MOBILE, Ala. — We’re halfway done with one of the first major 2026 NFL draft events, as the second day of the Senior Bowl wrapped up on Wednesday. That leaves just one practice and the game left to evaluate this year’s crop of prospects in Mobile. For today, I paid close attention to the linebackers, safeties, cornerbacks and running backs, all of which the Las Vegas Raiders could use some help at.
Linebackers
As the title notes, Texas Tech’s Jacob Rodriguez had an outstanding performance and showed why he’s the top linebacker at this year’s event. This past season, the Butkus Award winner became known for his ability to create turnovers, and that was evident during the full team periods of practice. Rodriguez managed to force a fumble and ended the session with an interception. Additionally, he made several quality tackles against the run and was impressive in coverage during the one-on-ones. A strong argument could be made that the former Red Raider was the biggest winner on Day 2 of the Senior Bowl.
Bryce Boettcher’s biggest flaw on Wednesday was that he was playing on the same team and in the same position group as Rodriguez. The Oregon product may have gotten overshaddowed, but make no mistake about it, he was impressive, too. Boettcher made a handful of tackles against the run and had a few quality coverage reps in the full team periods. That’s on top of the dominant pass-rush win seen below.
One linebacker who wasn’t on my radar heading into Mobile but has forced me to turn on the tape is Arkansas’ Xavian Sorey. He’s put together a couple of notable practices, showing some physicality and making several plays against the run, on top of coming up with a PBU in coverage during the one-on-ones. He’s currently a projected seventh-round pick on NFL Mock Draft Database’s consensus big board, but that should be changing after this week. Sorey could be a good Day 3 target for the Raiders.
Safeties
TCU’s Bud Clark was up and down during the first practice of the week, but he was much more consistent on Day 2. The former Horned Frog looked good in coverage during the two-on-twos, coming up with a PBU and an interception. Clark also had a few quality reps during the full team period.
Another under-the-radar prospect who has been showing out this week, Oregon State’s Skyler Thomas was eye-catching during the first practice and even better on Wednesday. He managed to make a leaping interception and then won as a pass-rusher in the one-on-one competition session at the end of practice. That’s back-to-back strong outings for the former Beaver’s draft stock to get a boost.
I can’t say that I got to see him much, but Jalen Stroman from Notre Dame is an additional safety who has been generating some buzz in Mobile. He’s another guy who has made some money this week, owning a UDFA projection heading into the event, per NMDD.
Cornerbacks
To be honest, the cornerback group as a whole hasn’t been having a good week. There are more negative standouts than positive, especially when it comes to Tennessee’s Colton Hood and Ohio State’s Davison Igbinosun. Hood received some first-round hype heading into the Senior Bowl but hasn’t lived up to the billing, struggling in the one-on-ones. Meanwhile, Igbinosun had a rough showing on Wednesday.
Also, Duke’s Chandler Rivers has been playing a lot of nickel, as expected with his size, and hasn’t looked comfortable at that spot. That’s an issue, seeing as most teams will view Rivers as a slot corner after measuring in at 5-foot-9 and 185 pounds. He hasn’t done much during the first two practice sessions to improve his draft stock.
All of that being said, San Diego State’s Chris Johnson was one of the few (potentially only) positive standouts among the corners on Wednesday. Johnson had a great rep in the one-on-ones against Division III product Tyren Montgomery, who has been a pest for defensive backs and one of the biggest storylines in Days 1 and 2.
Running Backs
For me, the biggest standout at running back on Wednesday was Oklahoma’s Jayden Ott. At just under 5-foot-11 and 202 pounds, he isn’t the biggest back in the world, but he was perfect in pass-protection during the one-on-ones. Also, the Cal transfer showed some good route running to beat linebackers and had a nice read for a long run. Ott is currently projected to be an undrafted free agent, via NMDD, which could be perfect for the Raiders to get a No. 2 behind Ashton Jeanty.
That’ll do it for Day 2 of the Senior Bowl. I’ll be back to watching the trenches tomorrow and will have a full recap of all three practices sometime early next week.
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