NFL insider notebook New NIL rules could

Current undercla smen at schools acro s the country could look at this year's NFL Draft and see an opportunity for themselves. One hundred of the 128 undercla smen who declared got drafted. No NFL Draft before had seen more than 73 undercla smen be drafted, and nine of the top 10 drafted players were undercla smen.But one year is not a trend, certainly not after such an anomalous 2020 pandemic-altering season. In fact, the biggest reason we're seeing such high-level college football these first few weeks seems to have plenty to do with the "super seniors" who got an extra year of eligibility, and there's optimism in NFL circles that this year could prove a turning point from the annual trend of dozens of undercla smen going undrafted.That's what I've gathered after talking Alexander Mogilny Jersey with agents, scouts and personnel executives around the league the last two weeks. A historic amount of players with degrees coupled with new NIL rules could lead to a needed sea change that will impact both college and pro football."The number of undercla smen going in the top 4-5 rounds will remain largely consistent with years past, but those late-round type guys should be more likely to stay in school," one NFC scout told me this week. The National Football Foundation reports that 1,922 players at 125 FBS schools are playing this year with their undergraduate degrees already in hand. That's more than double the 964 players in 2019, and it far outpaces the 835 players in 2018 and 721 players in 2017. (The NFF didn't tally the numbers last season.) Pick Six Newsletter Crafted By The Best NFL Experts Get the day's big stories + fun stuff you love like mock drafts, picks and power rankings. I agree to receive the "Pick Six Newsletter" and marketing communications, updates, special offers (including partner offers), and other information from CBS Sports and the Paramount family of companies. By pre sing sign up, I confirm that I have read and agree to the and acknowledge Paramount's . Please check the opt-in box to acknowledge that you would like to subscribe. Thanks for signing up! Keep an eye on your inbox. Sorry! There was an error proce sing your subscription. The reason for the big number is obvious: the COVID-19 pandemic granted an extra year of eligibility to all fall sport athletes.Those players with an extra year under their belts will be flooding the draft market in a few months, theoretically squeezing out the Day 3 undercla smen that in years past have vied for those slots. Until 2008, the NFL had never seen 50 or more undercla smen declare Justin Falk Kids Jersey for the draft in a single season. In 2014, it ballooned from 73 to 102 while breaking the century mark for the first time. The number has stayed above 100 since 2016.While the number of undercla smen declaring for the draft has grown over the years, the percentage of undercla smen going undrafted year to year has remained roughly the same. Eight undercla smen went unselected in the 1996 NFL Draft, and that represented a near identical percentage of the group as the 37 players that went undrafted in the 2016 NFL Draft.What's concerning is the trend we saw before the anomalous 2021 NFL Draft. In the three drafts between 2018-2020, 41.7% of players with remaining eligibility who left for the draft did not get picked. Before this year's draft, the 2019 NFL Draft set a league record for most undercla smen declaring (135), most undercla smen drafted (73) and most undercla smen undrafted (62). Forty-six percent of undercla smen who declared were not selected in 2019, an all-time record. There's a caution against finding too many trends in this data. Decisions to leave with Scott Wilson Jersey remaining eligibility are individual decisions. Those players are influenced by a unique group of people around them. Sure, they all get guidance from the NFL Draft Advisory Board, but that's about the only control group involved in the decision-making proce s. Everything else is fluid."Yes," said an AFC scout agreeing with the thesis that there should be fewer undrafted undercla smen, "but they also worry more about getting injured." Staying in school for another year means being another year from getting a four-year contract in the NFL.One potential saving grace here is the introduction of NIL money into the equation for undercla smen thinking of making the jump. NIL money isn't NFL money, but players who are good enough to get drafted are, in theory, good enough to get some money off their name, image and likene s. "Too many fringe prospects leave school early because of financial need," the NFC scout said. "They screw up their long-term futures (in their long-term careers as well as sacrificing a chance to get their degree) by making short-sighted financial decisions. Evan Rodrigues Women Jersey The NIL stuff would provide another alternative."One agent talked me through how this could go down with a player: the top schools are a sembling NIL departments. They will pitch these fringe draft players on local and national sponsors they are working with or soon will work with. It continues: It's an interesting consideration. I certainly won't argue with a young man deciding to forego the final year of college for the dream and riches of the NFL, but only if he knows he'll get drafted. Seeing the dozens of players each year who make the ill-advised decision to leave school just to go undrafted is difficult, and maybe this year will offer a course correction that will benefit the players, college football and the NFL.I've heard the were working the phones early in the week to get some linebacker help for their defense following the 38-3 drubbing by the . Green Bay (obviously) didn't get much in the way of help, though, as teams who may have been willing to part with linebackers two weeks ago didn't want to do it now that the season has begun and injuries have already taken place.I loved what Nick Sirianni did in his first game as head coach. Sirianni didn't make the game too difficult for his second-year quarterback . He gave the QB options in the pa sing game while not forcing him to read every little thing the defense was doing. "There's a couple times where, 'Hey, Jalen on this coverage, on this play, I want your eyes over here.' All right, and there's a guy blitzing over here, and he felt and he went out," Sirianni said this week. "So, he kind of showed really good instincts and good feel."About a third of Hurts' attempts were at or behind the line of scrimmage. No Week 1 quarterback had fewer completed air yards (3.4) or intended air yards (3.7), and that was clearly the plan against a bad defense. (He was also lethal down the field once he lulled Atlanta to sleep.) But that style won't work against the Conor Sheary Women Jersey this Sunday, and Sirianni will need Hurts to use his legs more against San Francisco. But if this is a trend of Sirianni tailoring the game plan to both Hurts and the opponent, it's an encouraging sign for fans.You'll recall back in June when defensive end