The Senior Bowl may be the more popular scouting arena, but the Jets and several NFL teams also use the East-West Shrine Bowl as a way to secure some underrated talent for their franchises.
Since 1925, the East-West Shrine Bowl has been in place to give top college players a chance to showcase their talents to NFL scouts and a national television audience. Players like Tom Brady, Walter Payton, Lawrence Taylor, and John Elway have used the Shrine bowl to make a first impression with the league’s top scouts.
For the New York Jets, they may not have the same success in picking Shrine Bowl recipients as opposed to the Senior Bowl (four of the seven 2022 draft picks came from the Senior Bowl), but there’s still plenty of talent in Thursday’s contest to tip the scales in overall importance.
Let’s take a look at the top five names preparing for Thursday’s contest.
Zay Flowers – WR, Boston College
You may not think the Jets need a wide receiver on their roster, but you can never have too many weapons. Flowers might be the top player currently in the Shrine Bowl and could certainly help any team in their passing attack. Ranked 19th overall in many prospect rankings, the BC standout surprised many when he took part in workouts this week for the Shrine Bowl, He may not even play in Thursday’s game, but he clearly has helped himself throughout this process.
Flowers could be going in the first round in the 2023 NFL Draft if he continues to impress as much as he’s done. It’s doubtful the Jets would take Flowers at the 13th overall selection but should Flowers fall, it would be easy to see how New York could strike here.
Dante Stills – DL, West Virgina
If Flowers was the best offensive player in the Shrine Bowl, Stills was the best on defense. The interior lineman won one-on-one battles all week and has impressed several scouts with his speed. The Jets, again, have plenty of defensive line talent, but depth is always something to keep an eye on as a grueling NFL season injures more and more players.
AJ Finley – S, Ole Miss
The Jets want more depth in their secondary, particularly at safety, If there’s a player who stood out through workouts, it’s been, AJ Finley. Finley has shown aptitude in covering tight ends one-on-one and he’s been a ballhawk all week. His hands could be a hot commodity late in the draft here.
Lance Boykin – CB, Coastal Carolina
One-on-one battles between corners and receivers always leave good corners on islands. For the Jets, they have two of the top corners who can win those kinds of matchups and another prospect turned heads by doing the same thing. Boykin led Coastal Carolina in passes defensed in 2022, his lone season as a starter. Could the Jets double-dip in the secondary? Probably not, but you can’t have too many solid players in the secondary.
Isaiah Moore – LB, NC State
The Jets will need depth along their linebacking core with Quincy Williams and Kwon Alexander becoming free agents. Insert Isaiah Moore. Moore graded extremely well against the run for the Wolfpack by Pro Football Focus (94.4 run grade).
Moore was tied for the most tackles for losses in the country with 21. The Jets need physical run-stoppers and could be a perfect fit for Moore in the later rounds.
