Draft dodgers
We posted a list of the teams that lost the most – and the best – at the deadline for third-year players to declare for the NFL draft.
Clemson, of course, lost a lot, especially with the leadership and play-making of Deshaun Watson and Mike Williams. Florida did, too, and the Gators lost four big-time stars – and two first-round corners – from a defense that carried it to another SEC East title. That is to be expected in most cases. Guys who can make a check playing football need to start making those checks as soon as possible in most cases. One injury could change everything in this game.
At the other end of the spectrum, quite possibly the most impactful recruiting that can be done for the fall happens in the first part of January.
Alabama had four very high draft picks eschew last year’s draft and return to school. The result was a defense that was suffocating until it ran of gas in the final 15 minutes of the title game. (Side note: There will be a couple of interesting test cases from that group. Reuben Foster and Jonathan Allen greatly enhanced their value by coming back, and each could be top 10 picks – heck, the CBSsports.com mock draft has Allen No. 2 overall and Foster going fifth to Tennessee. On the flip side, how Eddie Jackson’s knee injury affects his stock – he was going to be no worse than a mid-second-rounder last year – will be intriguing.)