The 2026 Panini Senior Bowl is now done. After a long week of practices, the players hit the field on Saturday for one last audition for all 32 teams. While the game is very important, most of the scouts
and front office officials have been locked into practices and practice film over the last week to help build and finalize evaluations on some of the best players in the 2026 NFL draft.
Like most Senior Bowl rosters, the 2026 roster boasts multiple potential first-round picks and a ton of top 100 talent. With the Cowboys currently without a single selection on day two, there are a handful of players in Mobile who are worthy of one or both of their first round picks in April.
Today we will look at five players who impressed this week in practice sessions that we should have our eyes on in Saturday’s game that could be wearing a star in the next few months.
1. T.J. Parker, EDGE, Clemson
It’s hard not to argue that Clemson’s T.J. Parker may be the highest-graded player for most teams participating in this year’s Senior Bowl. Parker, once viewed as a top 10 lock in the 2026 draft, had a rather underwhelming year in 2025 along with a good portion of the Clemson defense. Parker has NFL-ready size and has experience playing both from a two-point and three-point stance. While we are still unsure what the exact front line structure will be under Christian Parker, his experience and success from both alignments make him an ideal fit early on in the process.
Parker saw his backfield production dip in 2025, but still posted solid win-rates as both a pass rusher and run defender. Parker’s size and power allow him to be an instant impact three-down player in the NFL, but questions about his athleticism and twitch limit the pass rush ceiling, making him a possible option with the Cowboys later first-round pick, unless he carries his impressive Senior Bowl week into the top 10-15 conversation.
2. Colton Hood, CB, Tennessee
In Daniel Jeremiah’s mock draft 1.0 released earlier this week, he had Dallas selecting Hood with the 12th overall pick. While that feels a bit rich, Hood showed this week while he’s a worthy candidate to be selected in the first round of the 2026 draft.
Hood possesses Will McClay valued size and length at the position and is one of the better man cover cornerbacks in this class. After the first two days of practice the former Tennessee Vol has the attention of all cornerback needy teams picking in the back half of the first round.
3. Jacob Rodriguez, LB, Texas Tech
Texas Tech’s Jacob Rodriguez may have been one of the biggest risers from this week Senior Bowl practices. Rodriguez had a dominant 2025 season for the Red Raiders, but his lack of traits and playing the linebacker position had Rodriguez viewed as a day three selection. That likely changed after this week.
For what Rodriguez lacks in size, length, and speed, he makes up for with NFL ready instincts, aggressiveness, and tackling ability. Rodriguez always seems to be around the football. For an undersized linebacker, Rodriguez plays with “hair on fire” mentality and packs a heavy punch for a smaller guy. He shined in coverage drills, in team periods, and he’ll likely carry his dominant week over into the game. One would think that Rodriguez would have struggled more in the practice sessions due to how they are orchestrated and shined more in the actual game, but after dominating the practice sessions, paired with an exceptional season at Texas Tech, Rodriguez may cement himself into the day two conversation if the testing is respectable at the NFL scouting combine.
4. Bud Clark, S, TCU
The safety position in Dallas has been an issue for quite some time. Aside from a few quality seasons from Jayron Kearse, Malik Hooker, and Donovan Wilson, the Cowboys have not had a consistent difference-making safety in what feels like decades. TCU’s Bud Clark was another bright spot in practice sessions this week.
Clark, a 6’2”, 190-pound safety, played all over the field for the TCU and his experience and versatility was put on display this week in Mobile. Clark is viewed as a defensive chess-piece in the NFL with the ability to play the nickel spot, deep, and in the box making plays around the line of scrimmage. Clark, like Rodriguez, was a huge riser from this week.
5. Kyle Louis, LB, Pittsburgh
One of the biggest surprises this week was Pittsburgh’s Kyle Louis. After watching a few games of Louis on tape, you could see the attitude, effort, and demeanor, but he completely dominated practice reps this week in Mobile. Louis was probably the best coverage linebacker in Mobile this week and showed up in team periods as well with quick diagnose skills and downhill trigger.
Louis is also undersized to NFL standards, but his fit as a WILL in the NFL should allow him to be kept clean and flow to the football. For Louis, the Senior Bowl week showed much better than his 2025 and 2024 tape, but due to how good he was this week in Mobile, it will require NFL evaluators to revisit his tape to finalize his evaluation before the draft.
