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Bell: Six NFL Draft Prospects to Watch at East-West Shrine Bowl
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- Bell: Six NFL Draft Prospects to Watch at East-West Shrine Bowl
Cade Klubnik, Clemson Athletics
The East-West Shrine Bowl event kicks off this weekend with a roster that has plenty of talented prospects on it. In recent seasons, we've seen guys like Zay Flowers , Brock Purdy , Renardo Green , Jacory Croskey-Merritt , and Craig Woodson become immediate contributors for their respective squads. With the Pittsburgh Steelers flushed with draft capital in the 2026 NFL Draft, odds are that they'll be uniquely focused on this crop, while the head coaching search continues on the south side. Below are a half dozen talented prospects worth paying attention to over the next handful of days.
QB Cade Klubnik (Clemson)
Like so many of his college teammates, Klubnik couldn't quite take that next step in 2025, leading to a rather disastrous season for the Tigers. He's a talented touch thrower that understands how to layer the football down the field, mobile enough to pick up yards with his legs, and has the arm elasticity to make throws moving left or right. I'll be anxious to see what he looks like this week with NFL coaching in his ear, and I'm hoping for cleaner footwork and amped-up processing to match his smooth stroke as a thrower. The top-end tools cloud his ceiling, but Klubnik is battle-tested with over 1,600 career dropbacks, making him an ideal backup candidate at the next level.
RB Demond Claiborne (Wake Forest)
If you're an NFL team in the market for a shifty explosive play generator that also contributes on special teams, Claiborne will be someone that you want to consider drafting. He's a bit undersized for the position but makes up for his lack of density with outstanding lateral agility with jump cuts that cover serious ground and good top-end speed for breakaway hits. Over the past two seasons, he's amassed over 2,000 rushing yards on moderate efficiency but has eclipsed the 3.0 yards after contact threshold in each of those years. Even if he's not an every-down workhorse, Claiborne is someone you want to design touches for, but I want to see him prove his third-down value this week from a route-running, pass-protection, and hands perspective.
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WR De'Zhaun Stribling (Ole Miss)
When studying his quarterback Trinidad Chambliss, #1 just kept flashing over and over down the final stretch of the season, with at least 65 receiving yards in each of his last five collegiate games. He's not the most explosive athlete off the ball, but he's efficient with his movements and has shown the ability to beat press coverage with crafty footwork. Perhaps the best compliment is that the ball hardly ever hits the ground when thrown in his direction. Stribling plays big at the catch point and displays toughness as a runner and blocker. If he can separate consistently from the cornerbacks in Frisco, he'll definitely make himself some money this weekend.
OL Keagen Trost (Missouri)
For my money, versatile offensive linemen looking to prove their effectiveness at multiple positions are guys that seem to benefit the most from the All-Star circuit. Throughout the season, Trost was a weapon in the zone run game, whether it was executing backside cut-offs or sealing off the edge for his backs to access the perimeter. He was lockdown in pass pro this season while playing right tackle (1 sack, 2 QB hits, 7 pressures per PFF ), especially versus power rushers, because he can instantly drop his anchor with great technique. His raw power and grip strength are reasons why a transition inside should further boost his stock and alleviate arm-length concerns.
NT Darrell Jackson (Florida State)
Let's say you were building a nose tackle from scratch—they would probably look a lot like Darrell Jackson: 6-foot-5, 328 pounds, with 35-inch arms. He possesses legit play strength and the knockback power in his hands to reset the line of scrimmage when he gets off the ball promptly. Moving him with just one blocker is a real chore, but he's also pretty stout versus double teams with the sheer mass to free up second-level defenders to shoot gaps while he draws additional attention. The biggest question will be whether or not he has enough three-down value to warrant a selection on day two after both his sacks and pressures were more than cut in half this season. It's worth noting that he did come in a little lighter than expected, so I'm curious if that manifests itself into a little more juice off the snap.
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CB Jadon Canady (Oregon)
Canady was a late addition to the Shrine roster, but his infectious energy and ultra-competitive mindset are a welcomed sight to the event. Even though he's undersized for the cornerback position, he plays big: he'll take on pullers in the run game, run through blockers on screens in his direction, and is a fairly reliable tackler in space. Canady first caught my eye in late November with a handful of sticky man coverage reps versus USC standout Makai Lemon. The following week against Washington , he peeled off his assignment to make a spectacular interception in the red zone. He projects best as a slot corner at the next level, but I'm curious about his deployment in the coming days. Size be damned, this is a dude that you want on your team.
This article originally appeared on Steelers Now : Bell: Six NFL Draft Prospects to Watch at East-West Shrine Bowl
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