The All-Star Games and the NFL Draft

The All-Star games ahead of the NFL Draft are always some of the top events of the offseason for getting a first-hand look at many prospects. Practices here at the East-West Shrine Bowl are virtually wrapped up as I am writing this, and through three days of practice, several players have immediately forced their way into becoming a top priority watch for me as soon as I get home. Despite the ice storm in Texas, the weather hasn’t slowed down any of these players.

Best Standouts at Shrine Bowl 2026

Quarterback

Cade Klubnik from Clemson and Mark Gronowski from Iowa were the standout quarterbacks at the Shrine Bowl.

• Cade Klubnik: Entered the week as the clear top quarterback at the Shrine Bowl, and he delivered. Klubnik consistently had the best zip on the ball and outshone the rest of the competition in practice. While I don’t think he put out a performance that shifted my perspective of him, he did affirm he was the best quarterback here—and likely at any of the All-Star games.

• Mark Gronowski: On the other hand, did put out several reps in practice that made me intrigued to dive into his film. He was by far the most comfortable quarterback at Shrine moving under center, climbing the pocket, and he surprised me with the zip he had on the ball and his ability to throw from different angles.

Running Back

CJ Donaldson from Ohio State looked the best among the running backs. His vision and decisiveness as a runner stood out all week. He’s not the most athletic back out there, but there’s always a role for smart, patient running backs.

Wide Receiver

Kaden Wetjen from Iowa, J.Michael Sturdivant from Florida, and Eric Rivers from Georgia Tech were the standout receivers.

• Kaden Wetjen: No player has caught my eye more this week than Iowa receiver Kaden Wetjen. Every time I watched him, his burst and toughness popped in practice, making tough catches over the middle of the field and gliding upfield. His special teams resume is outstanding as well as one of the most dynamic kick returners in college football this season, averaging over 20 yards per return. He’s small at 5’9, 195, perhaps locking him in as a slot receiver, but there’s some options for him out of the backfield as well.

• J.Michael Sturdivant: Has looked like the best height-weight-speed receiver here at Shrine. I’ve heard he might run a 4.3 40-yard dash in the offseason, and I think that tracks with what I’ve seen from him today.

• Eric Rivers: A former DB turned wide receiver, looked like one of the best pure athletes overall at the Shrine Bowl. He was constantly stacking defenders vertically and winning after the catch.

Tight End

Dallen Bentley from Utah was the best tight end here at Shrine every day. His athleticism popped off the field every time. This draft class is wide open at tight end behind Oregon’s Kenyon Sadiq, and Bentley is making a case to be the second tight end off the board.

Offensive Tackle

Garrett DiGiorgio from UCLA and Micah Pettus from Florida State were the standout offensive tackles.

• Garrett DiGiorgio: Played at three different positions throughout practice and showed good physicality, athleticism, and technique at each position. His quickness flashed out at tackle, and looked like he could handle speed off the edge well despite being a college right guard. DiGiorgio proved he could handle duties at center, right guard, and right tackle this week at practice.

• Micah Pettus: Looked the part. It’s rare for me to see a player in person shock me with how well they are built in person, but at 6’4, 346 pounds, Pettus does not look like 346. He’s slimmed down significantly since the season’s end, and it’s turned into a solid performance here in practice all three days.

Interior Offensive Line

Micah Morris from Georgia, Dillon Wade from Auburn, and Caden Barnett from Wyoming were the standout interior linemen.

• Micah Morris and Dillon Wade: Had strong showings in pass protection all throughout the week, looking particularly stout. During his career at Georgia, Morris took snaps at three different positions, but played at guard throughout the week and was nearly impossible to beat in pass protection. It was much the same case with Wade.

• Caden Barnett: Was easily the top guy of the group. He was constantly chirping throughout the week and was the most physical lineman there. Barnett flashed a nice jump set and use of hands in practices. I’m excited to dig more into his film here in the coming days.

EDGE Rusher

Mason Reiger from Wisconsin and Keyshawn James-Newby from New Mexico were the standout edge rushers.

• Mason Reiger: Absolutely dominated the last two weeks of practice. Reiger showed off strong explosiveness and bend to win around the edge in pass rushing situations, but I thought his run defense and edge-setting popped the most. He has some medical questions to answer, but I think he was comfortably the top edge rusher here.

• Keyshawn James-Newby: Flashing juice all throughout the week. He’s on the smaller end for an edge rusher, but he looks like an intriguing potential as a designated pass rusher.

Defensive Tackle

Tyler Onyedim from Texas A&M, Landon Robinson from Navy, and James Thompson Jr from Illinois were the standout defensive tackles.

• Tyler Onyedim: Was the better of the two Texas A&M defensive tackles entering the week, in my opinion, and he proved it this week. He was consistently disruptive in both the run game and pass rush situations, flashing power and quickness off the line of scrimmage.

• Landon Robinson: Doesn’t look the part at just 5’11, 291, with sub-31 inch arms, but he was so explosive off of the line of scrimmage. Linemen all week struggled to block him off of sheer leverage alone. Several teams won’t have him on their boards at all off of size, but I enjoyed watching all week long.

• James Thompson: Was the most dominant player of the entire room, however. Nobody blocked him consistently, particularly in the run game. Thompson showed quick hands and aligned from multiple spots, crushing virtually every blocker he lined up against. He looks like a potential three-down defensive tackle at the next level.

Linebacker

Jaden Dugger from Louisiana and Eric Gentry from USC were the standout linebackers.

• Jaden Dugger: Built like a house, standing at 6’4, 240 pounds with 34 7/8 arms and a 84 5/8 wingspan. He made some strong plays all week, standing out in coverage. Dugger was the most impressive linebacker at Shrine. He had multiple interceptions this week throughout practice, and showed off tremendous physicality, fitting the run at a high level.

• Eric Gentry: I’ve heard mixed reviews on where teams want to play him (EDGE/LB), but he simply towers over everyone. His 6’6 frame with an unbelievable 35 1/4 arms simply just swallows up passes over the middle of the field, and he dominated pass coverage reps all week long. He no doubt has to bulk and add weight, but he looks like an intriguing defensive weapon over the middle of the field.

Cornerback

Devon Marshall from NC State, Brent Austin from Cal, Jadon Canady from Oregon, and Avery Smith from Toledo were the standout cornerbacks.

• Jadon Canady: Didn’t participate on the third day and left ahead of Sunday’s practice, but it didn’t matter with his performance on the first two days. All three of these guys were sticky and physical throughout the week. Austin and Smith were tremendous at the catch point as well.

• Devon Marshall, Brent Austin, and Avery Smith: Stock way, way up for all three after this week.

Safety

Cole Wisniewski from Texas Tech was the standout safety.

• Cole Wisniewski: Won often in one-on-one in coverage, and was violent and instinctive filling in the run game. I thought he cleared the competition every day.