Post Senior Bowl rankings are finally here! The 2023 Reese’s Senior Bowl, down in Mobile, Alabama, has to be one of the highlights from my time working in football media. Getting eyes on these players and being able to talk to them one-on-one was a truly surreal experience. I highly suggest everyone experiences this event at least once, either as a fan or as someone working in the industry. Everyone at Senior Bowl week was lovely to talk to because we are all just football fans, no matter what level of the game we observe. Here are my final positional rankings for fantasy football for the 2023 dynasty rookie draft.
Quarterbacks
- Hendon Hooker
- Jake Haener
- Jaren Hall
- Max Duggan
- Malik Cunningham
- Tyson Bagent
- Clayton Tune
All post Senior Bowl rankings should start with the most position on the football field; quarterback. This quarterback group struggled to gain that distinction. That should be evident that the top guy didn’t even play all week due to injury recovery. Tennessee quarterback Hendon Hooker was only in Mobile for media and interviews, but I have a feeling may have outperformed the quarterbacks who did play.
My top group that did play include Fresno State quarterback Jake Haener, BYU quarterback Jaren Hall, and TCU quarterback Max Duggan. Duggan was a Heisman finalist this past year. These guys are competent enough to operate the offense given to them but will not elevate those around them. I have all three graded as developmental backups, which I don’t see going before day three. For dynasty purposes, expect them to go in the later rounds of rookie Superflex drafts and provide one or two spot starts throughout their careers.
The final group I would classify as the ‘toolsy’ group of quarterbacks from Mobile. They are all purely developmental guys that I can see NFL teams taking a flyer on at the end of the draft. Tyson Bagent of Shepherd and Clayton Tune of Houston are both large quarterbacks with big arms. Both also have downsides to their games and may struggle to catch on to NFL rosters. It is hard not to make the Lamar Jackson comp for Malik Cunningham when you see the Louisville helmet. The comp shone in the Senior Bowl game, where Cunningham frequently used his legs to gain yards. I would not be surprised to find him paired up with Lamar at the next level as the QB3.
Running Backs
- Tyjae Spears
- Roschon Johnson
- Kenny McIntosh
- Eric Gray
- Camerun Peoples
- Chase Brown
- Evan Hull
- Chris Rodriguez Jr.
The running back group was among the strongest at Senior Bowl practice last week. Many of these players were able to elevate their NFL draft stock, which will help when figuring out where to take these guys in our dynasty rookie drafts. All these guys will find their names called during the three days of the NFL draft in April. None will go on night one, but a decent number of them can go on day two. Day two is the sweet spot for fantasy football running backs.
The Top of the Class
Tyjae Spears of Tulane, Roschon Johnson of Texas, and Kenny McIntosh of Georgia are the players I have pegged as day two picks in the NFL draft. They are also at the top of my post Senior Bowl rankings for the running back position. Tyjae was the show’s star this week and consistently produced highlights day in and day out. Out of everyone here, Spears helped his draft stock the most. Roschon Johnson, unfortunately, broke his hand during day one of practice but did enough that day to show out. If he were healthy, we would be talking about Roschon the way everyone talks about Tyjae. Kenny McIntosh will be a day-two selection in the NFL draft based on experience alone. He was a proven back at the SEC level and will check all the boxes NFL teams are looking for in a rotational back.
The next tier of running backs will be on day three of the NFL draft. This group includes Eric Gray of Oklahoma, Camerun Peoples of Appalachian State, Chase Brown of Illinois, Evan Hull of Northwestern, and Chris Rodriguez of Kentucky. Eric Gray is the cream of the crop for this group regarding fantasy purposes. He profiles as an all-purpose back who will start his career as the third back on a team with the ability to climb the depth chart. Camerun Peoples will be a big bruiser at the NFL level who will be part of a rotation. The rest of the backs on this list have some size concerns and will see limited snaps per game in a full-time committee role.
Wide Receivers
- Jayden Reed
- Nathaniel Dell
- Jonathan Mingo
- Puka Nacua
- Michael Wilson
- Don’tayvion Wicks
- Andrei Iosivas
- Rashee Rice
- Xavier Hutchinson
- Trey Palmer
- Tre Tucker
- Jalen Wayne
- Ronnie Bell
- Grant DuBose
- Derius Davis
- Elijah Higgins
Watching the wide receivers work in individual and one-on-one drills might have been the most fun during my time at the Senior Bowl. The precision that some of these guys work with is unreal to see in person. The trash-talking with the defensive backs were also something to experience from just a few feet away. Neither side had issues reminding the other who won the rep, and the chirping continued all week long.
Two Names To Watch
On the topic of winners, two names stood out from the rest of the group for real winners at practice this week. That would be Houston receiver Nathaniel ‘Tank’ Dell and Michigan State receiver Jayden Reed. They form the top tier of my post Senior Bowl rankings at wide receiver. Both players consistently got open the entire week with only one or two steps. The quarterbacks were quite inaccurate at times, but that didn’t matter with these two, as they displayed an elite catch radius to haul in anything thrown their way. The ‘Tank” moniker is ironic as Dell weighs just 163 pounds. His speed at the combine will be critical to his draft stock.
Jonathan Mingo of Ole Miss, Puka Nacua of BYU, Michael Wilson of Virginia, and Don’tayvion Wicks of Virginia were all players that impressed me at the Senior Bowl and helped their draft stock quite a bit. These are all players that I look forward to diving deeper into now that I am home from Mobile and have access to the DynastyNerds film room again. Puka had an awe-inspiring day one and wasn’t seen at practice the rest of the week. The only reasons for this are either injury or positive news from a club regarding expected draft capital—something to keep an eye on.
One receiver I was looking forward to seeing who disappointed me a bit was Rashee Rice out of SMU. Many in this industry have Rice high in their 2023 wide receiver rankings, and thus I was expecting something big from the player who broke Emmanuel Sanders’ receiving record. However, Rice struggled to elevate himself above the rest of this group. I am not saying he had a bad week; he didn’t impress me as much as I had hoped. It will be essential to keep an eye on him throughout the next few months of the pre-draft process.
Tight Ends
- Luke Musgrave
- Payne Durham
- Josh Whyle
- Will Mallory
- Davis Allen
- Cameron Latu
- Brayden Willis
An important name off of this list is Dalton Kincaid out of Utah. He was committed to the Senior Bowl but is currently dealing with an injury he must get treated before the combine and the rest of the pre-draft process. Heading into practice week, I would have had him easily as TE1 out of this group. Luke Musgrave did everything in his power to change that. Musgrave, out of Oregon State, has been recovering from a knee injury for most of 2022 and showed to teams that he is fully healthy this week. He was making impressive catches and was able to justify the first-round draft capital rumors we have been hearing for the last few weeks. He also stands alone on top of my post Senior Bowl rankings for the tight-end position.
The only name out of the remaining players I am interested in is Purdue tight-end Payne Durham. He had several impressive catches, including a touchdown where he got his bell rocked, removing his helmet. Despite the big hit, Durham was able to snag the catch for the score. Very impressive hands for a name not many knew just ten days ago. The rest of these names are depth-piece tight-ends that will likely go day three and won’t hold much significance to dynasty fantasy football.
#TheDraftStartsInMobile
The draft starts in Mobile was a cliche or a marketing catchphrase before my time at Senior Bowl week. However, after experiencing the event first-hand, the draft does start in Mobile. I cannot thank Jim Nagy and Molly Middleton enough for setting this event up. They are true ambassadors of the sport and were more than helpful at every step of this journey. I will always cherish my time talking to these players before they make it big in the NFL, and reporting live for the Nerd Herd was a lot of fun.
I look forward to hearing feedback on my rankings and following these players over the upcoming months. Thank you for following my content, and I look forward to reporting live from Mobile in 2024!
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I hope you enjoyed this piece in our Draft Nerds series. Be sure to check back often, as we will cover all 32 NFL franchises. For more content like this, follow me on Twitter @DanT_NFL. DMs are always open for questions, comments, or craft beer recommendations!
