Give the Juniors a Damn Spot!
The change allows the overall talent pool to deepen…
The latest NFL news reveals a significant change to the rules in the pre-draft process. Juniors are now allowed to participate in events like the Senior Bowl, something typically reserved for seniors as the name suggests.
Just in: The NFL sent a memo to all 32 teams today, informing them that all college juniors who declare for the Draft now will be eligible to play in the Shrine Bowl, Senior Bowl or HBCU Legacy Bowl, per sources.
Last year, 69 juniors entered the draft but couldn’t play in an…
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) November 8, 2023
This college football news also impacts the Shrine Bowl and HBCU Legacy Bowl invites as well. As someone who covers the Senior Bowl each year, this is good news as the talent pool is sure to rise.
As an aside, I may need to up the Peloton rides to prepare for the additional barbecue that will need to be consumed in order to evaluate additional players. My opinion of the change is a bit irrelevant, here is what Senior Bowl executive director Jim Nagy had to say about the news.
“Everyone at @seniorbowl is excited about today’s announcement re: all juniors being eligible for our game,” Nagy tweeted on November 8, 2023. “We’ve been building our board with underclassmen in anticipation of this potentially happening. Looking forward to a great 75th Anniversary game!”
Everyone at @seniorbowl is excited about today’s announcement re: all juniors being eligible for our game.
We’ve been building our board with underclassmen in anticipation of this potentially happening.
Looking forward to great 75th Anniversary game!#TheDraftStartsInMOBILE™️ pic.twitter.com/BKCqzwjCCo
— Jim Nagy (@JimNagy_SB) November 8, 2023
This Is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things
Surprising to no one is that the NFL rumors of this change prompted outrage by some on social media. People are arguing that this change will take away opportunities for graduating seniors to showcase their skills.
This is stupid. Senior bowl is designed for guys that are under the radar to boost their stock or just get a look, period. If you’re confident enough to declare as a junior, why should you take the roster spot of someone’s last chance? https://t.co/fjOmP9gpnY
— Sidelines Sports Network™ (@Sidelines_SN) November 8, 2023
Just because stars like Caleb Williams are now eligible to play in the Senior Bowl does not mean these players will participate. Oftentimes, eligible players who already are projected to go high in the draft skip the Senior Bowl to avoid potentially downgrading their stock.
The change allows the overall talent pool to deepen, but there are still going to be a number of players who end up skipping these games. The counterargument is that for games like the Shrine Bowl it opens up opportunities for under-the-radar juniors.
Letting juniors play in the senior bowl is just a bad move.
Juniors declaring for the draft will almost certainly be drafted, and have good draft stock.
You’re taking away from seniors who want to show scouts they SHOULD get drafted. https://t.co/NoGOTt8QYW
— College Football Report (@CFBRep) November 8, 2023
This seems to be the prevalent argument for seniors but why can’t the same be true for juniors? If there is one critique, it is this news should have been announced in the offseason before NFL games took place to allow the organizers to fully scout junior players.
Okay, But What Is the Senior Bowl?
You may be reading this and have no idea what the Senior Bowl entails. Each year, the Senior Bowl takes place in Mobile, Ala. during the additional week on the NFL calendar between the conference championship games and the Super Bowl.
Despite the name, the most important part of the evaluation process is the practices and interviews conducted with the teams. NFL teams tend to put little stock in the game itself which caps off the week.
This event was previously limited to seniors and graduating juniors. Now, eligible underclassmen will be permitted to play.
Overall, this is going to make for deeper and more competitive events.
Find something else to complain about.
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