The Senior Bowl is an event like no other. The entire NFL gathers in South Alabama’s Hancock Whitney stadium, which is decked out in bright orange, for the Reese’s Senior Bowl. Countless teams head to Mobile are looking for players to lead their franchise to wins. Most importantly, those wins start in the trenches. The offensive and defensive lines are surrounded by countless coaches and scouts for the entirety of practice. Which monsters in the trenches helped or hurt their stock at the Senior Bowl this week?

Senior Bowl Trenches: Stock Up, Stock Down

Hurt: Andre Carter, EDGE, Army 

Andre Carter is a name that has seen some considerable buzz throughout this draft cycle. He has been mocked in the first round for months, but hit some bumps in the road. Prior to the season ending, legislation passed that would have prohibited Carter from declaring for the NFL draft prior to completing his military service.

Fortunately for Carter, a new bill allowed him to be grandfathered in and will allow him to play under the conditions that were in place when he signed in 2019.

In Mobile, Carter struggled mightily. Upon seeing him in person, Carter looked noticeably thin. His frame is massive, and there is certainly room to add mass, but he looked incredibly lean. He is certainly quick, and he used his length well to win on a handful of reps.

However, when people were able to get their hands on him, primarily Dawand Jones and Cody Mauch, he was put on a highlight tape. Jones drove him right out of bounds in a run drill, and Mauch put him on the ground the next day. 

Helped: Cody Mauch, OL, North Dakota State

North Dakota State’s Cody Mauch did a good bit to help his draft stock this week. To start off, Mauch was voted Offensive Line Practice Player of the Week by the defensive line and linebackers. Mauch is a tweener, with not enough length to play tackle and possibly not enough weight to play guard. His best position still projects as guard, but he did take several reps at center, as well. 

Mauch was far from perfect, and certainly had some reps he wanted back, but there was overwhelmingly more good than bad. His versatility makes him an incredibly intriguing prospect. There were some incredible reps in one-on-ones at left guard, including a pancake against the aforementioned Andre Carter. 

Helped: John Michael Schmitz, OC, Minnesota 

John Michael Schmitz could have his own article about his Senior Bowl week. For lack of a better word, he was fantastic; simple as that. Schmitz came in and measured at over 6’3”, 306 pounds. There is also some thought out there that Schmitz can also play guard. He would likely be great at that spot as well. Schmitz rarely lost a rep in Mobile. He won in one-on-ones, he won on stunt drills, and he won in team drills. 

He also showed his nasty streak in finishing countless reps. His personality also started to show quite a bit. Schmitz was a vocal leader on the field all week, and after successful plays, was seen bringing energy and high-fiving the rest of the offensive line.

For example, on a screen pass, he decleated a linebacker and then, when going to finish the block, was heard yelling all the way from the media bleachers. The center is the de-facto leader of the offensive line and Schmitz is the personality that has the ability to step into an offensive line room as a rookie and quickly become an alpha.