Defensive tackle Carl Davis of Iowa emerged on the first day of Senior Bowl practices as this year's Aaron Donald.
"Completely unblockable. Beat opponents off the ball. Constantly getting penetration behind the line of scrimmage. If he really plays well this week, he could move up into the latter part of round one," packers.com draft analyst Tony Pauline said.
Pauline said Davis, 6-4, 321, also projects as an end in a 3-4 defense.
"The defensive linemen won the day. Better than advertised. If you're a GM that needs a versatile defensive lineman, you left practice with a smile on your face," Pauline added of the Tuesday practices.
Two other defensive linemen, Henry Anderson of Stanford and Owamagbe Odighizuwa of UCLA, turned in top performances on Tuesday.
Anderson, 6-6, 287, is a defensive end that also lined up at tackle and was quietly dominant. Pauline said Anderson showed a lot of power, especially going up against T.J. Clemmings of Pitt, beating Clemmings on a number of occasions.
Odighizuwa, a defensive end, came in light at 6-3, 266, but was as explosive as Davis and more athletic than Davis. Odighizuwa beat LSU's La'el Collins, considered to be a middle-of-round-one left tackle.
Hobart's Ali Marpet, an undersized offensive lineman at 6-3, 307, projects to guard but lined up at left tackle. He handled Utah's Nate Orchard, one of the better pass rushers at the Senior Bowl. Marpet far exceeded what's expected of a Division III player.
Highly rated Nebraska running back Ameer Abdullah, 5-8, 198, was even more explosive in person, and flashed top-end speed, especially as a receiver out of the backfield. Abdullah played bigger than his size.
Tyler Varga, a 5-10, 227, running back from Yale, won the "Mr. Universe" award in weigh ins. Varga showed no stiffness in practice, ran well and caught the ball exceptionally well. "He looked like he belonged," Pauline said of the Ivy Leaguer.
Kansas State wide receiver Tyler Lockett, 5-9, 181, is known as a home run hitter and he showed that speed on Tuesday. "Nobody could stay with him, but he also went over the middle and competed to catch the ball. He's known as a body catcher but used hands to snatch the ball. He's as fast as advertised but played much tougher than expected," Pauline said.
Colorado State quarterback Garrett Grayson likely upgraded his stock. Grayson, 6-2, 215, "threw a live ball and hit his receivers coming out of their break. He's a late-round guy but could come up into the third round this week. He wasn't afraid to throw the deep ball," Pauline said.
