The draft starts in Mobile.
Senior Bowl week us underway in Mobile with practices for the American and National teams before the game is played on January 31st. The practices are very important, with the best college prospects facing off with their teammates before the two All-Star teams face off on Saturday. The Senior Bowl is the first step in the draft process.
Prospects will have a chance to face off against prime competition and boost their draft stock. The New Orleans Saints will have a strong representation in Mobile as running backs coach Joel Thomas (head coach), linebackers coach Peter Sirmon (defensive coordinator), quarterbacks coach Scott Tolzien (offensive coordinator), assistant special teams coordinator Kyle Wilber (special teams coordinator), and defensive assistant Robert Blanton (defensive backs) are all on the American staff.
The Saints haven't been shy about selecting players from the All-Star game, with six players from past Senior Bowls ending up as Saints. Tight end Jimmy Graham (2010, third-round pick), edge rusher Cameron Jordan (2011, first round), left tackle Terron Armstead (2013, third round), center Erik McCoy (2019, second round), cornerback Alontae Taylor (2022, second round), right tackle Taliese Fuaga (2024, first round) and quarterback Tyler Shough (2025, second round) all went from Mobile to New Orleans.
Armstead detailed his late Senior Bowl invite and his journey to Mobile from the East-West Shrine Game.
"I didn't originally get invited to the Senior Bowl," said Armstead, a Saint from 2013-21 who was an All-Pro in 2018 and three-time Pro Bowler in New Orleans. "I was in the East-West Shrine Game (played at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Fla.), and about a week after playing in the East-West Shrine Game, I got invited to the Senior Bowl.
"So I drove from Pensacola, where I was training, over to the Senior Bowl. And it was extremely influential, and I would say monumental, for me in my process to get drafted. Because my big question was, Can I play against the top-level competition? Once I got to the Senior Bowl, I saw the guys from Georgia, LSU, Alabama... and I was able to answer a lot of those questions."
NFL coaches swarm the sidelines in an attempt to get a closer look at prospects, but just because a team doesn't meet with you doesn't mean you aren't on their radar. Just ask Armstead.
"I didn't have any conversation with the Saints at the Senior Bowl," he said. "I had one visit to the Saints, and it was a group visit, so it was, like, 20 players or so. And I didn't feel like those guys were interested in me at all. I had a meeting with the O-line coach for about an hour, I shook hands with (Coach) Sean Payton – literally, 30 seconds – and that was it. So, I didn't think I was on the Saints' radar at all."
The Saints will have a pipeline with their coaches to the prospects all week. There may be one or several prospects who will be headed for New Orleans in the draft.