Caleb Farley was the first top prospect to make the decision that has added a whole new layer of uncertainty to the annual crapshoot that is the NFL draft.
The talented Virginia Tech cornerback decided back in July to skip the 2020 season because of the coronavirus. Having lost his mother to cancer in 2018, Farley was unwilling to put another loved one at risk and felt it would be safer to skip the season no matter the impact on his draft status.
Farley had plenty of players follow his lead, including several others set to be high draft picks next week such as LSU receiver Ja’Marr Chase, Oregon tackle Penei Sewell, Northwestern tackle Rashawn Slater and Penn State linebacker Micah Parsons.
Now it’s up to NFL teams to figure out how much to weigh those decisions in their draft evaluations and how to project what kind of prospects they will be.
“We’re talking about top 10, top 15 players that you haven’t seen in over a year,” ESPN draft analyst Todd McShay said. “It’s challenging. It really is because you don’t know where they are physically. There’s a difference between working out and being in good shape and then football shape. I think it’s going to play a big part into this year’s draft in terms of teams just wanting to know what they see.”