Auburn's Montravius Adams helped his NFL draft positioning at the Senior Bowl

Here we take a look at Auburn football’s Montravius Adams, whose performance in the Senior Bowl raised his stock in the NFL draft.

No player did more to help improve where they will be picked in late April’s NFL draft at this weekend’s Senior Bowl than Auburn football‘s defensive tackle Montravius Adams.

Before the game, NFLDraftScout.com had Adams ranked as the No. 105 overall prospect in this year’s draft and the No. 12 defensive tackle. (We had Adams going in the third round to the Oakland Raiders.)

But Adams was dominant, with six tackles, including one for a loss, and a fumble recovery. His performance had scouts and draft prognosticators drooling. It’s likely that if he shines during the NFL Combine that Adams could move up into the first round.

Pro Football Focus rated Adams with the No. 2 performance on the South defense, with three run stops and the highest run-defense grade among the South defensive interior linemen. Only Kansas State’s Jordan Willis had a higher rating among South defenders due to his two sacks and four quarterback hurries.

Kevin Pauline of DraftAnalyst.com was also impressed with Adams at the Senior Bowl, but added that he needs to overcome his reputation for taking plays off. “He has the scheme versatility to have a long career in the NFL, if he wants to play,” said Pauline. “Adams must do a better job using his hands to develop more techniques to disengage from blockers and beyond anything else, must overcome that ‘if he wants to play’ tag.”

Dan Kadar of SBNation.com wrote that Adams separated himself from other defensive lineman and likely moved his draft positioning up to the first half of the second round. “Adams’ first step quickness stood out compared to his teammates, and that could help him land in the top 50 of the draft,” said Kadar.

WalterFootball.com still has Adams going to the Baltimore Ravens in the fourth round, but J.P. Finlay of CSNMidAtlantic.com reported that Adams met with the Washington Redskins, who sorely need defensive line help, while at the Senior Bowl. The Redskins have the No. 49 overall pick in the second round, and that fits nicely within Kadar’s projection.

Adams told Finlay that the Redskins did a background check on him and interviewed him about defensive schemes.