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D.J. Chark, Christian LaCouture, Darrel Williams and Greg Gilmore are all participating in the Senior Bowl this week, and per this report from SEC Country, they’re showing out and really helping their NFL Draft stock:
MOBILE, Ala. — Houston Texans coach Bill O’Brien has four LSU players on his South roster at the Senior Bowl this week, and it’s not hard for him to see why the Tigers led all college programs in players on active NFL rosters in 2017 with 51.
All four Tigers at the Senior Bowl — wide receiver DJ Chark, running back Darrel Williams, and defensive tackles Greg Gilmore and Christian LaCouture — have impressed someone who will have the opportunity to draft them in April.
“LSU is going to have guys who are well-coached, big and good athletes who are mentally tough because they practice hard,” O’Brien said after practice Thursday. “I know Coach (Ed) Orgeron practices hard and believes in that at LSU. They’re going to be trained as far as paying attention in meetings. You can just tell that. I just think of a guy like Chark, the receiver. He’s a good player. He came out here every day prepared and ready to go. You can tell a lot of that has to do with how he was trained at LSU. I could talk about all the guys that way that are coming from LSU. It’s really good to be able to work with those guys.
“In college football, those 10-15 top programs are somewhat of a feeder system for the NFL. LSU is definitely one of those places. These guys are coming from big stages where they had to perform at a top level against top-level competition in the SEC in front of 100,000 fans. I don’t think anything is too big for them and you can see that when you start working with them.”
Early speculation on Chark is that he could be a day two pick, could likely be the third Tiger off the board after Derrius Guice and Arden Key. Williams, LaCouture and Gilmore all should hear their names at some point in the selection process.
Williams, with the versatility he showed as a senior, has a real chance to make an impression as a big back who can catch the ball.
One of the areas in which Williams has stood out the most is receiver. On Thursday, he caught 3 straight passes in a 2-minute drill, including a fourth-down conversion.
That versatility will be key for Williams as he fights to improve his NFL draft stock Saturday in the Senior Bowl game.
“We did that a lot at LSU,” Williams said. “I think it paid off. I think that means a lot, because a lot of running backs only have got one thing they can do — run the ball. Some can just catch. I think I can do everything.”
The Senior Bowl will kick off at 1:30 p.m. CT on Saturday, and be televised on the NFL Network.