It's easy to get caught up watching the established, "star" players out in Mobile, but if you only do that, you'll miss what truly makes it great.
That distinction belongs to stories like that of Laurier (Canada) product Taylor Elgersma, an aspiring quarterback who has nothing but potential in front of him and a new stage to showcase it. He's the first-ever Canadian player to play at the Senior Bowl.
"I want to show them that I’m someone that if you bring into the building that can develop and that can learn fast and can pick up a playbook and that’s gonna improve at a rapid rate," he told me after Wednesday's session. "I know that I haven’t played these snaps, and so the only way to kind of showcase myself to these teams is to get better day by day and showcase that if they bring me into the building, I’m gonna continue that process, continue getting better and I think I have a high ceiling.”
It's certainly not smooth sailing for a quarterback that's never played a game with 11 men on the field before (Canadian football has 12). His games were played with three downs, wider fields and goalposts at the front of the end zone. There are things to learn and a lot to adjust to.
"We're certainly just trying to tie it down and nail it down for him, so he can go out there and play fast," National team head coach Mike Kafka said of the young QB. "That's a challenge he's got to overcome and he's attacking it head on right now."
One such example came on Wednesday morning, when he tried to rifle a ball in late over the middle of the field. Minnesota linebacker Cody Lindenberg easily stepped in front of it for the interception. Lesson learned. There's been a good bit of that in the process.
But those who have worked with him say he'll take those lessons and grow. Mike Miller, his QB coach for the Toronto Argonauts, described Elgersma as "Kurt Warner smart." Quite the compliment.
He's also had his share of impressive moments. The arm strength is clear. He's got the size and athletic profile NFL teams look for. There was one rep I watched his left tackle get driven into Elgersma's lap. Instead of panicking and pulling the ball down, he got a bit of distance, shot his leg out to the side and found a way to lead Iowa State's Jayden Higgins with a pure upper-body throw. Higgins had burned the DB on his route. A QB has to find a way to deliver the ball and let his playmaker make a play. It won't go on highlight reels, but the staples of winning football rarely do.
It's intangible things that feel like they could turn into something real. There's also the tangible, like completing 74% of his passes for 4,011 yards and 40 touchdowns in 2024 while winning the Hec Crighton Player of the Year Award (Canada's Heisman).
Ben Neill, a quarterback coach at the Mobile-based QB country, praised Elgersma's football IQ after working with him. He also pointed to the arm strength and hockey player physicality and toughness.
"Taylor is the type of kid I want to coach," he said. "If I was bulding a team, he is who I want as my QB."
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Will a team take a chance on developing the kid I heard being referred to in the Senior Bowl audience as "Canada" by spending a 7th rounder or bringing him in as a UDFA? I think so. I would.
One way or another, Taylor is the type of story and has the type of golden opportunity that the Senior Bowl was built for. Let's see what he does with it.
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Praising Mason Taylor
Giants assistant coach Angela Baker is coaching Senior Bowl tight ends this week, and it only took two days for her to spot one of the biggest things that makes LSU's Mason Taylor such an intriguing NFL growth prospect.
His heartbeat never changes. Never too high, never too low. Watching him on the sidelines you'd never know if he just made the big play or the big mistake. It's a quality that can separate NFL stars from everyone else.
"He’s just a pretty even-keeled guy. He doesn’t show too much emotion, doesn’t show very little emotion," Baker said of Taylor. "He’s pretty consistent and, you know, he always knows what’s going on. He asks the right kind of questions but he’s helping out the guys that are around him, too, so I think that that leadership is gonna eventually get built into him and engrained into him, but right now he’s just been great to have in the room.”
Another player I'd describe that way is Alvin Kamara, and his commitment to consistency is one of the things that's kept his career on the Hall of Fame track.
Remember back two years ago when LSU decided to go for a 2-point conversion and the win against heavily favored Alabama? Why do you think it was Mason Taylor they drew the play up for? The moment is never too big when you treat every moment the same.
We've seen Mason deliver some highlight plays through two days at the Senior Bowl. He's also had some tough moments. He needs to keep working on his blocking and develop into an all-around player. I like his chances.
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THREE STARS
Grey Zabel, G/C, N. Dakota State
Before people start rolling their eyes and saying "another small school offensive lineman," understand that I don't care. Take the decals off the helmets and send these guys out there, you won't find a more consistent, effective interior lineman at the Senior Bowl than the Bison big man, and he's done it at all three positions. One of the Saints' clear needs is on the interior offensive line. I'd be surprised if they don't address it in the draft, and quite possibly at the No. 40 pick. If Grey is on the board, don't bet against him.
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Jayden Higgins, WR, Iowa State
There are a good number of intriguing WR prospects out at the Senior Bowl, but few have the full package. There are some speedsters (like 5'9, 156-pound Tez Johnson) who have durability questions. There are bigger-bodied guys (like 6-1, 212-pound Jack Bech) who have athleticism questions. Jayden Higgins is the best of both worlds. Dude is 6'3, 217 with 9.5-inch hands. He's burning people deep. He's snapping off routes underneath. Elite, elite.
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Mike Green, DE, Marshall
There aren't a lot of Thundering Herd standouts in the NFL, but if more of them thundered like Mike Green, there would be. Look no further than his absolute demolition of Oregon's Josh Conerly in 1-on-1 drills. At 6'3, 251 he's smaller than the prototypical Saints DE, but who's to say the Saints DE prototype doesn't change with the new coaching staff. Dude has been lighting up the Senior Bowl. Don't sleep on him.