Mike Gesicki headlines Thursday Senior Bowl practice and other takeaways

As each team took the practice field for the final time ahead of the Senior Bowl this weekend, Penn State tight end Mike Gesicki was the biggest stand out.

Coming into this week, we already knew that Gesicki is fantastic at making contested catches, and he continued to show off that ability in Thursday’s practice. This grab in the corner of the end zone exemplifies this trait.

In red zone drills, Gesicki was nearly unstoppable. Gesicki’s route running was strong, and he showed a lot of burst in his routes. He made sharp and decisive cuts in order to free himself, better than any other tight end that ran through drills today.

Michigan linebacker Mike McCray was another standout in today’s practice. McCray was by far the best linebacker in coverage during his team’s practice. The Ravens could be looking for a coverage middle linebacker in the middle rounds of the draft, a billing McCray certainly fits.

The top quarterbacks in attendance, Baker Mayfield and Josh Allen, each had strong days. Earlier in the week, Allen was criticized for being nothing more than a hard thrower who lacked accuracy. In today’s practice, he showed the ability to change speeds on his throws, and improved his accuracy.

Mayfield continues to have a strong week. He looked a little more polished than Allen today.

Big Iowa State wide receiver Allen Lazard was another Thursday standout. He impressed with his ability to use his size, on plays like the one below.

Like Gesicki, Lazard was very difficult to stop in the red zone.

Troy Fumagalli had a nice one handed grab in the end zone, but he also had two drops in today’s practice.

James Washington did not have as good of a day as he has had earlier in the week.

Finally, while somewhat inconsistent, I thought Marcus Allen, a safety from Penn State, and Armani Watts a safety from Texas A&M had good days.

The Senior Bowl will be played at 2:30 ET on Saturday, 1/27.