Every team in the #NFL selected a 2022 Senior Bowl alum in this year’s #NFLDraft. 21 teams picked 3 or more. #TheDraftStartsInMOBILE™️ pic.twitter.com/cZ2mFBzWMV
— Reese's Senior Bowl (@seniorbowl) May 3, 2022
Only four teams took more players from the Senior Bowl than the Green Bay Packers during the 2022 NFL draft. The Packers picked five, tied with the Atlanta Falcons, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Washington Commanders. Four teams – the Arizona Cardinals, Baltimore Ravens, Dallas Cowboys and Seattle Seahawks – selected six.
The Packers used 2022 draft picks on Devonte Wyatt, Christian Watson, Romeo Doubs, Kingsley Enagbare and Tariq Carpenter, who all participated at the Senior Bowl in Mobile earlier this year.
The premier pre-draft event helped several of the team’s draft picks, including Watson, who the Packers moved up to get in the second round.
“I think he took a significant jump at the Senior Bowl,” Packers director of football operations Milt Hendrickson. “The lower level of competition, so to speak, there aren’t as many guys on our board that he’s playing against, but he got a chance to do that at the Senior Bowl and he blew it out of the water.”
Wyatt and Watson were two of Mike Renner’s 10 biggest risers coming out of the Senior Bowl. Wyatt used the event to confirm he was one of the top interior defenders in college football and the draft class; Watson needed it to prove he could be an impact player against a higher level of competition.
Renner on Wyatt: “His agility at that size was more impressive than a number of the edge rushers in attendance. Wyatt wasn’t just a one-trick athlete, either, as he held up well against double teams in the run game, which makes me feel good about him as an all-around player.”
Renner on Watson: “Watson showed an ability to defeat press coverage that you rarely see from a 6-foot-4 wide receiver.”
The Packers got to see Enagbare battle NFL-level prospects, too. Area scout Patrick Moore noted that Enagbare “ran right through” one of the tight ends during practice at the Senior Bowl, showcasing his power as a rusher.
“The Senior Bowl did a good job of getting him against some of the best players, but he did that throughout his career at South Carolina. Really just gave us another opportunity to look at the kid up close,” Moore said.
The Senior Bowl was also a good opportunity for Watson and Doubs to show off their on-field speed. Both were clocked as two of the fastest players in Mobile during practices and the game. The Packers need their speed in Matt LaFleur’s offense.
LaFleur gleaned some insight from his brother, Mike, who coached one of the teams at the Senior Bowl as a part of the Jets staff.
“Those were two guys that were at the Senior Bowl, and it was interesting to get my brother’s perspective on those guys. He was really excited for us about those two guys. First of all, great people, great competitors, and the sky is limit for them,” LaFleur said.
