By accessing this site you agree to our
privacy policy and terms of use.
Skip Navigation to Main Content

Senior Bowl Day 1 Recap: NFL Draft Risers, Fallers & Takeaways (2025)

The 2025 Senior Bowl kicked off in Mobile, Alabama, with Day 1 of practices giving us a first look at some of the top NFL Draft prospects. For fantasy football managers, NFL Draft enthusiasts, and dynasty players, these practices provide invaluable insights into which players might rise up draft boards-or fall down them-and ultimately impact your leagues. Mike Maher and Derek Brown are in Mobile all week, breaking down practices, interviewing players, and providing their takeaways along the way.

Let’s dive into the top takeaways from Day 1, highlighting key risers, potential fallers, and everything in between. Keep reading to find out who shined under the Mobile spotlight and who still has work to do as the week progresses.

2025 NFL Draft Guide: Mock Drafts, Scouting Reports & More

Senior Bowl Day 1 Recap

Risers

Tyler Shough (QB – Louisville)

This format makes it tough for quarterbacks to stand out (as you’ll read later) with a condensed week, new verbiage to digest, receivers that the quarterbacks don’t have built in rapport with, and a number of other factors playing a part. Despite all of that, Shough was in luck. He made a number of throws from different arm angles with zip and precision while also flashing accuracy on the move. The collegiate veteran put his experience to work and didn’t look rattled at all. He should be on any teams’ radar that is looking to address quarterback in the middle rounds of the NFL Draft. (I’m staring at you, New Orleans).
– Derek Brown

Elijah Arroyo (TE – Miami)

Arroyo’s name is on the shortlist in the running for the best skill player for Day 1 of the Senior Bowl. He was silky smooth during 1-on-1s, burning defenders up the seam. His footwork was exceptional as he earned separation early and often. Arroyo also tracked an over-the-shoulder target perfectly. Arroyo just backed up the talent that he showed in his final collegiate season, ranking 23rd in yards per route run and second in YAC per reception (per PFF). Without Gunnar Helm in Mobile, Arroyo had no problem pushing Harold Fannin Jr. aside as the most impressive tight end in Mobile on Day 1.

– Derek Brown

Jaylin Noel (WR – Iowa State)

Noel can hang his hat at the head of the wide receiver table for the Senior Bowl after Day 1. Noel got open all day long, flashing route running, physicality, and some nice body control on the perimeter with a nifty back-shoulder catch. Noel looked the part of a receiver who ranked top-30 in yards per route run and receiving grade last year (per PFF).

– Derek Brown

Brashard Smith (RB – SMU)

Smith spent the day whipping linebackers in 1-on-1 receiving drills, gaining quick separation and snagging all of his targets. I’ll say this…Smith had the type of electric day that I was hoping Devin Neal would give us. That isn’t a slight toward Neal at all. He was solid out the gate, but Smith shined. He looked comfortable and crafty in route running drills as a possible mismatch weapon in the NFL while also standing out in the rushing department. Yes, players were unable to tackle today, so I’m not saying that Smith was a tackle-breaking behemoth today, but once the ball reached his possession on rushing plays, he looked shot out of a cannon. I can’t wait to see what “Kenneth Gainwell with rocket shoes” looks like on Day 2.

– Derek Brown

Marcus Yarns (RB – Delaware)

If NFL teams were hoping to see Yarns as a possible passing down back for their offense in Mobile, then they should be quite happy with how Day 1 unfolded. In his final season, Yarns ranked 19th in yards per route run among all FBS and FCS running backs with at least 20 targets. He finished college with 1.69 yards per route run and had a 16.4% slot rate in his final year (per PFF). Yarns was cooking in 1-on-1 drills today and snagging everything thrown in his direction. He has put himself on the late-round NFL Draft radar for NFL teams hoping to snag his services and avoid a bidding war in the UDFA pool.

– Derek Brown

Thomas Fidone (TE – Nebraska)

I walked away from watching Fidone’s Day 1 and was happily surprised by his performance. I wasn’t able to find any all-22 from his collegiate career to break down his game before arriving in Mobile. For a player with only 4.0 YAC per reception and 1.31 yards per route run in his collegiate career, my expectations were low, but he was a fluid mover in 1-on-1s and flashed in team drills. He’s a long-striding mutant gazelle with pterodactyl arms who can chew up yards in a hurry. He displayed soft hands and underrated route running all day. In what projects to be a deep tight end class for this year’s NFL Draft, Fidone made himself some money today.

– Derek Brown

Tez Johnson (WR – Oregon)

Tez is the kind of WR who is supposed to show out in drills like the ones they run in Mobile. These favor 1-on-1s and 7-on-7s favor the offense, especially quick and shifty WRs. But the players still have to do out there and make plays, and Johnson did just that on Day 1. He consistently generated separation and displayed quickness and acceleration, and pretty much every DB who lined up across from him on Tuesday had trouble staying close to him. The only negative is that these prospects arrived on Monday for measurements, and at 5’9″ and 156 pounds, he was even smaller than his listed 5’10, 165 at Oregon. I’m looking forward to watching him the rest of the week.

– Mike Maher

Fallers

Xavier Restrepo (WR – Miami)

Restrepo had a rough day. He looked stiff in and out of his breaks. With underneath routes and in-breakers, he got strapped up at the line and had defenders in his back pocket all day. This is worrisome as these will be the main routes in the NFL, and they should be Restrepo’s bread and butter. I’m hoping he bounces back this week, but it was a tough start for a player that I was excited to see.

– Derek Brown

Jalen Milroe (QB – Alabama)

Milroe is a polarizing prospect who has a ton to gain this week. He didn’t gain anything on Tuesday, in my opinion. We know he has athleticism for days, which is all the rave in the NFL these days with more and more teams finding success with dual-threat quarterbacks. The questions about Milroe will be about his abilities as a passer. On Tuesday, he lacked accuracy and touch in drills that should favor the offense. At one point, it felt like we went roughly an hour between Milroe completions. Someone we were sitting with joked, “if you can get a clip of a Jalen Milroe completion this afternoon, TMZ will pay good money for it.”

Mike Maher

Riley Leonard (QB – Notre Dame)

Leonard enters this week of practice needing to string some strong days together as a passer to hopefully improve his NFL stock. The mobility and athleticism aren’t in question, but Leonard needs to dispel concerns about his bipolar accuracy acumen. He didn’t do anything to quiet those worries on Day 1. Leonard tossed a flat ball to the second level, hitting a corner in the back, and bounced an underneath target later in practice. Leonard needs to improve, or he could see his draft stock plummet.
– Derek Brown

Join the FantasyPros Discord

Other Takeaways

Taylor Elgersma (QB – Laurier)

The small school Canadian cannon came out, putting some RPMs on the ball. He had a number of “piss missiles” today, as NFL arm strength shouldn’t be a question for the decorated prospect from north of the border. The problem for Elgersma was touch and accuracy. In the brief clips that I was able to find prior to Mobile to familiarize myself with Elgersma’s game, I saw solid ball placement, so after only one day on the Senior Bowl stage, I’m not ready to bury the kid. He definitely needs to have better showings the rest of the week if he hopes to be this year’s Tyson Bagent.

– Derek Brown

Devin Neal (RB – Kansas)

Neal had a quiet day overall. He won about half of his 1-on-1 reps in route running drills. It wasn’t the standout day for the former Jayhawk that I was hoping for, but the week is young. It’s tough for running backs to stand out consistently in this format without tackling, but it can be done. I hope Neal flashes more of that “lightning in a bottle” in all facets for the rest of the week.

– Derek Brown

Jayden Higgins (WR – Iowa State)

Higgins could easily be a faller after today, but I’m not willing to slam the kid after only one day, considering his performance. Higgins didn’t gain separation on go balls today in 1-on-1s, which was a big question I had about his game entering the week. I hope that he shows more in that department and with other downfield routes for the rest of the week. Higgins also failed to convert with contested catch opportunities today, but again, I’m not worried about his game in this department. Higgins had a 55.6% contested catch rate in college, which is well aligned with his film (per PFF). I’m not willing to dump multiple years of on-field production in this department and call him a faller after Day 1 because he didn’t convert with a handful of these opportunities today. I will say that he needs to make sure that neither of these areas becomes a week-long struggle bus trend. Higgins got open all day on short and intermediate routes, especially in-breakers, which was a known strength of his game entering this week.

– Derek Brown

Jalen Royals (WR – Utah State)

Royals didn’t pop in Day 1. He was limping during drills, at times, grabbing at the back of his leg, so I don’t know if an injury played a part in his opening Senior Bowl performance. He didn’t look like the speedy RAC monster that I saw at Utah State. He still earned separation on slants and in 1-on-1s enough to believe that his skills can and will transfer well to the NFL. He just might not be the monster small school star we were all hoping to explode this week.

– Derek Brown

Jack Bech (WR – TCU)

Bech had an up-and-down day, but he was a borderline riser on an otherwise sleepy Day 1 where not many players stood out. As a converted TE who doesn’t have the necessary size to play in-line in the pros, he’ll need to show NFL scouts he is athletic enough to play WR at the next level. Towards the end of practice, he had arguably the best catch of the day when he went up and pulled down a pass from Memphis QB Seth Henigan 20 yards downfield.

Mike Maher

If Day 1 practice could have been called after the first half of it, Bech would have been a huge winner, but the rest of the day did happen so we have to talk about it. Bech was earning separation at will early in practice from the slot and on the perimeter. He had a wonderful rep early, blowing past a corner on a deep over. Later in practice, Bech was strapped up early in his route with one rep and then had another corner setting up shop in his back pocket on the next snap. The former tight end only worked with the wide receivers on Day 1, and considering his size at measurements for the event, I expect him to only work with the wideouts this week.

Derek Brown

Trevor Etienne (RB – Georgia)

The running backs didn’t do as much on Tuesday as they’ll likely do on Wednesday and Thursday, at least from an evaluation standpoint. There were no pass protection drills. There weren’t many 1-on-1 reps (though there were some), and the full squad and 7-on-7 reps seemed to be at half or 75% speed at times, especially in the afternoon session with the American team. Etienne looked fine, but there wasn’t a lot to go on due to the aforementioned limitations. He’s an intriguing prospect, so he’ll be a fun one to watch the rest of the week and then when we go full contact for the actual game this weekend.

Mike Maher

Jaxson Dart (QB – Ole Miss)

There isn’t a whole lot to say about Dart’s Day 1, good or bad. He has a lot to gain this week and at the NFL Combine, because he has the potential to shoot up draft boards. The afternoon practice today lacked energy, and Dart often took checkdowns instead of pushing the ball to the deep and intermediate parts of the field. Maybe that was by design. Maybe he was just trying to avoid mistakes. Either way, he looked…fine?

Mike Maher

dynasty trade value chart

Subscribe: YouTube | Spotify | Apple Podcasts | iHeart | Castbox | Podcast Addict | TuneIn

More Articles

Dynasty Rookie Draft Primer: Quarterback Rankings & Tiers (2025 Fantasy Football)

Dynasty Rookie Draft Primer: Quarterback Rankings & Tiers (2025 Fantasy Football)

fp-headshot by Derek Brown | 12 min read
2025 NFL Mock Draft With Trades: Two Rounds

2025 NFL Mock Draft With Trades: Two Rounds

fp-headshot by Mike Fanelli | 9 min read
6 Must-Have Quarterbacks & Tight Ends (2025 Fantasy Football)

6 Must-Have Quarterbacks & Tight Ends (2025 Fantasy Football)

fp-headshot by Mike Fanelli | 3 min read
2025 NFL Draft Scouting Report: Will Howard (QB – Ohio State)

2025 NFL Draft Scouting Report: Will Howard (QB – Ohio State)

fp-headshot by Matthew Jones | 2 min read

About Author

Command Center

Hide

Current Article

6 min read

Dynasty Rookie Draft Primer: Quarterback Rankings & Tiers (2025 Fantasy Football)

Next Up - Dynasty Rookie Draft Primer: Quarterback Rankings & Tiers (2025 Fantasy Football)

Next Article