Who’s Made Good in Mobile?
WHO CAME TO PLAY?
The 2026 Senior Bowl was not a disappointment, especially if you are a fan of defensive line play. There were great showings from a number edge defenders in a deep class. But there were a few takeaways from the event on the offensive side as well. Dive in to watch some of the best reps from Senior Bowl coaches tape to see who helped their cause in front of scouts and media watching in Mobile in Cutcall’s Senior Bowl Players breakdown.
Caleb Banks | DT
Florida’s Caleb Banks made as big a splash as his size would indicate. Throughout the week, but especially early, Banks was a real problem to defend on the interior. Banks had a lackluster 2025 season, but toward the end of the year his health improved. By Senior Bowl season, football fans got to see Banks in his ultimate form. He weighed in right, at 327. He measured 6’6″ as well. But the biggest thing for Banks’ draft stock is that he regained the explosiveness from 2024 tape. Banks bull rush and powerful rip move were in order as well. When you consider how rare his athletic profile really is, a healthy Caleb Banks vies for 1st round consideration immediately.
TJ Parker | Edge
Count Cutcall among the group of scouts that thought TJ Parker’s decline was exaggerated. His 2025 was stronger than many noticed. But he left little doubt about this in Mobile. Parker was an all around winner off the edge. With zero negative graded reps, and two credited sacks to go with some solid tape setting the edge against jump sets in 1v1 settings. Parker’s calling card is his diverse set of hand fighting techniques, impressive counters, and his ability to parlay length into pressure. Every one of those traits got a workout on the field during senior bowl practices, where Parker consistently demonstrated pass rush with a plan.
Kaytron Allen | RB
Kaytron Allen’s week was almost as good as his 1300 yard breakout season for PSU. He didn’t have a signature play, but really shined as a back with true 3-down potential. Given how Senior Bowl is a mostly low contact type of event some aspects of the running game are difficult to discern. But Allen, even with limited space, showed good vision on a few counter runs, catching his cutback clean against an encroaching front. Allen’s pass protection was a highlight as well– with several solid exit chips. Outside of one drop, he was also among the best in RB vs LB 1V1 giving scouts a cleaner projection at how might be expected to contribute in the NFL.
Ja’Kobi Lane | WR
Jakobi Lane drew a lot of flags at USC, and he did during senior bowl practice as well. He mostly aligned at X during the 1v1 and 2v2 sessions, and proved he was up to the task. The coaches tape shows an impressive variety of misdirection releases including jabs, hesitation, and split release. And alongside that footwork, Lane was quick to use his arms to disengage. His contests with Ohio State CB Davison Igbinosun wee particularly one sided, with Lane beating him to the boundary and drawing flags on three separate occasions. By our count, Lane recorded a catch or downfield flag in every 1v1 exercise, including a bomb touchdown on a post-corner. The arrow is up for the Big WR heading into the final stretch at the combine.
Rayshaun Benny | DT
If you put money on Rayshaun Benny being among the most disruptive defenders during Senior Bowl week, you’d be getting big stack of chips right now. His tape is solid nose tackle fare. But Benny came to Mobile ready to dance. Even though he sometimes seemed a little off balance, he actually displayed a much quicker first step to the interior than we’ve seen before from him. Couple that with double swipe tech and a quick punch to knock interior blockers back, and you got to see Michigan’s 5 year DT stalwart in a new light.
