The Senior Bowl is the rare All-Star Game that has legitimate long-term implications to it.

Struggle and it can hurt the bank account. Ball out and that bank account see a different kind of payday.

Over the weekend, we saw dozens of SEC players try to accomplish the latter in Mobile. Several SEC players appeared to make a lasting impression to boost their respective draft stocks.

These 5 SEC players did the most in that department:

1. Javon Kinlaw, South Carolina DT

You know you had a good week when you can shut it down before the game is even played. That’s how dominant Kinlaw was in 1 day of practice. The former South Carolina defensive tackle was one of the highest-rated Senior Bowl prospects entering the week (if not the highest), and all he did was continue that.

The guy who was one of the breakout stars in the SEC went to Mobile and showed that he was a cut above the competition. His burst at his size (6-5, 315 pounds) was second to none. As Pro Football Focus wrote, Kinlaw looks like he was built in a lab to play defensive tackle in the NFL. And it’s not just flashes that you see from Kinlaw. He dominates matchups both defending the run and rushing the passer.

It only helped that Kinlaw was able to share his story to the world about how he grew up homeless and that his family lived in basements. He’s far more than a good story. He set himself up to be a multi-million dollar draft pick in the first round.

2. Lamical Perine, Florida RB

It’s almost like Perine decided that he was going to empty the tank starting in the Orange Bowl. What we saw from the Florida back that night and in the Senior Bowl served as a reminder that he’s one of the top backs in the draft. With Florida’s struggling offensive line, Dan Mullen elected to start using Perine as a bigger part of the passing game down the stretch.

The Mobile native showed that versatility by taking a screen pass in for 6 for the first points of the Senior Bowl:

Perine didn’t look “too slow” there.

The guy who was told he wasn’t fast enough to be an SEC running back continues to play with that chip on his shoulder. The 2019 numbers won’t necessarily show it, but plays like that are proof of just how hard he runs. He’s got the makings of a 3-down back in today’s NFL if he goes to the right situation.

I’ve got to think that Perine, who probably entered the week as someone who teams were hoping to snag on Day 3, is going to have some teams seriously consider getting him off the board on Day 2 as one of the top 5 backs in the draft.

3. Damien Lewis, LSU OG

And as many LSU fans pointed out, who was it who paved the way for Perine on that screen pass? It was Lewis and Lloyd Cushenberry, who were fresh off helping LSU win a national title. It would’ve been easy for someone like Lewis to pass on the Senior Bowl after a long season against elite competition. LSU did win the Joe Moore Award as the best offensive line in college football.

But instead, he showed up in Mobile ready to roll.

After he was a late addition, Lewis impressed all week with plays like that. In addition to showing that he can move downfield and make blocks, the right guard held his own in pass protection.

That might not necessarily make Lewis some must-grab, early-round pick, but a week like that should certainly make sure that he’s at least a mid-round guy who can immediately help a team in need on the interior offensive line.

4. Van Jefferson, Florida WR

I’ve been wondering about how Jefferson would perform in the pre-draft process. I think at Ole Miss and Florida, he was always either surrounded by elite, NFL-ready receivers (A.J. Brown and D.K. Metcalf at Ole Miss) or he was in an offense that shared the wealth. What we knew was that despite the fact that he never put up elite numbers in college, he was an exceptional route-runner.

He reminded us of that in Mobile:

Sheesh. That looks like someone who learned a thing or 2 from Brown about how to get separation.

Everyone remembered what Jefferson showed us against Derek Stingley. He handed Stingley, AKA the top returning defensive player in America, what looked like the toughest stretch of his All-America season. It helped to get another glimpse of Jefferson as a route-runner at the Senior Bowl.

He doesn’t have that exceptional speed and at 6-2, 197, he’s not going to be used as that big, physical downfield target, but Jefferson is ready to run elite routes and have a long career getting open in the NFL.

5. Jauan Jennings, Tennessee WR

Jennings is gonna be one of those guys who we look back on and wish he could’ve had a quarterback in the latter half of his career. On Saturday, he got to play with one of the nation’s best in Jalen Hurts, and he promptly delivered a touchdown grab (on a beautiful ball) late in the Senior Bowl.

But more impressive than that was watching how the 6-3 wideout got off the ball. He attacks jump balls and isn’t afraid of being physical on the outside (Pro Football Focus had him for 30 forced missed tackles in 2019):

That physicality is going to be a major plus for Jennings during the evaluation process. It’s not often that you see receivers who are willing to line up as a wildcat quarterback and run between the tackles, which Jennings did throughout his senior year in Knoxville.

A career that looked like it was over a couple of years ago in the Butch Jones fallout certainly was given new life thanks to Jeremy Pruitt and his staff. You can bet Pruitt was smiling ear to ear watching Jennings make himself some money in Mobile.