The road to the 2011 NFL Draft continues this week with the 2011 Senior Bowl in Mobile, Ala. After a week of the East-West Shrine Game, the Senior Bowl gets its moment in the spotlight. Although the annual Texas vs. the Nation game will have some solid talent, the Senior Bowl is the last high-profile game before the annual late February NFL Combine. This week of practice and Sunday’s game will give players a chance to leave a lasting impression with scouts, coaches, and executives in what will then be a long month before the Combine.
Cal and Stanford have three players representing them in this year’s Senior Bowl. They are Cal DE Cameron Jordan, Stanford FB Owen Marecic, and Stanford DT Sione Fua. Scouts Inc. ranks Jordan fifth among defensive ends and 15th overall among all NFL draft prospects. They rank Marecic as the No. 1 fullback and Fua as the 16th defensive tackle. Jordan and Marecic are guaranteed to be drafted, while Fua would appear likely to go around the fifth round if last year’s results end up similar to this year.
Todd McShay provided a rundown of this week’s top storylines (Insider-protected) and he included Cameron Jordan as one such storyline among defensive ends:
Cal’s Cameron Jordan is an underrated five-technique prospect who needs to prove he’s in the same class as some of the other first-round prospects in Mobile this week. Jordan is more active and productive than most 3-4 defensive ends, but he needs to show he can control the point of attack versus some of the top offensive tackles playing in this game.
This week would appear to represent a significant opportunity for Jordan to boost his draft stock before the combine and any private workout he conducts. We’ll make sure and provide updates on how Jordan, Marecia and Fua handle this coming week of practice.