Senior Bowl: Top three performers of the afternoon

The Reese’s Senior Bowl is one more change for NFL Draft bound seniors to make an impression on the field. Which players took advantage of that opportunity?

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The college football season is over and the last of the post-season showcases wrapped up on Saturday. The Reese’s Senior Bowl gives seniors one more chance to make their mark and put up good displays in front on NFL Scout.

As is typical of the Senior Bowl, the rosters featured a mix of well-known stars like Baker Mayfield and Allen Lazard and up-and-coming talent from other programs. It was the “lesser known” names that showed up in the biggest way this year. Here are the three best performances from the 2018 Reese’s Senior Bowl.

1. Marcus Davenport

Marcus Davenport wasn’t on anyone’s radar entering the 2017 season. Now, after an impressive outing at the Senior Bowl and a more through investigation of film, he could be a top 10 pick. The UT-San Antonio product was the first defender to make his presence known on Saturday.

At 6-foot-7, 255 pounds the strength was never a question for Davenport. He showed he has the finesse to play his position well too. On third down Davenport set up outside before reversing inside to take down Heisman Trophy winner Baker Mayfield in the backfield for the first sack of the afternoon.

Davenport capped off a fantastic performance with a defensive touchdown. In the third quarter he collected a Tanner Lee fumble and returning it 19 yards for the score.

2. Rashaad Penny

Rashaad Penny was yet another standout player hailing from a lesser-known school. The San Diego State running back finished fifth in the Heisman Trophy voting, leading the nation with 2,248 rushing yards. Penny averaged an impressive 7.8 yards per carry this season, but still wasn’t thought to be among the better running back prospects in this year’s draft.

One good game at the Senior Bowl isn’t going to cause Penny to rocket up draft boards, but it will earn him a second look. Penny had the longest carry of the day, a 34 yard scamper in the first half. He also had the second longest reception of the day taking a Kurt Benkert pass 73 yards for a touchdown. He had 152 all purpose yards.

3. D.J. Chark

The LSU offense has produced some incredible wide receivers that weren’t true stars until they got to the NFL. Guys like Jarvis Landry and O’dell Beckham Jr. took huge strides at the next level and it looks like D.J. Chark could be the next Tiger to up his game in the pros.

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Chark showed tremendous burst and breakaway speed in the Senior Bowl. Chark made his touches count, catching five balls for 160 yards including a blistering 75-yard touchdown reception.

Honorable mentions:

• Richmond quarterback Kyle Lauletta: 8-for-12, 198 yards and three touchdowns.
• Wyoming quarterback Josh Allen: 9-for-13, 158 yards and two touchdowns.