Senior Bowl Day 2 Recap: NFL Draft Risers, Fallers & Takeaways (2025)

Posted by author January 30, 2025 NFL

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Day 2 of Senior Bowl practices is in the books, and the action in Mobile is starting to separate the true risers from the players who need a strong finish this week. NFL Draft prospects are battling for position on draft boards, and Mike Maher and Derek Brown are on-site, tracking every standout performance and disappointing showing.

Iowa State WR Jaylin Noel continued to dominate, solidifying himself as one of the biggest winners of the week. Miami TE Elijah Arroyo also turned heads again, making his case to be a top tight end in this loaded draft class. Meanwhile, Georgia WR Arian Smith flashed his deep-play ability with one of the best catches of the day, but his inconsistencies in route running and hands continue to raise concerns.

At quarterback, Jalen Milroe showed flashes of improvement after a rough start on Day 1, but his struggles with accuracy and decision-making remain a storyline to watch.

From big-play wide receivers to tight ends making their mark, we’ve got all the biggest takeaways from Senior Bowl Day 2, including updated draft stock analysis for dynasty fantasy football managers and NFL Draft fans. Let’s dive into today’s risers, fallers, and standout performances.

Senior Bowl Day 2 Recap

Risers

Jaylin Noel (WR – Iowa State)

There is no disputing that Noel has been the brightest star of the week at the wide receiver position in Mobile. You’ll see as you scroll through this article that there are a lot of familiar names in this Day 2 writeup that we discussed yesterday. It should be quite notable when players stack back-to-back standout days in a format like this, and Noel should lead that conversation. He obliterated every corner in front of him all day. He flashed effortless speed, the ability to beat press coverage, and short area agility today that should have NFL teams salivating. Noel can play out of the slot and on the perimeter in the NFL. I fully believed that entering the Senior Bowl process, but it has been loudly confirmed after only two practices in Mobile. Noel has punched his ticket to round 2 of the NFL Draft.

– Derek Brown

Jaylin Noel has put exclamation points on the parts of his game that I loved before @seniorbowl & excelled in the areas that I wanted to see this week.

HUGE RISER. pic.twitter.com/Cl8SbLZ1EV

— Derek Brown (@DBro_FFB) January 30, 2025

Elijah Arroyo (TE – Miami)

Arroyo was one of the biggest risers on Day 1, and he picked up where he left off on Day 2. He continued to dominate his reps in passing drills, and multiple evaluators here in Mobile have already mentioned that they’re moving him up in their NFL Draft rankings. The 2025 NFL Draft is expected to be deep at TE, and Arroyo is looking like he could be as high as TE3 in a talented class. In fact, he has looked so good through the first two days that it would be surprising if he sticks around for Day 3 and the game, as the best prospects who show out in practices are often advised by their agents to skip the rest of practices and the game itself.

– Mike Maher

Elijah Arroyo just cookin dudes pic.twitter.com/MJGKoiwfTp

— Derek Brown (@DBro_FFB) January 29, 2025

Devin Neal (RB – Kansas)

Neal looked good today. He flashed good vision and those sweet feet on a carry in 11-on-11s. While there wasn’t any tackling today in those situations, it didn’t matter as Neal was lightning-fast and decisive. Even if this was a flag football event, no one was catching Neal in those reps. He was solid in receiving drills but, again, didn’t crush every single rep, so I continue to hope that he will whip the floor with all takers on Day 3 in route running drills.

– Derek Brown

Jalen Royals (WR – Utah State)

Royals put on a clinic today. He flashed all the route-running nuance that I was hoping to see this week from the small school prospect. What is even more impressive in the route wins that he stacked today is that he is clearly not 100%, and he is dealing with some nagging injury, which Royals confirmed during our interview. Royals consistently won off the line with his varied release package and displayed a good understanding of leverage as he was beating corners on in-breakers. Assuming he tests well later in the pre-draft process, Royals should hear his name called on draft night earlier than many will likely expect.

– Derek Brown

Jack Bech (WR – TCU)

Bech bounced back from an up-and-down Day 1 with a strong showing on Day 2. Bech gained easy separation on slants early in practice. Later in the day, he had a nice rep in 1-on-1s, coming down with a big boy catch in a contested situation. The varied skill set will be needed in the NFL and just cemented that he has the goods to win as a perimeter wide receiver in the NFL. I think that his ideal deployment should still be from the slot, but that doesn’t mean that he can move outside and win if a team moves into 12 personnel during a game.

– Derek Brown

Fallers

Xavier Restrepo (WR – Miami)

Restrepo had another meh day in Mobile. He looked clunky in and out of his breaks. This has been a disappointing showing for the former Hurricane. Restrepo has struggled to earn separation in team drills and 1-on-1s consistently. I hope he can salvage his week on the final day of practice, but I won’t be shocked if he doesn’t.

– Derek Brown

Arian Smith (WR – Georgia)

Smith had the catch of the day on Wednesday, and that alone could have him as a riser in some write ups this week. We have him as a faller because, despite that incredible catch, he has been inconsistent in his routes and has struggled with the same drops that plagued him at Georgia over the last two seasons (18.8% drop rate, per PFF). His elite speed and ability to generate explosive plays will catch the eyes of scouts, but he’ll need to show more polish in his route tree and continue to improve his hands if he is going to make gains between now and when he runs the 40 in Indianapolis.

– Mike Maher

Jalen Milroe (QB – Alabama)

Milroe had a better Day 2 than his disastrous Day 1, but he still struggled with his accuracy and timing, and he held the ball for an eternity on some of his reps. He did, however, throw a few nice deep balls today. He hit TCU WR Jack Bech deep for one of the catches of the day in 11-on-11 drills, and this bomb to Florida WR Chimere Dike in 1-on-1s was his best throw of the last two days. We have him as a faller because he’s been inconsistent and, as someone who could fly up draft boards with a solid performance, is not taking advantage. For every highlight like the ones we talk about above, he has three reps where he holds the ball forever, air-mails a throw into the sidelines, or bounces a ball in front of a target. He’s thrown multiple interceptions and near-interceptions over the last two days, and he had one rep where he took a “sack” and then had his throw picked by Notre Dame linebacker Jack Kizer. He has the tools and athleticism that have NFL Draft evaluators salivating over his potential, but his limitations as a passer are on full display in Mobile.

– Mike Maher

Jalen Milroe with a good ball BUT a big boy catch from Jack Bech ???????? pic.twitter.com/skOHstTrDC

— Derek Brown (@DBro_FFB) January 29, 2025

Other Takeaways

Jayden Higgins (WR – Iowa State)

This was another strong day for Higgins as he continues to look like Slant Gawd 2.0. The reason that he isn’t in the risers section of this article is that I still haven’t seen him dominate reps as a downfield receiver. That was the big question that I had this week, and I’m still waiting for him to answer. Hopefully, Day 3 brings clarity and hope that Higgins can not only be an underneath-target vacuum in the NFL but also threaten downfield when it’s called for and be a dominant force for years to come.

– Derek Brown

Harold Fannin Jr. (TE – Bowling Green)

After a sleepy Day 1, Fannin Jr. woke up with some nice routes on Day 2. Fannin Jr.’s raw speed remains a concern for me, but he did earn separation at the top of his stems with nifty footwork today. I hope that he can build upon today and blow it out on Day 3 and enter the risers section to conclude the week.

– Derek Brown

Bhayshul Tuten (RB – Virginia Tech)

Trevor Etienne (RB – Georgia)

Tuten and Etienne both excelled in 1-on-1 route running drills today. Tuten consistently juked linebackers and earned separation early. For a player with an 8.4% slot rate and 1.27 yards per route run in college, Tuten’s Day 2 showing should open up some NFL scouts’ eyes. Etienne had some quick feet and exploited an aggressive defender on a whip route. If you have the feet to pull off a snappy whip route and leave a defender in the dust, you have my attention. This rep didn’t draw the resounding “oohs and ahhs” that Tyjae Spears did when he was in Mobile, but it should have.

– Derek Brown

Former Dawg @Trevor_Etienne showing off his hands at the @seniorbowl ????️ -> @MansellKaylee @DawgNation #NFLDraft #UGA https://t.co/xabTo99NR2 pic.twitter.com/BLQTB6ccpq

— Cody Chaffins (@CodyChaffins) January 29, 2025

Mason Taylor (TE – LSU)

Taylor is having a solid week at the Senior Bowl, and I wouldn’t argue with you if you told me he belonged in the Risers category. He’s another TE in this deep class with ideal size and receiving chops, and his early performances in Mobile should have him right in that Top 5 range. Exactly where he goes in the NFL Draft will likely depend on what he runs at the NFL Combine, but he’s impressed here in the early going.

– Mike Maher