2018 Senior Bowl: 5 Players who improved stock

1. James Washington

If the stats alone didn’t prove it, a week of practice in Mobile from Oklahoma State’s James Washington turned heads in the football world. Washington is an explosive deep threat who’s set to thrive at the next level. He’s just 5’11” but has similar arm length to Penn State tight end Mike Gesicki, which is absurd. In a Mike Gundy offense that threw the ball 99% of the time, Washington posted three straight 1,000 yard seasons and was the 2017 Biletnikoff award winner.

There were questions surrounding Washington’s speed and ability to break off corners but he quickly proved doubters wrong. He dominated in 1-on-1 matchups against corners and showed off impressive speed on the deep ball. Washington also doubled-down and proved he could go up and grab the 50-50 balls. There’s a reason Washington was as successful as he was in college and it wasn’t a fluke. He’s a special talent heading into the NFL draft this season.

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Washington did enough to earn late first or early second round draft consideration. If there was any knock on Washington’s Senior Bowl week, it’s that he was held without a catch during Saturday’s game. But in an All-Star game where playing time is scarce, it’s hard to come away with a true evaluation. Washington possesses game-changing ability and it’s going to be hard for teams to pass up come the early rounds of the NFL draft.