oklahoma, when he split starter duties with Caleb Williams, who eventually transferred to USC and is expected to be drafted No. 1 overall in April’s draft.

Outside of his 2020 season at Oklahoma, when he threw 28 touchdowns and just 7 interceptions, his QB totals don’t year-over-year don’t necessarily jump off the page. But his 68.5 career completion percentage is rather impressive, as is his 77/32 TD/INT ratio.

Particularly during team drills on Wednesday, Rattler was impressive. He was composed on his dropback, went through his progressions quickly, and was decisive triggering on throws. And on one throw in teams, he rifled a high-velocity laser to Xavier Legette 25 yards down the field, outside the numbers.

Ian Cummings – Pro Football Network

Walked into mobile wanting to love Michael Penix and Bo Nix, and the QB that stood out the most for me was @GamecockFB QB Spencer Rattler.

Let him land on a team where he can continue to grow and develop. I was very impressed. 📈 #SeniorBowl #TheDraftStartsInMOBILE #2024NFLDraft pic.twitter.com/kYpqzyghYa

— Ray G (@RayGQue) February 2, 2024

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Mitchell ranks as the #35 prospect in the draft, according to Dane Brugler’s NFL Draft Big Board, He has met individually with the Vikings down in Mobile already this week and, according to Alec Lewis (The Athletic), they have serious interest in the 2nd Team All-American.

Toledo CB Quinyon Mitchell Drawing Interest

“One player of serious interest [for the Vikings] this year is cornerback Quinyon Mitchell, who shared Wednesday that he had met with the Vikings. The University of Toledo product played in 39 games over the last three years and in 2023 was Pro Football Focus’ highest-graded cornerback among 200 qualified CBs.”

Alec Lewis – The Athletic

Quinyon Mitchell is THAT dude🗣️

pic.twitter.com/Fon4h8GadI

— PFF College (@PFF_College) January 31, 2024

Lined up in press-man coverage, Mitchell showcased his skills numerous times on Wednesday, as he shadowed Michigan receiver Roman Wilson, effectively shutting down one of the most talented receivers at the Senior Bowl.

At Toledo, Mitchell played a lot of man-coverage and proved an innate ability to play a shutdown role without much help over the top. Lewis, and clearly the Vikings too, believe Mitchell would be a great fit in Brian Flores’ defense.

“Additionally, Mitchell played match coverage, which starts as zone and turns into man, depending on the route the receiver runs. This responsibility requires a seamless application of rule memorization to on-field application. Most NFL teams, including the Vikings, ask for this depth of understanding from their cornerbacks. Defensive coordinator Brian Flores utilizes “hot coverage,” which mandates corners maintain eye position on the quarterback and react swiftly once the ball is snapped.”

Alec Lewis – The Athletic

Minnesota Vikings desperately need cornerback help

The Vikings have identified cornerback as one of their priorities in the upcoming draft. Adding a player like Mitchell could provide the exact type of secondary upgrade they so desperately need.

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If Kwesi wants Mitchell badly enough, he may have to do some maneuvering to get him in an ideal spot. NFL Draft legend Mel Kiper Jr (ESPN), projects the Toledo cornerback to be selected by the Detroit Lions with the 30th overall pick. Kiper Jr also noted he was excited to see how Mitchell would perform at the Senior Bowl. Now we see why.

The love for Quinyon Mitchell within the football community doesn’t stop with Alec Lewis or Mel Kiper. Insider Mike Garafolo (NFL Network) is at the senior bowl this week too, and took some of the things that he is hearing public on Thursday, as well.

From The Insiders on @nflnetwork live from the @seniorbowl on Toledo CB Quinyon Mitchell’s impressive week here. pic.twitter.com/cUloeBIdj9

— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) February 1, 2024

“Toledo cornerback has done a fantastic job… Ian and I expected him to be our guest interview for the show yesterday, so we were locked in and we were watching every single rep, and he had the confindce to be underneath Brendan Rice and say hey I’m good with defending things over the top, had himself an interception, did that multiple times, the kid plays with a ton of confidence he’s got a lot of ability, I like what I’ve seen from Quinyon Mitchell”

Garafolo

Should the Vikings decide to select Mitchell, I believe many fans would be pleased with the choice. However, if he manages to slip to the Vikings in the second round, it would be considered a steal. As the Senior Bowl game is yet to be played, Mitchell will have another opportunity to display his skills on Sunday during the actual game.

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Spann-Ford received his Senior Bowl invite, despite a rather pedestrian final season at the University of Minnesota, a year in which he caught just 25 passes for 239 yards and 2 touchdowns.

As a junior, he caught 42 passes for 497 yards and 2 touchdowns. The Gopher offense was far from resembling an air-raid offense but Brevyn struggled to haul in the targets he did get, throughout the season.

Minnesota Gophers tight end Brevyn Spann-Ford grabbing attention at Senior Bowl

In other words, impressing at the Senior Bowl this week is crucial to deciding whether or not Brevyn Spann-Ford hears his name called during April’s draft. And so far, so good, according to some early reports coming out of Mobile.

First practice period of the day is over at the Senior Bowl. Here's who popped to me

RB Dylan Laube, UNH
WR Brenden Rice, USC
WR Roman Wilson, Mich
TE Brevyn Spann-Ford, Minn
OT Roger Rosengarten, Wash
DE Austin Booker, Kansas
CB Quinyon Mitchell, Toledo
CB Cam Hart, Notre Dame…

— Alex Barth (@RealAlexBarth) January 31, 2024

On day 1, Spann-Ford ran the 2nd fastest of any tight end on the National roster at 16.32 MPH and he’s shown an ability to battle through contact and make contested catches throughout the week. Not only that, but teams see him as a tight end who can help with pass and run blocking, immediately upon entering the NFL, something not all of them can say.

As one of the better blocking tight ends in the 2024 NFL Draft, Brevyn Spann-Ford can help himself in Mobile by showing a bit more versatility as a pass-catcher, and he’s done that so far.

Throughout his career, Spann-Ford has been relied upon to help open rushing lanes for an offense that loves to hand the football off – but so far, through two days, he’s also shown promise as a receiver.

Brandon Olsen – Giants Country (SI)

What Spann-Ford lacks in collegiate production, he easily makes up for in size, raw athleticism and premiere tight end tools. When he arrived at the Senior Bowl, Brevyn measured at 6 ft, 6.5 inches, 267 pounds. His hands came in at 10 inches and his wingspan 6 ft, 7 inches.

Brevyn Spann-Ford looked good in individual and team drills as a pass catcher. In a reversal of fortune, Minnesota looked better than Michigan and Penn State, strictly at the tight end position. On the National Team roster, there are three tight ends, one from each of the three previously mentioned Big 10 schools.

Right away just seeing the three of them, Brevyn Spann-Ford’s size immediately stands out. Spann-Ford is built like a truck. He has NFL size big time and the thought of NFL strength and conditioning coaches getting at him to possibly help him get even more physically imposing is a really interesting prospect for a team looking for a tight end in this year’s draft.

Tyler Schickert – With The First Pick (Fansided)

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He’s everything an NFL scout is looking for, if he can prove an ability to catch the ball, block and get open. And this week may be the best opportunity he has during the pre-draft process to prove he will be able to do those things at the next level.

Minnesota Gophers Players Invited to Reese’s Senior Bowl

Congrats @T_Nubin27 & @brevyn_ for being invited to the @seniorbowl❕#RTB #SkiUMah #Gophers pic.twitter.com/i9TZP09B94

— Minnesota Football (@GopherFootball) November 30, 2023

It’s the 5th-straight year that a Gopher has been invited to play in the Reese’s Senior Bowl and the 49th to receive an invite, in it’s 73-year history (1950).

Related: Minnesota Gophers Football Transfer Portal Tracker 2023

Tyler Nubin – 1st Team All-Big Ten

Tyler Nubin is a 2023 1st-Team All-Big Ten selection and could go in the first round of April’s draft. He finished the season with 53 tackles, five interceptions and four pass breakups.

He’s played 55 career games in his Gopher career and we do not yet know if he will make it 56, by participating in whichever bowl Minnesota ends up playing in. In total, Nubin collected 207 tackles and 13 interceptions (UofM record).

Related: Minnesota Gophers Bowl Projections 2023

Brevyn Spann-Ford – All-Big Ten Honorable Mention

Brevyn Spann-Ford had a very slow start to the season and nearly fell off many NFL radars so being named an All-Big Ten honorable mention and receiving a senior bowl invite is a big deal for his future.

Spann-Ford made 25 catches this season, for 239 yards and two touchdowns. In his career (60 games so far), he collected 95 receptions for 1,061 yards and seven touchdowns.