A Wisconsin Badgers defender improved their draft stock
The Wisconsin Badgers had a defensive player represent the school well this week during the Senior Bowl. This week, NFL talent scouts traveled to Mobile, Alabama, to look at college football players headed to the draft this spring. It can be a make-or-break week for some NFL prospects.
Wisconsin Badgers defensive tackle Keeanu Benton had a huge week at the Senior Bowl. Pittsburgh Steelers draft scout Ike Taylor heaped praise on Benton earlier this week. Taylor wasn’t the only draft expert that was blown away by Benton a few months before the draft.
Benton was a winner
Dane Brugler is an NFL Draft expert who writes for The Athletic. Brugler wrote an article about the winners of this year’s Senior Bowl. They noted that Benton was a narrow winner over another defensive tackle prospect coming out of the Big Ten:
“I thought this would be an easy choice, but Northwestern’s Adetomiwa Adebawore and his brute power made it a close call. At 6-2 and 284 pounds, Adebawore is on the smaller size for a defensive lineman, but he uses his natural leverage, quickness and force to defeat blockers. Bowling Green’s Karl Brooksand Mississippi State’s Cameron Young also leave this week as “winners,” if not the title-holders here.
That crown belongs to Benton, the defensive lineman whom several offensive linemen mentioned as the hardest guy to block all week. A nose tackle in college, Benton’s point-of-attack power is clear on tape, and scouts believed there was pass-rush potential there, too. Benton showed exactly that during one-on-ones, with impressive quickness and body control for his size.
Benton was a second-round pick in my January mock draft, and he should continue to climb throughout the draft process.”
That’s high praise for Benton. If offensive linemen are saying he’s the hardest defensive lineman to block, his stock might rise even higher before the draft. Brugler wrote that he was considered a second-round pick before the Senior Bowl. One wonders if the Wisconsin Badgers defender can sneak his way into the first round after this week’s performance.
