Finding (their) Deebo: Inside the New York Jets' Senior Bowl experience - New York Jets Blog- ESPN

MOBILE, Ala. — At a rain-soaked practice, New York Jets general manager Joe Douglas — sans umbrella — walked to the middle of the field and chatted up a highly-rated offensive tackle in between series. As the league's scouting community watched from afar in the stands at South Alabama's Hancock-Whitney Stadium, Douglas held a two-minute, get-acquainted visit with Northern Iowa's Trevor Penning, who flattened a defender upon returning to the action.

For Douglas, an NFL lifer experiencing the Senior Bowl for the first time from this angle, it was a pancake with whipped cream on top.

After practice, Jets coach Robert Saleh bounced around the Mobile Convention Center, which was transformed into a multiplex theater of sorts — a giant ballroom divided into smaller rooms for each position group. Toting a leather backpack and a legal-sized leather binder, Saleh — in an advisory role for the week — was seen slipping quietly into the back of each film session and jotting observations on his pad, according to staffers.

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This was how it went all week for the Jets at the Senior Bowl, where they coached the National team in the annual all-star event. (The Detroit Lions coached the American squad.) No team covets this assignment — it goes to the two teams with the worst records that didn't change coaches — but it's a valuable tool in the pre-draft process.

From Monday to Saturday, for 16 to 18 hours per day, the Jets' coaches enjoyed hands-on access to 60-plus players. That covered practice time, meeting time, meal time, elevator