Detroit takes the first USports player in the 2024 draft! Will capture the attention of the Windsor market.
Seahawks take an OT from Findlay in the 6th Round.
I felt that was a pretty great thing because it proves the line “playing in front of big crowds is important to scouts” is horseshit logic and just a way/con to get a talent to move from school A to B. Kids, listen up: if you are successful, sometimes it pays to stay right where you are.
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Not sure that’s definitive. Only 16 players drafted so far - through 6 rounds - are not from P5 schools. That’s 16 of 220.
It’s not common but it can happen. That was my only point.
They call them unicorns.
Your math is wrong. I count at least 24 now from the supposed minors. A couple of those are from Canada and one from the UK. At least 12 percent of this draft. Maybe more. Let’s see how round 7 goes.
Edit: up to 29 now and round 7 isn’t over.
The total of ALL players drafted who weren’t from P5 programs in 2024 ended up being 35. That’s 14% of the 257 players drafted.
I compared that to the 2019 draft - a year before the COVID season and before the advent and liberalization of the Transfer Portal and the legalization of NIL
In the 2019 Draft, a total of 71 non-P5 players were selected from 254 drafted. That includes players from teams that were classified as G5 in 2019 like UCF, Houston, BYU and UC. That was 28% of the total.
I think the portal, elimination of the transfer penalty and NIL has had the predictable impact of moving draftable NFL talent from the G5 and below up to the P5.
We are at 32 players. So maybe 11-12% of the total? The early rounds were usual suspects but by round 5, we see 4-6 each round going, and actually I feel like a bunch went in round 3. I know the odds aren’t as good but it’s nice to see the outliers still can exist and get noticed.
This year G5 and below had 1 in round 1, 1 in round 2, and 5 in round 3.
In 2019 G5 and below had 2 in round 1, 8 in round 2, and 13 in round 3.
The overall in 2024 is half of what we had in 2019. That’s significant atrophy. I expect it to be worse the next few years as the impact of penalty free multiple transfers and increasing NIL bounties is felt in totality.
Well, the great tell would be actual NFL rosters. I’d love to see that because so many undrafted players get invites and some make it.
Yeah but you’d need to weed out those who have been on the rosters for about three years.
I always watched Pittsburgh’s roster because when Ben was playing they sometimes carried up to 11 MAC players. Last season they had none.
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