NFL Draft 2026 Senior Bowl Recap: Stock Up for Garrett Nussmeier

The Panini Senior Bowl is in the books, and there were lots of performances throughout the week that surely impressed scouts, GMs and all of the various media members who were able to get out of their areas with bad weather to attend. As always, what happens during the game doesn't always show what happened during the week of practice. Players decide not to participate, some only get a few reps, and others are forced to play more in positions where they may not be comfortable.

Overall, it's a great opportunity for these future NFL players to showcase their skills. An added bonus this year was the weather, with cold temperatures and blistering winds making it difficult for the quarterbacks to throw the ball and for the players to stay warm. Through it all, there were plenty of players who helped their stock rise and some who will need to do more in the process to ensure they get to live out their dreams.

2026 Senior Bowl NFL Draft Prospect Recap

Stock Up

Cole Payton | QB | North Dakota State

The FCS do-everything quarterback waited his turn at North Dakota State, and in 2025, he paid off his patience. At the Senior Bowl, he did the same thing (especially in the game), delivering some quality passes after a shaky start where he seemed to be getting a feel for the football. One standout moment was a well-thrown dig route that cut through the wind and hit his receiver in stride. He also showed off his ability to run when he pulled this Houdini trick and made several defenders miss him in the backfield before taking off and scrambling for a first-down gain. He’s been compared to Taysom Hill because of his size and speed, but he throws the ball better.

Garrett Nussmeier | QB | LSU

Nussmeier was named the Senior Bowl Offensive MVP after a great first two opening drives of the game. This performance followed a week of consistent play and showed scouts what he looks like when healthy. He made good throws and even demonstrated an ability to run the ball in for a touchdown, which definitely helped his stock this week. He's a great NFL prospect at the position; he just may not be what everyone thought he was last year when there were rumblings that he was going to leave early.

Malachi Fields | WR | Notre Dame

The receiving corps as a whole was quiet during the Senior Bowl game, but they made life miserable for the defensive backfield all week. First in that line was Malachi Fields, who was just too big at 6-foot-4 and 220 pounds, too strong and had too wide of a catch radius for anyone to deal with. He consistently plucked balls out of the air all week and had one of the most spectacular catches on a deep ball thrown from Taylen Green earlier in the week. He has definitely made himself some money this week.

Ted Hurst | WR | Georgia State

Hurst is just another example of too many talents that get overlooked early on. He is also a model of perseverance, starting off at Division II Valdosta State. Then he transferred to Georgia State after two seasons and became one of the best deep-ball receivers in all of football. This week he got the party started on Day 1 of practice, with a fantastic catch on a deep ball after he had burned the defender and caught the ball one-handed in the end zone. He's going to check every measurable box that scouts have, and he's going to be able to back it up with production.

J’Mari Taylor | RB |Virginia

Taylor is another prospect who started in the FCS and finished in a P4 conference. He was a 1,000-yard rusher at Virginia, but he really stood out in the Senior Bowl (making players miss in the backfield and exploding through the lane for positive yards). He has shown the ability to pick up tough yards, as well as bounce it outside and turn on the afterburners. He's yet another back who mixes size, speed and patient running, which makes him a tough matchup for defenses.

Jacob Rodriguez | LB | Texas Tech

Rodriguez has been a name that we've heard all week for his tenacity and his ability to run sideline to sideline and make plays. He has also been celebrated for his ability to read offenses and fill the lane well. He has been one of the best linebackers during a week where there have been several really good inside linebacking prospects. He also has an uncanny ability to turn the ball over, which is a skill that not many defenders possess.

Gennings Dunker | OL | Iowa

Dunker was one of the most dominant offensive linemen this week at the Senior Bowl. He has an old-school feel to him and really impressed scouts with how aggressive he was in his play. In the run game, he was moving bodies out of the way like a bulldozer shoveling snow. In pass protection, he showed enough quickness to get his hands on bodies and keep them from penetrating the backfield. He proved that he can be a right tackle if he wants or slide inside and become a dominant interior offensive lineman. That versatility should make him even more attractive to NFL teams than he was before the week began.

Zion Young | EDGE | Missouri

Young was named the Senior Bowl Defensive MVP, but the two tackles and a fumble recovery don't nearly tell the entire story of how good he was during the game. He was constantly pushing linemen into the backfield and placing them at the lap of the quarterback, chasing the ball down, protecting his gap at the point of attack and causing disruption and mayhem all over the field It wraps up what was a good week for the Missouri EDGE rusher and what is sure to be a stock that is going up.

Stock Down

Jude Bowery | RT | Boston College

The first half of the Senior Bowl for Bowery was a nightmare. He gave up multiple speed rushes to his outside: one that almost resulted in a strip and two others that resulted in sacks. His problem was caused by opening his hips and allowing speed rushers to turn the corner faster. It also meant he could not recover when rushers used a secondary move to go to the inside. Because he was getting beat so much around the edge, he began to overset and got caught with an inside move that caused the quarterback to have to flush out of the pocket. Overall, he just did not look comfortable at the position.

John Michael Gyllenborg | TE | Wyoming

Gyllenborg had multiple opportunities to not only catch passes, but also to show off his ability to run after the catch, and he wasn't able to do so. On his first opportunity, a play-action rollout, he was open in the flats, but the ball ricocheted off his hands and fell to the ground. If he had caught the pass, he possibly could have run for a touchdown. On the second pass, he was running in the middle of the field and the ball was passed to him; again, it ricocheted off his hands, but this time it ended up in the hands of a defender for a turnover. You don't get many opportunities in the Senior Bowl to make a name for yourself on national television in front of millions of eyes. When his number was called, he was simply unable to make the plays.

Players Mentioned in this Article

TaysomHillQ
TENO
PPG
0.85