The 2025 Senior Bowl has come and gone, and it was yet another tremendous week of practices leading up to the game.
One could argue the practices have become more hyped up than the game itself. The drills that players participate in allow scouts, analysts, and fans alike the chance to watch prospects in a 1-on-1 vacuum and see who comes out on top. The prospects go through their fair share of reps and have plenty of chances to boost their stock, but sometimes certain prospects win more often than others.
A strong week at the Senior Bowl isn’t a guarantee that a player will dominate in the NFL, just as a rocky week doesn’t mean a player won’t pan out at the next level. However, teams use the week — along with their game tape, NFL Combine performance, and interviews — as a chance to see who might be a diamond in the rough in their NFL Draft class.
Here are some players who excelled during Senior Bowl practices, as well as a few who left Mobile, Ala., with more questions than answers.
Senior Bowl Practice Winners and Losers
Winner: North Dakota State OL Grey Zabel
One of the most entertaining things about the Senior Bowl is watching small school prospects dominate against an uptick in competition. This year, the FCS standout was Grey Zabel.
North Dakota State has produced some highly drafted offensive linemen in recent years, and after Zabel’s 2024 season and a strong week in Mobile, he figures to be next up. His anchor strength held up against high-level defensive tackle prospects, as did his footwork mirroring capabilities and body control. The 1-on-1s were particularly kind to him, but he also impressed in team drills.
Considering his arm length came in under 33″, it seems likely Zabel kicks inside as a guard or center at the NFL level. That was expected coming into the Senior Bowl week, though, and he showed that he can hold his own along the interior against some of the best in the class. He looks the part of a potential top-50 draft pick.
Grey Zabel was ballin on day one of Senior Bowl practice. This reach and wall off on the loose 3T is sick pic.twitter.com/L2v1URkDKs
— Brandon Thorn (@BrandonThornNFL) January 28, 2025
Winner: Miami (FL) TE Elijah Arroyo
In a loaded class of tight ends, Miami’s Elijah Arroyo has quickly solidified himself as one of the top names to know at the position in the 2025 NFL Draft.
After a breakout 2024 season which saw him tally 35 catches for 590 yards and seven touchdowns, Arroyo entered the Senior Bowl as one of the top consensus tight ends in the class. He utilized his time in Mobile to cement himself near the top of that class, arguably putting together the best performance of all the tight ends who attended. His speed and fluidity showed up in drills, just as they have throughout his collegiate career.
Arroyo faces stiff competition near the top of the class, with Tyler Warren and Colston Loveland projecting as potential first-round picks. With his level of athleticism, red-zone capabilities, and fluidity as a route-runner, it’s not unfathomable to think Arroyo ends up in the first two rounds.
Elijah Arroyo is putting on a show at the Senior Bowl👀
— PFF College (@PFF_College) January 28, 2025
Winner: Marshall EDGE Mike Green
As the FBS leader in sacks and a CSN first-team All-American, Mike Green was one of the most highly touted prospects going into the Senior Bowl. However, questions remained regarding whether he could thrive against Power Four competition.
Green certainly put those questions to rest with a strong performance in Mobile. His viral 1-on-1 rep against Josh Conerly Jr. aside, Marshall’s star edge rusher showcased the trademark quickness and flexibility he displayed in college. His quick hands and high-level understanding of how to string moves together helped him dominate in both 1-on-1s and team drills. It helps that he weighed in above 250 pounds, too.
Given his elite production, tremendous athleticism, and polished technical skill set, Green feels like a safe bet to be a first-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. If it wasn’t clear before the Senior Bowl, it certainly is now.
Mike Green from Marshall just killed a man pic.twitter.com/haPwjla8T7
— Justin Penik (@JustinPenik) January 29, 2025
Faller: Alabama QB Jalen Milroe
Jalen Milroe finds himself in early consideration for his overwhelming physical upside, but there have been questions about how polished of a passer he is. He didn’t do much to subside those worries at the Senior Bowl.
Whether it be the practices or the game itself, Milroe struggled with accuracy during the Senior Bowl week. There were instances in which he simply made the wrong read, either throwing to a covered defender or failing to pick up on defenders in zone coverage around his target. In other cases, he just outright missed his man.
It doesn’t help that accuracy and decision-making are Milroe’s two biggest concerns that scouts and analysts have on him. There’s no denying that he has a strong arm, or that he’s a great athlete for the quarterback position. So much of what makes a quarterback successful, though, comes in the details: ball placement, footwork, decision-making, pocket presence.
Milroe showed in Mobile what he showed in college, and that’s that he still has a lot of growing to do.
Everything is off here.
Footwork, timing, mechanics, everything.
I won’t own a single share of Jalen Milroe even if he’s a 1st round pick.pic.twitter.com/4B93COCrqI
— Snoog's Fantasy HQ (@FFSnoog) January 31, 2025
Faller: Bowling Green TE Harold Fannin Jr.
To Harold Fannin Jr.’s credit, he picked things up later in the Senior Bowl week, including adding a one-handed grab in the end zone in practice. That said, he didn’t necessarily dominate in the way many had hoped.
Coming in at 6’3″ and 238 pounds in measurements, Fannin is a smaller tight end, but that wasn’t news to anyone in Mobile. Where he thrives as a prospect — and where he dominated at the MAC level — is in his pass-catching ability.
He picked things up later in the week, but he looked stiff on his first day of the Senior Bowl week. Even as his confidence increased and maximized his ball skills in red-zone situations, his explosiveness coming out of his breaks wasn’t as hoped.
Judging by the tape, Fannin is one of the top tight ends in the 2025 NFL Draft. His production in 2024 was tremendous, and he has the speed and ball skills to warrant a Day 2 selection. It’s highly unlikely that consensus will change, even after an up-and-down Senior Bowl week. However, it adds to some questions of a small school tight end prospect who still has in-line blocking and size questions to answer.
Crime that Harold Fannin Jr. was given the #44 “covering some Special Teams snapper” jersey. Aura crime.
Looking for a better day tomorrow from Fannin. Frame was awkward, movement seemed stiff and uncomfortable compared to others in the group. https://t.co/IaNYWQJICB
— Clint Goss (@NFLDraftDome) January 28, 2025
Faller: West Virginia OL Wyatt Milum
There’s a lot to like on Wyatt Milum’s tape, as he showcases ideal hand placement, spatial awareness, and play strength to project him as a Day 1 starter in the NFL. He just might have to do it at a different position.
Some have speculated whether Milum would need to kick inside to guard after shining at left tackle for most of his stint at West Virginia. By the end of the Senior Bowl, though, it became pretty clear his NFL future should be at guard. He struggled in his reps at tackle, where his lack of top-notch mobility in pass protection and sub-33″ arms caused him problems in a 1-on-1 vacuum.
Milum should still be selected in the first two rounds of the 2025 NFL Draft, as he’s a pro-ready prospect with four seasons of high-quality starting tape to work with. With that in mind, if he is to play at guard instead of tackle in the pros, his draft stock will naturally fall a little bit.
Boston College pass rusher Donovan Ezeiruaku ended 1-on-1s with a clean win over Wyatt Milum. pic.twitter.com/hhbs1ygeEh
— Brian Hines (@iambrianhines) January 28, 2025
