Iowa football: Anthony Nelson is shining at 2019 Senior Bowl

Senior Bowl week is upon us and former Iowa football player Anthony Nelson is shining so far through the first few days of practice.

The Iowa football season may be over, but for a few individuals, such as Anthony Nelson, their football season is just getting started as they will spend the next few months preparing for the 2019 NFL Draft. Some will need to rely on their game tape and pro day performances to wow the scouts. Others though will have a chance or two to play in postseason all-star games such as the senior bowl.

Nelson, the redshirt junior defensive end from Waukee, is one of those individuals afforded the opportunity to play in a postseason all-star game when he was invited to the 2019 Senior Bowl. This is truly a fantastic opportunity for the former Iowa football player to showcase his skills and traits in front of every NFL scout this week down in Mobile, Alabama at the Senior Bowl.

So far through the first half of the week, all reports are positive on Nelson’s performance.

To start off the week, all prospects go through measurements, and Nelson’s were obviously big.

At 6’6”, 272 pounds, Nelson has fantastic size to compete at the next level. For comparisons sake, Nelson is an inch taller and about 13 pounds lighter than the Denver Bronco’s stud defensive end Derek Wolfe.

After getting measurements, Nelson proceeded to kick butt on the field as well. Keep in mind though that the Senior Bowl is made for defensive players, especially lineman as many one on one drills favor the defender. Either way, he had quite a few good plays including one during one-on-one drills where he blew past Wisconsin’s Beau Benzshawel.

Moreover, a few draft analysts and college football gurus listed Nelson as one of their top performers at the collegiate all-star event including Gerry DiNardo and Rob Rang.

A strong showing in Mobile could be instrumental for Anthony Nelson’s draft stock. Nelson, who had a fantastic career in the Iowa football program, possesses great size but average athleticism and limited upside as a pass rusher. Where he makes up for this at, however, is his intelligence, motor, and strong fundamentals as noted by The Draft Network’s profile of Nelson published late last week.

There are still a few more days left in Mobile including the actual game that will be played Saturday so we will be keeping you posted on his performance to close out the week.