Senior Bowl: Panthers’ Ron Rivera evaluating in Mobile, but he’d rather be elsewhere

It’s been a few years since Carolina Panthers head coach Ron Rivera has been to the Senior Bowl, but he certainly soaked in Wednesday’s practice.

Rivera walked the sideline as drills and seven-on-sevens unfolded, chatting with coaches and scouts and checking in with general manager Dave Gettleman and assistant general manager Brandon Beane up in the bleachers at Ladd-Peebles Stadium.

“It’s been good. Been able to get up close and take a look at some of these guys,” Rivera said. “There are some good football players. I think we have some holes to fill and we got some guys (here) that could help us.”

Of course, it’s not what he’d prefer to be doing right now – if he had his way, he’d be preparing for one more football game.

“Yeah, unfortunately I’d rather be doing something much different,” he said. “But that’s on us.”

Instead, Rivera is in Mobile trying to look at the needs of his team and follow those positions around as they progress through Senior Bowl practice.

“There are some guys at those spots, probably the most exciting guys that you get to watch up close are offensive linemen and defensive linemen,” he said. “It’s been fun watching the one-on-one stuff, the run drill, the pass drill. There are some guys that definitely get your attention.”

He added that the style of receiver popular at this year’s Senior Bowl – speedy, small-to-midsize slot guys who can also move outside – fits with “what (the Panthers) are trying to do.” He has also been looking at a loaded tight end position as well as edge rushers – the latter of which needs to be a “complete” rusher, he said, instead of a situational player.

Three things we learned

▪  Eastern Washington’s Cooper Kupp and East Carolina’s Zay Jones seem to be the “draft crush” of many scouts in attendance, because of their sharp, impressive route-running and versatility.

▪  Rivera said the entire staff, except for those who were at the East-West Shrine Game last week (Chase Blackburn, Sam Mills III and Cameron Turner), had made it to Mobile by Wednesday afternoon to watch practice.

▪  Rivera added that the team had just finished conducting interviews for the vacancies at secondary coach and receivers coach after the promotion of Steve Wilks to defensive coordinator and the retirement of Ricky Proehl. He added that there would likely be a decision late in the week after he has a chance to meet with his staff.

By the numbers

3 During drills, Kupp fielded a punt while holding three footballs (a commom special teams drill).

2 Texas A&M defensive end Daeshon Hall and Alabama O.J. Howard continued to up their draft stock with back-to-back strong practice days. The two will likely finish the week among the highest-ranked Senior Bowl participants.

2 While teams meet with as many players as they can, and vice-versa, this week, two have confirmed they met with the Panthers thus far – Illinois edge rusher Dawuane Smoot and Arkansas tight end Jeremy Sprinkle.

Observations

▪  Instead of running solely in the slot on Wednesday, Jones was matched up on standout Michigan cornerback Jourdan Lewis on the outside in one-on-one drills, and other than slipping on one route, performed very well. In fact, his routes prompted a Bears assistant to yell, “You’re putting on a show, East Carolina!”

▪  A little more on Jones – his favorite player is Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton.

▪  The South team favored two-tight end sets in Wednesday’s practice, which makes sense considering three immensely popular draft prospects – Howard, Gerald Everett and Evan Engram – are all on the team.

They said it

▪  “Any time you do something, people are going to take it the wrong way, I mean, in that way, yeah.” – Sprinkle, when asked by a reporter if the perception of him has changed since he was suspended for attempting to shoplift from Belk department store prior to the Belk Bowl in Charlotte.

▪  “I don’t plan to be here next year.” – Rivera, on being at the Senior Bowl instead of preparing for the Super Bowl this week.

This story was originally published January 25, 2017 at 8:34 PM with the headline "Senior Bowl: Panthers’ Ron Rivera evaluating in Mobile, but he’d rather be elsewhere."