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MOBILE, Ala. -- It's all about the quarterbacks. We've been repeating those five words since September, and they become more important as we approach late April. The unofficial start of draft season begins with the all-star games, and the grand finale takes place here at the Senior Bowl.

And while this group is deep along the offensive and defensive line, tight end and edge rusher, the conversation, fair or not, seems to always begin with the quarterbacks. So let's get to it.

The National Team, coached by the Jets staff, practiced first on Tuesday, and quarterbacks Desmond Ridder, Kenny Pickett and Carson Strong were, well, average. And that's OK! It's a new offense with new players and new coaches and there's an adjustment period, for sure. Of the three, Strong had the best arm, Pickett and Ridder showed off their mobility, and all three struggled at times with accuracy.

The American Team, coached by the Lions, included quarterbacks Sam Howell, Malik Willis and Bailey Zappe. Taking in events live and having not yet seen the practice tape, my initial reaction is that Zappe had the cleanest day of any of the passers. The reality is that he reminds us in some ways of Taylor Heinicke, and that's not a backhanded compliment but a testament to a player who doesn't have all the physical gifts of his colleagues but still finds a way to make plays.

Howell, meanwhile, showed off a strong arm, and was accurate against air. Willis showed off his mobility, his off-platform playmaking ability, and above all else, a cannon for a right arm. Of the six, Willis is the most intriguing for us and has a chance to really change people's minds this week.

Other notes

This wide receiver group may not be filled with a bunch of first-rounders, but there are a lot of players who can be Day 1- impact guys in the NFL. We love Calvin Austin III's short-area quickness as well as his ability to separate on vertical routes.

Austin, who played at Memphis, stands 5-foot-7 and weighs 173 pounds, is the exact opposite, physically, of North Dakota State's Christian Watson, who is 6-foot-4, 211. Both balled out Tuesday and Watson, who played with Trey Lance at NDSU in 2019, improved on those numbers in 2021 finishing with 43 receptions, 800 yards (18.6 YPC) and seven touchdowns. He needed no time to adjust from FCS competition to some of the best FBS players in the country:

And Watson just isn't a big target -- he can move, too:

When we talk about the edge rushers in this class, it's no surprise that Aidan Hutchinson and Kayvon Thibodeaux are the first two names that come up. Neither is here this week, but this is a deep group. Florida State's Jermaine Johnson is a Georgia transfer who came into his own in 2021, racking up 11.5 sacks. He's been getting some first-round buzz, and it was easy to see why Tuesday afternoon.

Here he is getting after it in one-on-ones:

And then this happened against Darian Kinnard, one of the strongest, nastiest offensive linemen in the country (in Kinnard's defense, he battled back to have some good reps against Johnson, but sweet Jesus this is something else):

Defensive line is another deep group, and while there were very few good things to say about UConn's 2021 season, there are very few bad things you can say about Huskies defensive tackle Travis Jones. According to Pro Football Focus, Jones was one of the best interior defensive linemen in the country against both the run and pass -- and he's a legit pass rusher for any position.

On Tuesday, Jones picked up right where he left off for the Huskies, and "domination" was a term used often when watching his one-on-one reps against a pretty good offensive line group:

The sheer power gets your attention, even on a field filled with twitched-up 300-plus-pound athletes who move like they're linebackers backs. There's more:

It's important to remember that we shouldn't put too much stock in one-on-one reps that are designed to favor defensive linemen. But it's hard to misinterpret just how powerful Jones (and Johnson, too, for that matter) is.

We're eager to see how this week unfolds for the quarterbacks, of course, but also for the players mentioned above who showed out. Can they sustain it? And can those players who struggled find a way to bounce back? We'll be back Wednesday to recap Day 2.