Detroit Lions: 4 Senior Bowl draft candidates to watch

MOBILE, AL - JANUARY 28: Nate Peterman #4 of the North team celebrates with Zay Jones #7 of the North team during the second half of the Reese's Senior Bowl at the Ladd-Peebles Stadium on January 28, 2017 in Mobile, Alabama. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images)
MOBILE, AL - JANUARY 28: Nate Peterman #4 of the North team celebrates with Zay Jones #7 of the North team during the second half of the Reese's Senior Bowl at the Ladd-Peebles Stadium on January 28, 2017 in Mobile, Alabama. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images) /
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Senior bowl tackle
MOBILE, AL – JANUARY 28: Taywan Taylor #82 of the South team is tackled by John Johnson #9 of the North team and Desmond King #14 during the first half of the Reese’s Senior Bowl at the Ladd-Peebles Stadium on January 28, 2017 in Mobile, Alabama. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images) /

Why Watch The Senior Bowl?

To many this is a meaningless scrimmage. To draft experts it is a valuable tool to see how players stack up against other future pro’s.

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Only a handful of players are bound for the NFL in a normal bowl game. In a power five bowl, like a national title game, you may get a couple dozen at best.

By contrast, the Reese’s Senior Bowl, almost every man has a real chance to be drafted.  That is why scouts and draft experts cover not just the final game, but also the practices leading up to the game. If a player looks great going up against top competition every snap it makes his case to be drafted stronger.

The game also has modified rules. The coaches use small playbooks with simple formations, defenses may not blitz. Those are just a couple of the addendums. Click this link for the Senior Bowl’s full list of rules.

In other words, this game is designed to see the athleticism of every participant, and how they fare against another NFL prospect, with no help from their teammates. Following the substitutions is difficult, but we’ll give you some names that are of interest to our Cardiac Cats.