Many of this year's top draft prospects showed off their talent at the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Ala., but the event also gave a few lesser-known players a chance to help their draft stock.
Which under-the-radar prospect created the most buzz at the Senior Bowl? Our analysts weighed in.
You would think a Stanford player wouldn't be under the radar, but a couple of weeks ago **Henry Anderson** thought he was going to play in the East-West Shrine Game and got called up to the Senior Bowl. He's a defensive end at 6-foot-6, 287 pounds, and when he stays low, he can use his outstanding length to his advantage; when he gets up tall and exposes his breastplate that's when he gets in trouble. I think in two years, he's going to go from 287 to 310 pounds, and at 6-6, 310, he'll be the ideal 5-technique in a 3-4 defense, and I also think when teams get into sub packages he can use that length and quickness to his advantage and you can kick him down inside.
I'm going with **Dezmin Lewis**, the wide receiver out of Central Arkansas. I had a chance to talk to him before the Senior Bowl, and he told me, "They're going to know who I am by the end of the week," and I've got to give it to him -- he was outstanding. He's got good size at 6-foot-3, 215 pounds, but also is very smooth for a big receiver and can be a good route runner. He had an outstanding week.
No one has heard of Northwestern State CB **Imoan Claiborne** if you're talking about the national scale, but that should change after the Senior Bowl, where he showed off some nice skills in coverage. He has good footwork, can stay with the receiver down field, and has the ability to locate the football. He was a guy who made some standout plays in team drills. Keep an eye out for him in the draft process.
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- Bryan Fischer College Football 24/7
Division III guard has late-round potential
I'll go with Hobart guard **Ali Marpet**, who came from the smallest school to the event but proved he belonged in Mobile and certainly sent scouts scrambling to find out more about the D-III product. He looked quite sound at guard and was able to handle big-time pass rushers as well as -- if not better than -- some of the more highly touted guys on the interior of the line. I wouldn't be surprised if some teams think he's a center at the next level, too, but the bottom line is that he went from way off-the-radar to a possible Day 3 pick based on his work in the trenches during the Senior Bowl practices.
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- Chase Goodbread College Football 24/7
Scouts raving about Northern Iowa's Johnson
Northern Iowa running back **David Johnson** turned plenty of scouting heads during the practice week with an outstanding combination of vision and power. A panel of scouts also named Johnson as the Senior Bowl's top back during the practice week. He supported that decision in the game, rushing 10 times for 43 yards, including a 19-yard touchdown and a 16-yard reception. He needs to learn to run behind his pads better -- his upright style makes him too easy a target for defenders -- but no small-school player helped himself more in Mobile.
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- Mike Huguenin College Football 24/7
Hobart's Marpet held his own as D-III player
I think there were a number of "lesser-knowns" who stood out, but I am going to go with Hobart's **Ali Marpet**, the only Division III player in the game. Normally, you'd expect a Division III offensive lineman to be way overmatched, but that wasn't the case with Marpet. While he played tackle at Hobart, he will be an interior lineman in the NFL, and he showed well when he made the move during the week. He has good size (6-4, 307) and he held his own in the drills, which shows he has the requisite strength needed to play inside. There could be a few D-III players selected in the draft, but chances are Marpet will be the only one who will cause sage fans to nod and say, "Yep, I have seen that guy. He can play."
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