Heading into the Reese Senior Bowl, every NFL scout in attendance knew former Notre Dame cornerback Troy Pride, Jr., was fast, but did he have the playmaking ability, physicality and ball skills to thrive at the highest level?

After a week of practice at the senior bowl, the answer to all three questions looks to be a resounding yes, despite some on-the-field struggles as a senior at Notre Dame.

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Pride is one of three players to participate in the 2020 Senior Bowl, along with wide receiver Chase Claypool and safety Jalen Elliott. Safety Alohi Gilman was also expected to play, but he got dinged up during practice and decided to not participate.

Overall, NFL Scout with Draft Countdown Scott Wright believes all four players are in good spots less than three months from the draft, whether they were able to perform at the Senior Bowl or not.

Troy Pride had an interception in the Senior Bowl, but where prospects can really make money is at practice during the week.

From the sounds of it, that's exactly what Pride did.

In an article rating the players that boosted their draft stock the most at the Senior Bowl the most, Wright had Pride at No. 3 overall. Wright said much of this had to do with his play, especially without other top corners in attendance such as Virginia's Bryce Hall, Alabama's Trevon Diggs and LSU's Kristian Fulton.

"There was a big opportunity for Pride coming in as one of, if not the top-rated, cornerback in the game going up against an outstanding crop of pass-catchers," Wright said. "He did a terrific job, not only in coverage but also showed more physicality than I guess most expected. He was viewed as a track guy, maybe a finesse corner, but he showed some aggressiveness.

"But the other thing is he showed the playmaking and ability that we didn't necessarily always see in college this fall."

Now all Pride has to do its validate his speed at the NFL Combine next month. Wright expects Pride to run about a 4.35 and be one of the fastest players in the draft class.

"I think Troy Pride helped himself as much as just about any prospect in the game and going in, I thought he was kind of a fourth or fifth-round pick," Wright said. "I think he's probably played himself into day two as a second or third-round pick now, especially if he backs that up by running as well as we think he's going to in the pre-draft workouts."

But apparently, Pride believes he can run faster than a 4.3, which would put him in rarified company and further boost his draft stock.

Another player Wright was very impressed with is the 6-4, 229-pound wide receiver out of Abbotsford, Canada, Chase Claypool.

At the Senior Bowl, Claypool had two catches for six yards and a touchdown but, like Pride, he impressed during the weet at practice, especially with his willingness to do the little things and because of his physical stature.

"Honestly, he's one of my personal favorite prospects in this class, and if he didn't give you anything on offense, I think he could still have a really long career just as a special teamer," Wright said. "I think he's an elite special teams prospect, but I think he offers a whole lot on offense as well. He just really impressed at the weigh-in."

"To say he looks the part is an understatement, not only with the height and the bulk but long arms, big hands."

There was some buzz given Claypool's size that he could put on a little more weight and become a tight end in the NFL, but Wright doesn't believe that will be necessary.

"At one of the practices, somebody brought up him moving tight end and I thought that was crazy. It's even more so now, especially since he consistently tracked as one of the fastest players on the field at every single practice," Wright said. "They have a company at the Senior Bowl that they work with that attracts the speed of the players in miles per hour and he was consistently in the top five on the North squad.

"I don't think speed's a concern."

On Draft Countdown, Claypool is projected to run a 4.48.

Wright also included Claypool in the article of the players whose draft stock jumped the most at the Senior Bowl, but where he actually gets picked could be limited by how deep and talented the 2020 NFL Draft Class is at the wide receiver position.

"The rub is this wide class is not only deep, but it's also potentially a historically deep," Wright said. "It's going to be the type of year where you're getting second-rounders in the fourth round, third-rounders in the fifth round, etc. So maybe he ends up going a little lower than he normally would, but, if he goes any lower than the top 100, he's going to be a steal for someone."

An advantage Claypool has is that many of the wide receivers ahead of him are between 5-11 and 6-2, so a team that wants a bigger wide receiver may move him up their draft board.

While Pride may have improved his draft stock the most of any defensive back on the North Team at the Senior Bowl, safety Jalen Elliott was actually voted the squad's Practice Player of the Week as a defensive back.

"That's saying something too because that was voted on by his peers — the other defensive backs there," Wright said. "I always say, 'players know players.' That says something about him. The thing that he surprised people with is he showed really well in coverage. Not only were there good wide receivers at the Senior Bowl, but also some good tight ends down there, and Elliott more than held his own."

But what may have impressed scouts even more than Elliott's coverage ability is his personality.

"What also stood out to me was just the energy and the leadership he brought back there in the secondary," Wright said. "It's a short week and guys come in, they don't know each other. I always find it interesting to see who steps up as an alpha, who's the leader of men. Elliott is definitely one of those guys."

Wright is updating his draft board in the next week or so and will be moving Elliott up. He says he could now see Elliott going as early as the third round or as late as the fifth round.

Due to Alohi Gilman's injury, Wright was unable to see much of the 5-11 safety during practice at the senior bowl last week, but his inability to participate likely won't hurt his draft stock, assuming the injury doesn't linger.

"It's not like he has a history of being hurt or anything of that nature. Certainly, there's some opportunity costs there," Wright said. "It would've been nice to see him those last couple practices in the game, but it's not going to impact his grade negatively."

Wright sees Gilman as a possible Day 2 pick, but more than likely he will go in the fourth round or later. One advantage he has is that he should make a strong special team player, which is often what teams are looking for in the later rounds.

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