MOBILE, Ala. — The NFL calendar rarely actually, fully empties, except for a few weeks in the summer.
The season might be over except for the Super Bowl, but if you’re in personnel, this is a busy season.
It’s like being an accountant as April or fiscal year-end approaches.
The Broncos had a big set of scouts and executives on the ground here, led by assistant general manager Darren Mougey, executive director of football operations and special assistant to the general manager Kelly Kleine Van Calligan and brand new vice president of player personnel Cody Rager.
General manager George Paton and head coach Sean Payton weren’t spotted during the week, but they together lead the process from here, which involves continuing to build, adjust and refine a draft board for the NFL Scouting Combine later this month, free agency, draft visits and calls with prospects and, ultimately, the draft at the end of April.
The Broncos contingent had formal interviews with Senior Bowl players scheduled through Thursday night before heading back to Denver on Friday.
The way the game and week are set up now, teams often have multiple meetings with players and with quarterbacks in particular. They have the regular, shorter formal interviews and then also can clump together with a couple of other teams simultaneously for longer meetings with the quarterbacks.
“It’s a fun process to have different personalities and different (people) from different places, and they provide different things,” Oregon quarterback Bo Nix said Wednesday. “Together, they can kind of help each other. Certain questions from each team and different answers from different people and vice versa. It’s been cool, but it also provides another difficult element to it because it’s not just one team, you’ve got to sit there and impress multiple teams and be your authentic self among multiple teams.
“It’s definitely a fun-but-challenging process.”
Nix said having a couple of teams in the room at the same time makes for a wide-ranging conversation.
“It’s all of the above,” he said. “They put you on the (white)board, ask you a lot of questions. Then they ask you just simple questions, then they get deeper. They have a few minutes to get to know you as best as they can. It’s kind of wherever the conversation leads and each one that I’ve been to has been unique.”
A busy week for players, a busy week for the Broncos and the start of a sprint toward the draft.
Other observations from Mobile:
First-round potential
Wide receiver Ladd McConkey (Georgia). The 2024 draft class is shaping up to be another deep one at receiver and the Senior Bowl showed why. Even without several of the projected top receivers in the class, several potential Day 1 picks made their mark here. Perhaps none had a more impressive week than McConkey, the Bulldogs standout.
The 6-foot, 185-pound slot man dominated one-on-ones and consistently got open on a week in which, generally speaking, the defensive backs often had the upper hand against the pass-catchers. Not with McConkey, though.
Limited to nine games in 2023 by injury, McConkey had 30 catches for 478 yards and two touchdowns for Georgia after 792 and nine total touchdowns (seven receiving) in 2022.
The Broncos have plenty of needs, but when was the last time they had a true, dynamic slot man? This Chatsworth, Georgia, native would fit that bill quite nicely. Fellow potential first-round receivers Xavier Legette (South Carolina) and Devontez Walker (North Carolina) each had their moments, too. Legette started slow Tuesday but turned in really good work after that. He’s big and physical at 6-1 and 223. Walker, meanwhile, was the fastest player on the field by the GPS but didn’t catch the ball consistently over three days. Even still, he’s a big-time athlete at 6-2 and 197.
Potential Broncos fit
OL Dominick Puni, Kansas. The offensive line talent at the Senior Bowl this year is absurd. There are likely multiple first-rounders along with all kinds of other good players. Puni could be of service to the Broncos in part because of his versatility. The 6-4, 323-pounder can play tackle and showed that for the week, but he also took reps at guard. If Denver keeps Garett Bolles this year, it could use a player who could potentially serve as a primary backup at both tackle and both guard spots before eventually taking over a starting role.
Puni is tough, physical and the kind of player offensive line coaches around the league are going to watch and see plenty of possibilities for.
Familiar face
OK, a slightly different version today, but when the GOAT is around, he’s getting a mention. Wide receiver Jerry Rice made the rounds Thursday at Hancock Whitney Stadium. He was there, mostly, to watch his son, USC receiver Brenden Rice, take part in practice. The younger Rice came up limping in the middle of Thursday’s practice but returned to action after a trip to the locker room. The elder Rice, 61, spent the final days of his Hall of Fame career with the Broncos in 2005 but retired before he ever appeared in a game for the franchise.
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