East-West Shrine Bowl: Players to watch

FRISCO, Texas — The seasons are changing on the football calendar. With only the Super Bowl left to play and collegiate showcases soon to kick off around the country, fantasy football discourse is slowly turning into mock draft extravaganza, and fans are beginning to shift their focus from their own team to whatever prospect they’re ready to crown as their franchise’s savior — draft season is upon us!

The true beginning of the draft calendar was on Saturday in Frisco, Texas, where the East and West teams of the East-West Shrine Bowl took the field in the Dallas Cowboys’ practice facility in preparation for the 99th Shrine game. Talk of Troy has the privilege of attending the prestigious game, which has produced names like Brock Purdy and Isaiah Pacheco in recent years, so in preparation, let’s run down ten big names in Frisco who project to be difference-makers at the next level.

Edgerrin Cooper, LB, Texas A&M

Arguably the biggest name at this year’s Shrine Bowl, Texas A&M linebacker Edgerrin Cooper has a strong chance of being the first Shrine player drafted in April. Boasting solid size for the position at 6-foot-two, 227 pounds, Cooper is a gifted athlete with good short-area quickness and lateral agility to fly downhill and horizontally to erase any type of run play, all while boasting the movement skills to comfortably trail most tight ends and running backs in man coverage. He needs to clean up his awareness in zone coverages and add some mass to be more enforcing on early downs, yet in totality, he projects as a great WILL backer at the next level where he can fly from sideline to sideline and assist on blitzes and simulated pressures.

Jonathon Brooks, RB, Texas

While he missed the final four games of the season with a torn ACL and will not be participating in the actual game, few names will garner more attention from scouts and media in Frisco than running back Jonathan Brooks, who, despite only playing ten games on the year, accumulated over 1400 yards from scrimmage to help the Longhorns to a college football playoff appearance.

A baby by NFL draft standards, having only one year of starting experience and entering the draft at twenty years old, Brooks is in many ways a developmental prospect. His vision is not NFL-ready, and his current frame and play strength are not at the level where he can be a legitimate three-down back in the NFL right now. With that said, he’s a phenomenal athlete with good one-cut ability and the speed to take house calls from the backfield. Brooks is a project, but if a team commits to getting him stronger and developing his vision, he could be a premier back sooner rather than later.

Christian Mahogany, OG, Boston College

Shrine Bowl practice tweets have overtaken football Twitter over the last four days, and few players have been mentioned more than Boston College guard Christian Mahogany, who projects to be one of the biggest risers in the draft process over the coming months. A good athlete with solid size at six-foot-two, 318 pounds, and a basketball background, Mahogany projects as an ideal option for heavy zone-run teams where he can use his good quickness and lateral agility to execute scoop and reach blocks and excel in space on pulls and second-level opportunities.

Mahogany will be a solid pass protector from day one due to his adept processing when defending stunts and blitzes and solid play strength to anchor on bull rushes, but he will need to improve his hand timing in pass pro to better defend twitchy interior linemen who often get the better of him on speed rushes.

Leonard Taylor III, DT, Miami (FL)

Leonard Taylor is one of the more intriguing prospects at the Shrine Bowl because, despite enduring a disappointing 2023 season by his standards, he’s still projected as an early-round draft pick by draft analysts and scouts alike. His evaluation requires nuance; he underwent a position change this past offseason, changing his body to play as a true nose tackle rather than his accustomed three-technique position in Miami’s fluid front.

Watching Miami games, it is evident Taylor is playing out of position – At six-foot-three and in a linar frame with, he doesn’t have the body to anchor against the runs like nose tackles are supposed to – yet even out of his comfort zone, there are still flashes in his game: a great initial get-off, heavy hands and violence at the point of contact, and the flashing of a variety of pass rush moves to beat centers and guards when not double-teamed. To this point, Taylor has not practiced in Frisco as he recovers from a late-season injury, yet the interview process promises to be crucial for him as he meets with teams about his fit at the next level. If Taylor is picked by the right team with a clear physiological and coaching plan for him to help transition back to a dominant three-technique, watch out.

Malik Washington, WR, Virginia

Another player who has taken Frisco by storm, Malik Washington is quickly rising as one of the better slot wide receiver prospects in this year’s draft. Transferring from Northwestern prior to the 2023 season, Washington enjoyed a breakout season in 2023 where he racked up 1426 receiving yards and nine touchdowns on 110 receptions, more production than in his four years in Evanston combined.

Washington projects as a safety blanket from the slot in the NFL, where he’ll be able to leverage the underneath and intermediate areas of the field if given free releases due to his understanding of leverage and good suddenness, alongside very good hands to haul in inaccurate balls and maintain control through contact. He’ll never win consistently outside due to his diminutive frame at five-foot-eight, 192 pounds, and should not be trusted as a field-stretcher due to his average long speed, but if plugged into the right system, he can be a productive player in the slot for years to come.

Ja’Tavion Sanders, TE, Texas

Ja’Tavion “JT” Sanders enters the draft as one of the most intriguing skill players in the class. At six-foot-four, 250 pounds, he’s slightly undersized for a tight end yet moves extremely well for the position, enabling him to leverage all three areas of the field well; he excels on screens and short area routes, can run intermediate-deep routes like posts and corners and can even stretch the field vertically and horizontally on crossers and verts with good long speed.

The biggest question mark regarding Sanders will be his blocking ability, as he often takes poor angles in his blocks and showcases below-average play strength at the point of attack, making him susceptible to be overpowered by edge defenders and linebackers. Sanders functions as a hybrid between a receiver and tight end, yet that’s as much of an intriguing proposition as it is a scary one; whatever team drafts him must either A) know how to use him in a hyper-specific role or B) be committed to developing his run blocking skills so he can truly be an ace tight end. Like Leonard Taylor, Sanders is not practicing in Frisco as he recovers from an injury, yet the interview process could be just as important for him as teams figure out his fit and willingness to adapt at the next level.

Evan Anderson, NT, Florida Atlantic

One of the best players in the AAC this past fall, Evan Anderson is undoubtedly circled on the draft boards of any team that runs a predominantly 3-4 defense. While his size may be below average at six-foot and a half, he’s well built at 318 pounds with an incredibly thick lower half which allows him to dominate as a run stuffer; with tree trunks for legs, he can stand tall against guard/center double teams, reaches, and drive blocks with tremendous lower body strength, also showing solid flexibility for his size to lower his weight and anchor – almost offensive tackle-like.

He won’t offer you much pass rush upside due to his poor get-off and lack of urgency in his hands, but that won’t be his job at the NFL level. As a nose tackle, he’ll be asked to command double teams and not lose, exactly what he can do. Anderson may not go early due to his specialized position, yet it wouldn’t be a surprise if he quickly emerged as one of the most impactful 2024 Shrine Bowl players in the coming years.

Garret Greenfield, OT, South Dakota State

If you were to survey the general population on who they think the best player in the 2024 NFL draft is based on their look, South Dakota State left tackle Garret Greenfield would amass his fair share of votes. At six-foot-six, 310 pounds in a linear, well-defined frame, he looks like your prototypical tackle. Moreover, he also enjoyed an incredibly illustrious career at SDSU, starting for four years for the Jackrabbits, his first two at right tackle and the last two on the left side, all while playing 55 straight games en route to two FCS championships.

He’s a good run blocker who wins with good initial quickness and hand placement to well position, able to execute on both gap and zone schemes. His biggest question mark will be in his development as a pass protector, as he shows good hand usage and anchor to win versus bull rushes but shows questionable lateral agility and foot quickness to match speed rushers inside or outside – a real concern as he’ll be facing much better athletes at the NFL level. A transition to guard is certainly not off the table.

Jalen Coker, WR, Holy Cross

The NFL hasn’t seen a Holy Cross draft pick in 35 years, yet that could very well change this year after wide receiver Jalen Coker’s massive season for the Crusaders, where he led all FCS receivers with 15 touchdown receptions. At six-foot-one, 218 pounds, Coker has average measurables and also looks like a solid, albeit unspectacular athlete on tape, yet he wins over and over on routes with tremendous understanding of leverage, fantastic short area quickness, and creativity in his route running, dominating the underneath-intermediate level. He can win versus man and zone, shows very good ball skills on tape and offers solid yards-after-catch ability with good field vision and solid elusiveness. Expect Coker to transition to more of a z-slot role in the NFL à la Puka Nacua due to very good route running but lack of explosiveness, and if he falls in the right system, don’t be surprised if he sees immediate NFL success like Nacua and other mid-late round receivers in recent drafts.

Qwan’tez Stiggers, CB, Toronto Argonauts

With strong performances during practices in Frisco, cornerback Qwant’tez Stiggers is edging closer to making NFL draft history: this coming April, he could become only the third player drafted without any NCAA experience. Unable to play college football due to a family tragedy in 2019, Stiggers worked multiple jobs before getting an opportunity to play in the Fan Controlled Football League, where he excelled and caught the attention of Canadian Football League teams. He joined the Toronto Argonauts for the 2023 season and looked right at home, earning Rookie of the Year honors for his play.

While having unimpressive measurables at six feet, 197 pounds, Stiggers makes up for it with his aggressive, physical brand of football. He’s a ball hawk with good instincts to anticipate errant throws or outmuscle receivers at the catch point to force interceptions or incompletions. He shows good range to cover ground quickly while enforcing his will on the offense; he finished his rookie campaign in the CFL with 56 tackles and a second-most five intereceptions among all defenders. Stiggers has turned eyes during his first few days in Frisco, and a big performance on Thursday could go a long way to helping him make history.