Breaking down NFL draft expectations of 5 TCU Horned Frogs playing in the Senior Bowl
To the victors go the spoils and TCU is continuing to reap the benefits of it’s glorious 2022 season with five Horned Frogs participating in the Senior Bowl, set for Saturday at 1:30 p.m. on the NFL Network.
The process includes a full week of practices in front of NFL coaches and scouts in hopes of improving their stock for the 2023 NFL Draft.
Only Alabama (six) has more players participating in the game than TCU. Oklahoma has the second-largest contingent from the Big 12 with 4.
TCU’s group includes quarterback Max Duggan, receiver Derius Davis, offensive lineman Steve Avila, linebacker Dee Winters and defensive end Dylan Horton.
“I think it’s indicative of of the season they had,” Senior Bowl executive director Jim Nagy said. “Our bigger numbers usually equate to teams that had good seasons. I think when you look at around college football, if you have a good season, you probably have a lot of NFL talent. And they have a lot of NFL talent this year.”
Jim Nagy breaks down the NFL Draft expectations of the TCU Players at the Senior Bowl:
QB Max Duggan
NFL Draft Projection: 4th Round
Jim Nagy: “I think it can help in the sense that you’re always trying to self-scout yourself, and these teams are all doing that, and everyone’s thinking, ‘well why didn’t we take (San Francisco 49ers seventh-round draft pick QB) Brock Purdy in the fifth or sixth or even before that? And I know when I got into scouting, we used to value experience a ton at quarterback and guys that like lifted programs and that’s why I loved Desmond Ridder so much last year because Desmond really lifted that entire Cincinnati program. With Max, he’s played a ton of football so for anyone that’s going back and doing the Purdy study, they’re going to look at a guy like Max who’s started 40 or whatever career games and that can certainly probably help him.”
WR/Kick returner Derius Davis
NFL Draft projection: 5th Round
Jim Nagy: “The fastest player I saw on tape all year. He’s got jets. He’s gonna be an NFL slot. He’s kind of a gadget type player for them, a lot of jet sweep stuff. Just get the ball in his hands and let him burn. So the speeds real. I think he’s got legit legit NFL punt return ability. I think he’s gonna be one of the better guys doing that. Just a really dangerous ballplayer once he gets going. So I think this is gonna be a big week for him because you don’t see him run a lot of NFL slot routes. And he will have do that this week. So I think he could really help him himself.”
Offensive lineman Steve Avila
NFL Draft projection: 4th Round
Jim Nagy: “Steve is just a big strong interior guy. He’s takes up space. He’s hard to get around. And the biggest thing he’s nimble for a guy at 335 or whatever Steve is. He’s light on his feet. He can play at the second level. He’s kind of looks like a big mauler but he’s not necessarily just a big mauler. So I think I think Steve’s going to start in the league for a long time.”
Linebacker Dee Winters
NFL Draft Projection: 5th Round
Jim Nagy: He’s a guy that we got on late because we actually thought he was gonna go back to TCU. Once we found out that he declared and he was set on coming to the NFL, he’s a guy we’ve been watching. He’s a fast flow instinctive run and hit linebacker. He’s what the league’s looking for. He’s a little undersized but I think that Michigan game shows you what he is. He has disruptive potential, just like shooting gaps and playing downhill and running sideline to sideline. And when you draft him, you know you’re going to be drafting of core special teams player.
Defensive end/edge rusher Dylan Horton
NFL Draft projection: 3rd Round
Jim Nagy: “It’s going to be a big week for him. He embraced the new coaching staff and the new scheme at TCU and put on all that weight. I think he put on 20 plus pounds. and played in an odd front. He played as a four technique and now he’s going to be able to get back in an even front and be a defensive end. I know his weight is already down. I think he’s down about 10 pounds from what he played at TCU. So he’s trying to try to get his weight back down. But the thing with Dylan is that regardless of what he weighs, or where you line him up, he’s gonna play really hard. He’s got some pass rush talent as the Wolverines saw. It’s a big week for him. And I think he understands that.”
This story was originally published February 3, 2023 at 11:04 AM.
