With just four teams alive in the NFL Playoffs and the 2025 NFL Draft three months away, the prospect showcase circuit is in full swing. SumerSports’ very own Matthew Stopsky, Sam Bruchhaus, and Shawn Syed made their way over to the DFW for the weekend to talk to prospects, watch practice, and gain insight on the East-West Shrine Bowl. Friday’s schedule was full of over 60 prospects available to the media. Our team went through specific plays with players, discussed their mental approach to the game, and discussed what they wanted to show the NFL scouts leading up to the Shrine Bowl game at AT&T Stadium.
Saturday was day one of Shrine Bowl practice, and this article is a quick notebook dump from our team. With NFL scouts, media members, and all of the players packed neatly on the sidelines of University of North Texas’ practice bubble, here are the players that stood out:
JJ Pegues, IDL, Ole Miss
JJ Pegues finished the 2024 season above the 80th percentile in multiple pass rush and run stopping metrics by our own AI tools. He put his power on display early and talked us through the exact moment he knew the guard was too far, which forced him to hit an inside move. His play did the talking on a win on the inside later in team drills:
Two reps from Ole Miss IDL JJ Pegues
Pegues was in the 80th percentile or higher in @SumerSports Pass Rush Get Off, Pass Rush Finish, Run Pursuit Get Off, and Run Pursuit Finish tracking metrics for the 2024 season pic.twitter.com/wC9ib7jM3w
— Shawn Syed (@SyedSchemes) January 26, 2025
Chandler Martin, LB, Memphis
Chandler Martin was one of the first guys we got a chance to talk to on Friday. He was thoughtful in discussing how he picks up offensive tendencies and we were excited to see how he performed on the field.
Scouts may not be impressed with Martin’s size, but he drew eyes with how well he was closing space in 1-on-1 pass period. He separated himself from the other linebackers during this period, effectively eliminating the yardage between him and the running backs. These coverage tools showed once again in 7 on 7 when Martin closed on a pass and ripped the ball away from the intended receiver to force the only turnover of the first West practice.
We have a 7 on 7 interception! Chandler Martin, LB, Memphis rips this one away pic.twitter.com/24xy5qKhRb
— SūmerSports (@SumerSports) January 25, 2025
Given his smaller frame, we really wanted to get a closer look at how he handled the size of the offensive line in the team run periods. Though we couldn’t get a great angle live, he seemed to adequately use his size to his advantage, getting underneath the bigger blocker’s pads. His coverage acumen popped up again in the team period, where he recognized a screen and worked to disrupt.
Luke Lachey, TE, Iowa
Luke Lachey had to deal with a right ankle injury during his but was able to move well on the first day of Shrine Bowl practice. He had two of the better reps on the day as he tries to uphold the tradition of Iowa tight ends.
Two reps from Iowa TE Luke Lachey at day one of Shrine Bowl practice pic.twitter.com/ZVbL56X6BP
— Shawn Syed (@SyedSchemes) January 25, 2025
Juice Wells, WR, Ole Miss
As each 1-on-1 rep occurred for Juice Wells, the crowd, and the crowd’s reactions, slowly grew. Wells made some impressive catches early in Saturday’s practice that drew extra sets of eyes.
Four 1 on 1 reps from Ole Miss WR Juice Wells pic.twitter.com/Shz1EeupBV
— Shawn Syed (@SyedSchemes) January 25, 2025
Quarterbacks: Kyle McCord, Max Brosmer, and Shedeur Sanders
The East squad started the morning off, and Syracuse’s Kyle McCord came out of the gate hot. He performed well in our AI Accuracy metric this season, and it showed up immediately during practice. He showed poise, good timing and outstanding ball placement on many of his throws during day one.
Shrine Bowl Update
Syracuse’s Kyle McCord was the most impressive QB this morning.
West practice up next. #NFLDraft pic.twitter.com/olU8A2ZMsk
— Matt Stopsky (@MStopsky) January 25, 2025
McCord would have been the best quarterback of day one if not for Minnesota’s Max Brosmer, according to at least one of our team members. Brosmer showed good command of the ball and timing during the wide receiver/cornerback drills. Where he really shined was in the 7 on 7 portion of practice where he threw a beautiful deep pass to Colorado’s LaJohntay Wester. Max Brosmer was towards the top of our Big Throw Metric this past season and had people at the practice talking about his lively arm.
Great to talk to one of @SumerSports draft fm’s players of the day!
His breakdown of his deep ball: thought he had the TE for 6-7 yards, but knew he had a speedy wideout on a linebacker deep.
Sounded a lot like our decision making metric from FootballAI! https://t.co/wgagfsmvmM pic.twitter.com/ozeUs1ryN2
— Sam Bruchhaus (@bruchhaussports) January 25, 2025
And of course, Shedeur Sanders was in attendance on day one of Shrine Bowl practice. Sanders did not participate in drills, but he was going through the film of multiple reps with quarterbacks Brady Cook and Ethan Gabers. There was also another notable discussion to be seen:
Shedeur Sanders with Giants HC Brian Daboll pic.twitter.com/hiReA2XuNn
— Matt Stopsky (@MStopsky) January 25, 2025
