Sean Payton could consider Tulane’s Michael Pratt in middle rounds

MOBILE, Ala. — Quinyon Mitchell has plenty of reasons to smile this week, but for at least a moment after Tuesday’s Senior Bowl practice, he couldn’t help but acknowledge a bad taste in his mouth.

The talented cornerback from Toledo spent most of the day shining on a field full of talented receivers and defensive backs. But late in Wednesday’s proceedings, Michigan receiver Roman Wilson beat him off the line then blasted to the outside for an easy completion as Mitchell stumbled.

The pair has been complimentary of each other this week, but Mitchell wants revenge on Thursday.

“He got me at the end. I didn’t really like that,” Mitchell said. “I’m feelin’ salty about that. He’s gotta catch me tomorrow.”

Opposing receivers haven’t caught much on Mitchell this week.

The 6-foot, 193-pound cornerback put together a dominant season for the Rockets, but did it in the Mid-American Conference and playing predominantly off coverage. In 2022, Mitchell had five interceptions for Toledo and returned two of them for touchdowns. Teams learned their lesson and challenged him far less frequently this past fall.

This week, NFL clubs have asked about his ability to play press man, and he’s responded.

“Coming here and showing I can play press man, it shows I can compete against the best,” he said. “Whenever you throw at me, I’m going to challenge you. … In our scheme, by best way to impact the game was to play off. But I work on press man at practice. My teammate across from me, Chris McDonald, he played a lot of press.”

Mitchell entered the week widely considered by evaluators and draft analysts as a potential first-round pick. NFL Networks’ Daniel Jeremiah had him ranked No. 19 overall on Wednesday morning.

The Senior Bowl week has only increased his stock. A cornerback might not be the most popular pick among Broncos fans in the first round, but Mitchell and a group of others might tempt coach Sean Payton and general manager George Paton come April.

Other observations from Wednesday:

First-round potential 

DT T’Vondre Sweat, Texas. Sweat is a force. There’s really no other way to say it. He’s been almost impossible to contain in one-on-one situations. Sweat didn’t weigh in at the beginning of the event, but said Wednesday he’s not concerned about his weight and that he played the entire season at 360-365 pounds for the Longhorns.

“Y’all seen me this year,” Sweat said. “I can do it all.”

Sweat’s production and ability to impact the middle of an opposing offense is easy to see on film. So teams, he said, have mostly asked him about how much he loves the game.

His answer?

“I have something to prove every day,” he said. “I was a three-star recruit coming out of high school. So I’ve got to prove myself every day. Just because I won the Outland Trophy or the Big 12 title, well I’m still here. I’m still here competing. So I’ve got to prove something.”

Potential Broncos fit

ILB Payton Wilson, North Carolina State. The Broncos thought perhaps they had a future Mike linebacker when they drafted Drew Sanders in the third round last spring. Sanders showed flashes during his rookie season, but Payton acknowledged it’s unclear at this point whether Sanders will play inside or on the edge going forward.

Wilson missed all but two games of the 2021 season due to a shoulder injury, but has played in 23 games over the past two seasons and racked up 138 tackles (17.5 for loss) and six sacks in 2023.

“I’ve dealt with injuries my entire career, so I play every single snap like it’s my last,” said Wilson, who clocked 20.27 miles per hour on the GPS on Tuesday despite playing at 6-foot-4 and 234 pounds.

Wilson told The Post he’s been answering questions about his injury history the entire week.

“That’s the biggest what-if. Everybody asks me about it,” he said. “The last two years I’ve stayed healthy and I think I’ve found a really good balance of how to do that. The way I play, I play so hard and fearless that I had to find a good balance between nutrition, maintenance programs and then knowing what weight I can play at and stay healthy and still play the way I want to play. …

“I tell people all the time, when I got to college I was just playing ball. I was living it like high school, but I didn’t truly understand the nutrition, the maintenance required to stay healthy for 12 full games and at the next level 17-plus. I’ve got into the prehab and rehab and my nutrition is the most important thing for me.”

A year ago, Sanders got some first-round buzz and ended up lasting until the third round, where Denver happily pounced. Perhaps they’ll hope for a repeat this spring.