Six standouts from 2026 Shrine Bowl practices ahead of NFL Draft | Analysis
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The Carolina Panthers’ scouting department was out in full force in Frisco, Texas this past weekend, as the East-West Shrine Bowl practices put a notable spotlight on several talented draft prospects.
Carolina spent draft picks on Shrine Bowl alums, tight end Mitchell Evans and Jimmy Horn Jr., last year. The Panthers have also had success in recent years with finding undrafted talent (Jalen Coker, Bam Martin-Scott and Jared Harrison-Hunte) at the annual all-star game.
With seven picks in April’s NFL Draft, there’s a decent chance that Carolina goes back to the Shrine Bowl well to enhance its roster in the offseason. The Charlotte Observer attended the first three days of practice to check out the up-and-coming talent in the game.
The East-West Shrine Bowl game will air live at 7 p.m. Tuesday on NFL Network.
Here are six standouts from the first three days of practices at the Shrine Bowl:
Jaden Dugger, ILB, Louisiana (East)
The 6-foot-4, 240-pound linebacker made the play of the day on Saturday with a pick in 11-on-11 drills. He also had an interception in 11-on-11 work on Sunday as well. He has long arms and a nastiness to him. While he stands out as a big, tall player at his position, his instincts and lateral quickness in practice were just as impressive as his size. His nearly 35-inch arms also help him clear out traffic in the box and make up space in coverage. Dugger had seven sacks in two years at Louisiana.
Jalen Huskey, DB, Maryland (West)
The 6-foot-1, 199-pound safety had a strong Saturday workout. He broke up a pass in 7-on-7 coverage drills early in the practice. Later, he made a diving pass breakup in the end zone during 11-on-11 red zone drills. Huskey has some grittiness to his game, but his coverage was his strength in Frisco. Huskey had 11 interceptions during his college career, which began at Bowling Green.
Mason Reiger, OLB/DE, Wisconsin (East)
At 6-foot-5 and 245 pounds, Reiger’s “get off” as an edge rusher is lightning quick. He was able to get the better of Penn State offensive tackle Nolan Rucci on a couple of occasions in team drills on Sunday. When Reiger can win with speed, it allows him to set up other rushing approaches throughout a matchup. During one rep, he blazed off the line before hitting a spin move mid-rush, which led to immediate pressure on the opposing QB in 11-on-11 drills. Reiger spent his first four years at Louisville before transferring to Wisconsin this past season. He had 13 career sacks in four seasons on defense.
Eric Rivers, WR, Georgia Tech (West)
Rivers was a big play machine during the first three days of workouts. And when he wasn’t catching passes, he was drawing penalties on defenders. While he stands a hair under 5-foot-10 and weighs 179 pounds, Rivers plays like a much bigger receiver. He has excellent body control and leaping ability, and he uses his compact frame well to ward off defenders with the ball in the air. He won on several different routes, and he has quality burst off the line. Rivers reminds this beat writer of Brandin Cooks a lot. Rivers spent two years at Florida International before transferring to Georgia Tech this past season. He had 2,173 yards and 16 touchdowns during his three years of college ball.
Chip Trayanum, RB, Toledo (East)
It’s one thing to see impressive natural speed with a running back. It’s another to watch a ball-carrier glide as a runner. Trayanum has a glide to his game. He did a nice job catching the ball during team drills. He also made some impressive cuts out of the backfield. Trayanum appears to be a guy that’s capable of playing all three downs. Trayanum played six college seasons with four different programs, but he produced 1,015 rushing yards during his one year at Toledo.
Riley Mahlman, OT, Wisconsin (West)
The 6-foot-8, 304-pound lineman looks the part. He has very good balance as a pass blocker. During 1-on-1 drills this past weekend, he did a nice job of clearing opposing defenders out of harm’s way. He also had some really nice run reps during individual drills. Mahlman was probably the most impressive blocker of the tackles in Frisco this past weekend.
Honorable mentioned: Syracuse P Jack Stonehouse (East), Texas A&M DT Albert Regis (West), North Carolina CB Marcus Allen (East), LSU TE Bauer Sharp (West), South Carolina OLB Bryan Thomas Jr. (East), Duke OLB Wesley Williams (East), Navy RB/WR Eli Heidenreich (East), Florida State DL Darrell Jackson Jr. (East), Clemson QB Cade Klubnik (East)
