2026 Senior Bowl Day 1 Winners: Commanders key positions of need in NFL Draft have impressive first practice
The biggest winners on Day 1 of the Senior Bowl were led by Kevin Coleman Jr, Colton Hood, Scooby Williams, and Nadame Tucker.
The NFL Draft season has officially started with the Senior Bowl kicking off in Mobile, Alabama, as the top prospects get together to compete to boost their draft stock.
Every year, draft prospects make the most of their opportunities at the Senior Bowl to impress teams and scouts and rise up the draft boards. It took one practice for certain players to emerge as the biggest winners, and luckily for the Commanders, it was at positions they need to target the most.
Here are my winners from Day 1 of the 2026 Panini Senior Bowl who will be on my list for the rest of the week.
Day 1 Winners at the Senior Bowl
Kevin Coleman Jr, WR, Missouri
People are probably sick of me writing about WR Kevin Coleman Jr., but I can’t stop, and I won’t stop after seeing him at practice today. There were multiple times when he showed off his movement skills in space and had defensive backs lost in coverage.
His ability to create separation flashed, even in the short to intermediate throws. Coleman Jr. has the chance to leave the Senior Bowl as the top WR of the week, and Day 1 was the best way to start the week after dominating top corners in the draft.
Nadame Tucker, EDGE, Western Michigan
Nadame Tucker was a prospect I had nowhere on my radar heading into the Senior Bowl, but now I’m finding myself doing more research on him after a stellar first day of practice. Tucker had a very productive season in 2025 with 14.5 sacks and 6 pressures, and he showed why at practice.
He’s 6-3, 250 pounds, and showed a quick burst off the line that blockers struggled with all day. It’s a loaded EDGE group at the Senior Bowl, so standing out as he did really showed how impressive he was on day one. Adam Peters kept a close eye on Tucker and likely loved what he saw.
Colton Hood, CB, Tennessee
Colton Hood is a player I haven’t discussed yet, but he stood out to me and will be a focal point on Day 2, when I watch corners and wide receivers at practice. These one-on-one drills are awful for corners and heavily favor the wide receivers, but Hood really flashed his patience and footwork in those drills today.
He’s one of the best man-coverage corners in the draft, and he showed it in the rep below, as he stuck with the receiver’s hips and ran in stride with him. Hood will unfortunately be out of the Commanders’ range as a late-first to early-second round pick, but the kind of outside presence they need at corner on defense.
Scooby Williams, LB, Texas A&M
Scooby Williams is another guy I didn’t have on my list of players to watch, but he didn’t care, and he caught my attention all day. He’s a smaller LB at 6-2, 217 pounds, but he can fly around the field and do everything you ask from him.
Williams had multiple plays out in coverage and had a pass breakup at practice, and followed it up with what would have been a sack in a game. There was also a play where he ran downhill, and he would’ve blown up the run for a huge loss, and I came away so impressed with his movement and physicality.