One game from the 2020-21 season remains as the offseason is fast approaching. With Super Bowl LV set to kickoff Sunday in Tampa Bay, free agency, the draft and entire roster-building portion of the NFL calendar is coming quickly upon us. The first milestone is in the rearview as Senior Bowl week has come and gone and as the game's tagline says, The Draft Starts in Mobile.
Miami Dolphins Head Coach Brian Flores spoke to Daniel Jeremiah and Andrew Siciliano following his National team's 27-24 victory Saturday over the American team.
While winning is always the preferred outcome, the evaluation mecca that is Senior Bowl week is the game's primary purpose. ProFootballTalk wrote about the advantages provided to the coaching staffs of the Dolphins and Carolina Panthers by coaching the players last week in Mobile.
"With no Scouting Combine, the Senior Bowl could mean more than usual to the decisions made by teams during the draft. The Panthers and the Dolphins, by accepting the invitation to coach in the Senior Bowl, got a little more information than other teams will have."
Every year at the Senior Bowl, players at each position are recognized for their performance throughout the week. One player from each position group is named the practice player of the week based on votes from the group that went against said player (ex: defensive backs vote for the best receiver they went up against throughout the week).
Here is the full list of players recognized for their Senior Bowl performances.
Dane Brugler of the Athletic noted his Senior Bowl winners after taking in all six practices live.
As for the current Miami Dolphins, the South Florida media selected their "Good Guy Award" recipient for the 2020 season. Quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick brings home the hardware for his professionalism and courtesy with interacting with the media.
Another player in contention for the Good Guy Award was safety Eric Rowe. This season in the NFL, players were afforded the opportunity to represent a cause or an individual on the back of their helmet. Rowe chose the name Vanessa Guillen, a 20-year-old Army soldier who tragically lost her life shortly after enlisting.
Rowe explains the inspiration behind choosing Vanessa Guillen and the continued push to always remember her name.
Finally, the NFL Honors award show is on Saturday at 9 p.m. ET on CBS. We will find out if any Dolphins take home some of the league's prestigious awards and we'll find out if former Dolphins linebacker Zach Thomas will be enshrined this year in Canton. Thomas is one of 15 finalist for the 2021 Pro Football Hall of Fame class.
Tomorrow, on Drive Time with Travis Wingfield, the co-hosts of the Fish Tank (Seth Levit and O.J. McDuffie) join Travis as they present Thomas' case for Canton.
