“I Dropped One Pass”
Q&A: Pressure Mounts For NFL Draft Prospects
With just two teams left in contention for a Super Bowl title, the offseason has begun for the other 30 teams across the NFL.
The scouting process is underway this week at the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Alabama.
Former Eagles safety Quintin Mikell and former Eagles wide receiver Jason Avant discussed their exhibition game experiences and their thoughts on the Super Bowl LVI showdown next Sunday.
As for the pressure to perform at the Senior Bowl, Avant recalled an instance when he dropped a pass in front of dozens of NFL scouts and media members.
“I remember my first day I dropped a pass and everybody was like, ‘Oh, Jason Avant dropped a pass’ and all of the media and all that stuff,” Avant said. “It was just such a big story like, ‘His stock is dropping.’ I was like, ‘Damn, I just dropped a pass. I didn’t do anything else; I just dropped one pass. Like, what’s the problem?’ So it was a lot of pressure for practice and I remember that, but it was a fun time being with all those guys.”
Howie Roseman and Eagles brass are in Mobile, Ala., for the Senior Bowl
Mikell remembered his experience with the Wonderlic test, which evaluates intelligence of draft prospects.
“I’ve never heard anything about this, this my first time,” he recalled. “I’m like, ‘What would you give me a pencil for? What is this? Oh, yeah, you have to take this test,’ and I’m like, ‘Oh, hell’”.
“I don’t even know what my score was. I’m sure it was great, though.”
Mikell and Avant also examined the Super Bowl matchup and the rise of second-year quarterback Joe Burrow.
“He’s got so much confidence and swagger to him. He’s got the ‘it’ factor, man,” Mikell said. “I wasn’t a huge believer at first. His first season I was like, ‘Alright, alright.’ Then he got hurt. Earlier this season I’m like, ‘Alright, OK.’ And then he hit that playoff run and I’m like, “OK, he’s that dude.’”
Avant agreed, adding that Burrow has the look of someone who’s ascending, but Avant feels the Rams should be viewed as the heavy favorite.
He even compared Los Angeles to one of the best teams in league history.
“I don’t think there’s been an NFL team [this good] since the Patriots when they lost in a Super Bowl to the Giants in 2007,” Avant said. “This Rams team may be the most talented team since that team in the NFL.”
– Justin Morganstein (@jmotweets_) is a staff writer for InsideTheBirds.com.
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