ARTICLES
Senior Bowl Day 1: Who Helped Themselves in Mobile
@SCOUTDNFL
January 27th, 2026
OVERVIEW
MOBILE, Ala. — What an incredible experience it was to see these players compete today. While competing alone helps raise a player’s stock, some benefited far more than others. I’m going to take you through what I saw today.
TRUE RISERS
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LEE HUNTER
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TJ PARKER
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JAKE SLAUGHTER
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ZION YOUNG
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GENNINGS DUNKER
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TED HURST
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DEVEN EASTERN
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CHRIS JOHNSON
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DIEGO PAVIA
BREAKDOWN: THE RISERS
Obviously scouting is subjective, and my “Risers” may not be the same as other people’s. However, if I had to pick out players who exceeded my expectations, this would be my list. Some of these came as a surprise to me, as I didn’t even have tabs on a player like Deven Eastern, but he is now very much on my radar.
Lee Hunter was borderline unblockable today against nearly everyone he faced. He has legitimate Round 1 upside. He’s so quick for his size and consistently plays with a lower center of gravity than whoever he’s lined up against, which allows him to win with excellent leverage. I was really impressed.
OTHER NOTES
It was a pretty typical day at the Senior Bowl overall. There are some players I want to see more from tomorrow, but I’ll hold off on mentioning them until the week concludes. I also saw a presence from nearly every team. The teams with the largest number of scouts and personnel were probably the Commanders and the Dolphins, while the fewest, from my perspective and to no surprise, were the Rams.
I personally got to chat with two players I’m a big fan of, Chris Johnson and Michael Taafe. They provided great insight into the process and were fantastic individuals. I really look forward to watching them continue to excel this week and beyond.
If I had to make one note about the quarterbacks, I’d say the best throw of the day was a completion from Diego Pavia to Josh Cameron up the sideline. Pavia showed strong command and looked very poised. The quarterback with the most physical ability on display was NDSU’s Cole Payton, who was firing opposite-hash ropes all day.
TOMORROW'S OUTLOOK
I felt like the most dominant performances today came from the trenches. Tomorrow, I’ll be looking for more plays to be made in the secondary and to see which quarterback continues to boost their stock.
Overall, it was a great day. I feel like we gained some strong insight into these young men and where they may potentially fall come April.