Hot Take: NFL draft prospects should opt out of bowl games

[onewoof]

Any player that is a consensus round 1 & 2 draft prospect should opt out of bowl games, but be on the sideline with their teams. Unless it's 1 of the 4 playoff spots for the national championship.

 

[KentuckyDawg13]

Are you suggesting a certain LT was not at the game on the sideline?

 

[57stratdawg]

I don’t blame any player for opting out of any game. We like to qualify and say “if they’re a 1st or 2nd round pick”, but that seems like being a little pregnant. Are we really going to fault a guy projected to be a 3rd round pick with kids or parents he’s having to support?

If anything some of these middle round guys look more exposed, because if they blow out a knee they might not get drafted at all. The Corrall’s and Charles Cross’ of the world seem like locks to be in the League for at least 3 to 5 years.

 

[onewoof]

I think Corral will be a late 5th or 6th round pick and people will believe it's due to his injury in the bowl game. I think he would have been that low anyway.

Regardless, it's going to result in more players opting out next year for bowl games

 

[BigDawg0074]

It’s not right to hold players to any standard that we wouldn’t for coaches or ADs.

 

[Cooterpoot]

Look, I'm not arguing either side, but the trickle down effect is happening and growing with this, and it's bad for the game. Guys are now being told to opt out in the regular season if they lose a couple games. HS kids are starting to opt out the same way. It's going to snow ball.

 

[Quincy A. Wagstaff]

If coaches can opt out so can players.

College football made bowls meaningless. Coaches opt out for their next job. Players should be able to opt out for their next job. Programs should embrace players opting out of a meaningless game as opportunities to get reps for players that will be on the team next year.Column: At the end of a contentious day on the bowl opt-out front, the sight of Matt Corral on crutches served as a reminder not to judge players' decisions https://t.co/LJy80PSVcw— Pat Forde (@ByPatForde) January 2, 2022

 

[thatsbaseball]

It's amazing how many people have not caught on to how much "college" football has changed in the last 3-5 years. And your analogy of "being a little pregnant" can be expanded to more areas than just the draft. When they took away all semblance of it being an amateur sport (however weak a charade it was) then it became ALL about the money. Folks that are holding on to such old traditions such as loyalty to teammates, coaches and schools just don't get that it's purely a business now. It's really sad to see things go this way but that's where we are.