ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — NFL scouts have flocked to the Shrine Game this week to evaluate some of the top senior talent in the country. And despite a steady rain, that talent was on display during the first practices of the week Monday for the East and West squads, especially at the wide receiver position.

William & Mary wide receiver Tre McBride is arguably the top offensive talent here this week, and he showed why with his advanced understanding of the position. At 6-feet-1 and 205 pounds with 4.50 speed, he doesn’t have imposing size or blazing speed, but he prides himself on the details, selling routes and using his foot quickness in his breaks to create just enough separation. McBride did an excellent job attacking the ball in the air with his quick eyes and hands, also taking reps as a punt returner.

McBride is more smooth than explosive, reminding me a lot of Pierre Garcon when he entered the NFL out of Division III Mount Union. Scouts wanted to know how McBride would match up against FBS talent this week, but he quickly passed that test as the only way scouts could tell he wasn’t from a top program was the “Tribe” helmet.

Maryland wide receiver Deon Long has traveled a winding road to get to this point and has taken advantage of his opportunities, including an invitation to this all-star game. On multiple occasions Monday, he received praise from the coaching staff for his consistent effort working back and attacking the ball, making sure the defensive back and no chance to make a play. Long has average height and a lean, wiry build, but he uses his size well and doesn’t show any passiveness going up to highpoint with his hands.

Although Stefon Diggs gets most of the attention and is projected to be the first Maryland wide receiver drafted in the 2015 NFL Draft, Long has NFL talent himself and showed that on Monday.

Other Monday practice notes:

–Georgia Tech wide receiver Darren Waller certainly looks the part at 6-5 and 240 pounds, using his size to be an easy target for the quarterbacks. But his raw technique was evident during practice, playing too high in his breaks and struggling to sink his hips and dip his shoulder to accelerate in his routes. Waller has some ankle stiffness and is forced to use multiple motions when attempting to sell patterns, tipping off defensive backs to his path. The size is intriguing, but his development this week will be important.

–A college quarterback, Michigan’s Devin Gardner is making the transition to wide receiver for the next level, a position he played briefly in his Ann Arbor career. However, he is understandably still very raw as a wideout. During Monday’s practice, Gardner rounded off routes, dropped passes and attracted a good amount of attention from the coaches as they tried to coach him up. He did some things well and has the athleticism for his size that should translate well, but it will certainly take some time before he sheds the “quarterback trying to play wide receiver” label.

–Wide receiver Kasen Williams had a Jekyll & Hyde type of career at Washington, showing flashes of brilliance but then disappearing for long stretches. And Monday’s practice was similar as he showed NFL talent with athletic catches, but he was also the target of a lot of yelling by the coaches as he struggled with technique and didn’t consistently play up to the level that he’s capable of. Although he’s not yet the sum of his parts, Williams is very intriguing because of the talent that flashes.

Dane Brugler is an Analyst for NFLDraftScout.com, a property of The Sports Xchange distributed in partnership with CBSSports.com.