The focus of the football world is about to shift to Mobile, Alabama as the path to the NFL Draft kicks off with the 2023 Senior Bowl. And, if the 2022 season has taught us anything, it’s that we better keep our eyes on this crop of offensive line talent. It’s the nature of the NFL that teams need a stable of offensive linemen these days. At the rate needs arise, whether it be due to injury or poor performance atop the depth chart, a franchise is doing itself a disservice if it doesn’t have an offensive linemen or two ready to step up at a moment’s notice. And, the Senior Bowl is a great place to find guys that can develop into quality starters. In fact, the 2022 class of offensive linemen is littered with guys that played in this game a year ago.
Earlier this week, the PFWA released it’s all-rookie team, and of the five offensive line slots, three of the honorees played in the 2022 Senior Bowl – Zion Johnson of the Chargers, Braxton Jones of the Bears, and Dylan Parham of the Raiders. That’s not even taking into account the stellar rookie seasons from guys like Cole Strange (film study) and Abraham Lucas, who drastically improved their stock throughout the Senior Bowl process.
Those are just the highlights, but several offensive linemen from the 2022 Senior Bowl class stepped in and played significant snaps in the NFL. Johnson’s 1,184 snaps on offense was 4th most in the league among all offensive linemen. Vikings guard Ed Ingram stepped in and played the 8th most snaps on offense among offensive linemen this season. Jones, Parham, Strange, Lucas, Luke Fortner, and Jamaree Salyer are also among the offensive linemen who played at least 900 snaps in the NFL after showing out at the 2022 Senior Bowl. And that doesn’t even include the names like Spencer Burford, Bernhard Raimann, and Luke Goedeke, who earned opportunities at playing time in 2022. Chris Paul also earned a shot at a starting role in the final week of the season for the Commanders.
My point in highlighting this is to say it’s worth paying attention to this year’s crop of offensive linemen because they’re going to get opportunities in the NFL. And, that is one of many examples as to why this week in Mobile is so important as we inch closer to the 2023 NFL Draft.
The 2023 Senior Bowl will take place on Saturday, February 4th at 1:30PM CST from Hancock Whitney Stadium on the campus of the University of South Alabama in Mobile, Alabama. It will air live on NFL Network. For more on the Senior Bowl, check out their website!
Stoney Keeley is the Editor in Chief of The SoBros Network, and a Dogs Playing Poker on velvet connoisseur. He is a strong supporter of Team GSD, #BeBetter, and ‘Minds right, asses tight.’ “Big Natural” covers the Tennessee Titans, Nashville, Yankee Candle, and a whole wealth of nonsense. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley.
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