2023 NFL draft: 10 biggest offensive standouts from 2023 East-West Shrine & Senior Bowl events

#6. Daniel Barker, Michigan State (TE)

Illinois v Michigan State

These All-Star events are always a great opportunity for players who were underutilized in college to prove they can take on a more extensive role at the next level, and that’s true for tight ends in particular.

Daniel Barker’s production over the last four years (three with Illinois and one with the MSU) was very consistent, but never really up to where you want to see it (catching between 18 and 21 passes for 200 to 300 yards in each of them).

Day one, this guy kind of looked different to the rest of the TE group, as he had a few very impressive routes versus the safeties in one-on-ones. Barker's ability to attack the blind spots of those guys, stay disciplined without tilting in his stem, and get a step on them with his burst out of the break was on display (on corner and out routes, particularly early on).

Yet, he continued to excel on day two, where I thought he manipulated guys with his eyes, some hesitation and body language, before sticking his foot in the ground and getting away from them. Just watching the release drills, I thought Barker looked more like a receiver at times against true square press, throwing out a split release and blowing by DBs untouched basically.

During team drills, he showcased the speed to quickly clear the second level on seam/streak routes and then got his head around right away (where those Shrine quarterbacks passed on multiple opportunities to feed him the ball, I thought).

When tangled up with DBs further down the field, Barker packed a pretty strong rip, to fight through the reach of defenders trying to grab him. And then off that ability to push vertically, he features a quick turn to the outside on hitches and hooks, to make the safety flying down on him miss.

You typically saw him pluck the ball out of the air and rip it into his frame, especially when going over the middle. Finally, while Barker probably isn’t a major asset in pass-pro, he did enough versus the linebackers to guide them off track, usually during those drills.