07-26-2020, 10:58 AM
Just as the title states, I feel really bad for all of the undrafted rookies entering the league this year, and for all the guys who are just fighing to get on a roster.
They've lost so many opportunites that they would normally have in a non-Covid season. Gone are OTA's, gone are minicamps, and now gone are preseason games. Even training camp has been drastically altered, and shortened. The chances of these guys being able to make an impression and earn a spot is now significantly lower.
And if all of that is not enough, you then have to consider what could or should have been viable alternatives, had they not made an NFL roster. The XFL, despite pretty decent success, folded due to their season's cancelation. That opportunity is now gone forever. The CFL's 2020 season is postponed indefinitely. The AAF went belly up. The Arena League is now too gone, having filed bancrupcy at the end of 2019.
It's bad enough these guys may not get a fair shake for a chance in the NFL, but now they no other options. What do these guys do to try to extend their careers? How do they stay sharp and in shape for next season? How do you properly train and condition to be a professional athlete working a 9-5, without access to the proper facilites and training/coaches?
I think the reality is a lot of these guys will simply be forgotten. You'll have a fresh new class of undrafted guys coming in next year, further muddying the waters. They've lost the ability to be the next Kurt Warner in the Arena League. They have nowhere to go to showcase their talents.
I think of a guy like Michael Warren from UC. He rushed for 2,594 yards and had 33 TD's in the last two seasons. He was projected as mid to late round pick. He came out early. He didn't get to everything at the combine due to an injury and was going to do more at his Pro Day. The problem is he never got to have a Pro-Day because of Covid. As a result, he then went undrafted. Now he's left to deal with the all of the above. What happens to him?
There's a lot of other guys just like him. Of all the years to enter the draft early, and you're left with this? No Pro-Day, no OTA's, no minicamp, no preseason games...nothing. It's all gone. And you've got zero alternatives to the NFL to boot.
Sucks, man. I feel for a lot of these kids. I can't imagine working most of your life for a goal and to be met with this. I'm sure going undrafted is heartbreaking and bad enough, but this is something else. It's like being completely robbed of your chance.
Will Compton, who hosts a podcast and occasionally writes for Barstool recently wrote a piece about this, that I think many of you may enjoy. For those that don't know who he is, he's a former undrafted guy that's been in the NFL since 2013. Here's his piece:
https://www.barstoolsports.com/blog/2688637/to-the-gritty-undrafted-nfl-players
They've lost so many opportunites that they would normally have in a non-Covid season. Gone are OTA's, gone are minicamps, and now gone are preseason games. Even training camp has been drastically altered, and shortened. The chances of these guys being able to make an impression and earn a spot is now significantly lower.
And if all of that is not enough, you then have to consider what could or should have been viable alternatives, had they not made an NFL roster. The XFL, despite pretty decent success, folded due to their season's cancelation. That opportunity is now gone forever. The CFL's 2020 season is postponed indefinitely. The AAF went belly up. The Arena League is now too gone, having filed bancrupcy at the end of 2019.
It's bad enough these guys may not get a fair shake for a chance in the NFL, but now they no other options. What do these guys do to try to extend their careers? How do they stay sharp and in shape for next season? How do you properly train and condition to be a professional athlete working a 9-5, without access to the proper facilites and training/coaches?
I think the reality is a lot of these guys will simply be forgotten. You'll have a fresh new class of undrafted guys coming in next year, further muddying the waters. They've lost the ability to be the next Kurt Warner in the Arena League. They have nowhere to go to showcase their talents.
I think of a guy like Michael Warren from UC. He rushed for 2,594 yards and had 33 TD's in the last two seasons. He was projected as mid to late round pick. He came out early. He didn't get to everything at the combine due to an injury and was going to do more at his Pro Day. The problem is he never got to have a Pro-Day because of Covid. As a result, he then went undrafted. Now he's left to deal with the all of the above. What happens to him?
There's a lot of other guys just like him. Of all the years to enter the draft early, and you're left with this? No Pro-Day, no OTA's, no minicamp, no preseason games...nothing. It's all gone. And you've got zero alternatives to the NFL to boot.
Sucks, man. I feel for a lot of these kids. I can't imagine working most of your life for a goal and to be met with this. I'm sure going undrafted is heartbreaking and bad enough, but this is something else. It's like being completely robbed of your chance.
Will Compton, who hosts a podcast and occasionally writes for Barstool recently wrote a piece about this, that I think many of you may enjoy. For those that don't know who he is, he's a former undrafted guy that's been in the NFL since 2013. Here's his piece:
https://www.barstoolsports.com/blog/2688637/to-the-gritty-undrafted-nfl-players
