Seven Eagles Tabbed for 2023 Senior Bowl Watch List
Andy Backstrom (@andybackstrom)
Publisher
The Reese's Senior Bowl is where former Boston College offensive linemen Zion Johnson and Chris Lindstrom played their way into the first round of the NFL Draft.
It's the most notable pre-draft all-star game.
Seven current Eagles made the preseason watch list for the event's 2023 iteration: quarterback Phil Jurkovec; wide receivers Zay Flowers and Jaelen Gill; defensive backs Jaiden Woodbey, Josh DeBerry and Jason Maitre; and defensive end Shitta Sillah.
To put that in perspective, four Eagles were put on last year's Senior Bowl watch list: tight end Trae Barry, center Alec Lindstrom, guard Zion Johnson and tackle Ben Petrula. Johnson and Barry ended up receiving invitations.
Since the event’s inception, 58 BC players have attended the event in Mobile, Alabama.
This year's Senior Bowl watch list includes 484 prospects from more than 100 college programs. Alabama led the way with 12 nominees. Next was LSU with 11. Then came Kentucky and N.C. State, which are tied for third overall with 10 prospects on the 2023 watch list.
Last February, Zion Johnson—who was taken 17th overall by the Los Angeles Chargers this spring—more than held his own at the position against one of the most stacked defensive line classes in recent memory. Johnson, who was voted Senior Bowl Practice Player of the Week by his peers, spent time after hours working on his shotgun snaps, even in the pouring rain. He did enough to demonstrate his ability to play center at the next level, and he made a significant difference in the National team’s success on the ground. The former Davidson-turned-BC O-Lineman played 27 snaps, allowed zero pressures and logged a 79.2 pass blocking PFF grade, although he did commit one false start penalty.
The year before that, former BC tight end Hunter Long, despite not playing in the actual game, was named the National team’s top tight end at the practice player-of-the-week awards ceremony. Long was working with BC alum Brian Flores and, at the time, his coaching staff from the Miami Dolphins, who ended up taking Long in the third round of the 2021 Draft.
