ClutchPoints
It’s here, it’s finally here: the 2025 Reese’s Senior Bowl.
That’s right, while the game may be nothing more than an exhibition and technically isn’t even the first post-college All-Star game of the year, what with the East-West Shrine Bowl kicking off a few days earlier in Arlington, Texas, all eyes will inevitably fall on Mobile to help decide on the NFL’s next great stars. That’s right, even the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs, who have a Super Bowl coming in just over a week, will have a heavy presence at the Senior Bowl, with the next Brandon Graham, Bo Nix, or even Jalen Hurts potentially taking the practice field.
NFL Draft fans, this one thing is clear: the Senior Bowl is the start of draft season, and that is a beautiful thing.
Now granted, for big-time draft fans, this game is nothing more than a semantic walkthrough, as the real drama comes at practice, when the stocks of players go up or down based on their individual drills and work in walkthroughs, but what about NFL-only fans who don’t actually watch much, if any NCAA football? Which players should those fans keep an eye on in order to be well informed heading into the NFL Draft Combine, when most players will have their draft cards further filled out and either elevated or dinged based on performance-based testing prerequisites?
Well, with over 100 players set to duke it out in Mobile, the task of figuring out who to watch can be daunting, but there are a few players who could see their stock skyrocket by nailing the landing, especially if they continue to make strides over the next few months.
Heading into the Senior Bowl, there were two players in an echelon of their own competing for the top spot in the 2025 NFL Draft: Shadeur Sanders and Cam Ward.
But who was QB3? While Sanders and Ward earned all of the headlines, someone has to slot in behind the duo, right? Even if they may not have a first-round grade? Well, that would belong to Jaxson Dart, the 21-year-old pass slinger out of Ole Miss who came to Mobile after a fantastic final season with the Rebels.
After beginning his career at USC, Dart turned in three increasingly successful seasons at Ole Miss, capping things off with a 10-3 season where he led the SEC in passing yards at 4,279 and completion percentage at 69.3 on 398 attempts. Arriving in Mobile with a new collection of playmakers to throw to, fans, pundits, and scouts alike were impressed with his poise, effectiveness, and demeanor, with NFL Draft Analyst Todd McShay reporting that some quarterbacks have him as their QB2 on his namesake podcast.
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