ANNAPOLIS, Md.—Navy senior snipe (slot) Eli Heidenreich has been named to the Senior Bowl 300 Watch List.
The Senior Bowl scouting department, comprised entirely of former NFL scouts, has been hard at work since last February, evaluating over 2,000 prospects from all levels of college football. From that extensive and competitive process, the Senior Bowl Top 300 was composed.
The Senior Bowl takes great pride in identifying and showcasing the "Best of the Best." The results speak for themselves: 50% of the players selected in the top three rounds of the 2025 NFL Draft were Senior Bowl participants. In keeping with that high standard, the Senior Bowl made a deliberate decision to be more selective, thus moving away from the 850 players featured on last year's watch list and narrowing the focus to a more exclusive group of 300.
This list represents more than just a preseason acknowledgment; it is a reflection of the highest standards in college football. Being named to the Senior Bowl Top 300 list is a meaningful honor and signals that the prospects on this list are viewed among the very best in the country. Only draft eligible players are featured on this list.
"We decided to trim our watch list from 850 to 300 to raise the bar and truly spotlight the top-tier talent across the country," says Senior Bowl Executive Director Drew Fabianich. "Our staff has been working rigorously to identify the top talent in this year's draft class and the players on this list have stood out so far, but this is just the beginning. This season is the most valuable part of our process and there is still plenty of football to be played. Our scouts will be on the road every week, tracking how these players perform and who continues to rise."
The Panini Senior Bowl is widely regarded as the preeminent college football all-star game and the first stage in the NFL Draft process. The longest continual-running all-star game has taken place in Mobile, Alabama, the past 76 years. More than 900 NFL personnel, including key decision-makers from all 32 teams, and over 1100 media members from around the country were credentialed last year. This past April, the game produced 106 total picks, representing 40 percent of the entire NFL draft. The 2026 Panini Senior Bowl will take place on Saturday, January 31, 2026, at 2:30 p.m. ET at South Alabama's Hancock Whitney Stadium.
Navy safety Rayuan Lane III played in the game last year and was drafted in the sixth round by the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Heidenreich, a starter in 17 games during his career, has 10-career touchdown receptions which is tied for the third most in program history and the most since Jamir Tillman had 10 from 2013-16. He needs four touchdown catches this fall to set the school record.
Heidenreich's six touchdown receptions in 2024 tied for the most in school history. He had a touchdown catch in four-straight games and looked like it would be five-straight as he caught a touchdown pass against Air Force that ended up getting called back due to a penalty. He was the first Navy player to have a touchdown catch in four-straight games since Jamir Tillman in 2015 and was the first Navy receiver with back-to-back 100-yard receiving games since Tillman in 2015.
Heidenreich was the number two-rated receiver among all position players (min. of 50 targets) by Pro Football Focus last year.
A starter in all 13 games a year ago, he was the team's leading receiver with 671 yards and six touchdowns on 39 catches and stood third on the team in rushing with 444 yards and three touchdowns on 65 carries.
Heidenreich is averaging 18.8 yards per catch in his career (51 catches / 960 yds) which is the sixth-best average in school history.
He has scored 14 career touchdowns (10 receiving, four rushing).
