“I didn’t originally get invited to the Senior Bowl,” said Armstead, a Saint from 2013-21 who was an All-Pro in 2018 and three-time Pro Bowler in New Orleans. “I was in the East-West Shrine Game (played at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Fla.) and about a week after playing in the East-West Shrine Game, I got invited to the Senior Bowl.
“So I drove from Pensacola, where I was training, over to the Senior Bowl. And it was extremely influential, and I would say monumental, for me in my process to get drafted. Because my big question was, Can I play against the top-level competition? Once I got to the Senior Bowl, I saw the guys from Georgia, LSU, Alabama… and I was able to answer a lot of those questions.”
Armstead, who starred at Arkansas-Pine Bluff, started the last 91 games he played as a Saint. He had no idea, from his Senior Bowl experience, that the franchise was interested.
“I didn’t have any conversation with the Saints at the Senior Bowl,” he said. “I had one visit to the Saints, and it was a group visit so it was, like, 20 players or so. And I didn’t feel like those guys were interested in me at all. I had a meeting with the O-line coach for about an hour, I shook hands with (Coach) Sean Payton – literally, 30 seconds – and that was it. So, I didn’t think I was on the Saints’ radar at all.”
Turns out, New Orleans saw all it needed to see despite an abbreviated week in which Armstead missed team meetings, practices and meetings with coaches due to the late invitation. He said he had one real practice, then played in the Senior Bowl.
“Just looking back at the process and how everything played out, I know for a fact that the Senior Bowl was huge for me, being a small-school guy,” said Armstead, said.
“I’m forever grateful. The Senior Bowl is great. Played a huge part in my career and me being drafted. I strongly believe that, so I’m an advocate for them.”