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What Happened to Drafting Our Beloved Ducks?

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According to James Creapea, "Fewest Oregon players drafted since none were selected in 2017."

 

I am just trying to think of what caused so many to leave for the NFL when obviously they were not ready. I know hindsight is 20-20, but I was just wondering........

 

  1. 1. Did the coaching change this year not give these players the feedback they could have gotten from coaches normally?
  2. 2, Were agents feeding them false info?
  1. 3. Were families overestimating the player's value?
  1. 4. Were the players just too high on themselves?
  1. 5. Who is there to advise them about the value of a degree when you may not get drafted or chances of making a team are low?

 

I hope the players from this year learn from this. What do you think?

Edited by Pennsylvania Duck
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My first thought is we haven’t been assessing, recruiting and/or developing speed like we thought we were.

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Receivers leaving early with hardly any stats is ridiculous. So is D players leaving early when UO was nearly dead last in third down stops in the country along with many other bad numbers. KT had the national hype but I think the others may have had friend and family hype which is not the same thing.

One year with the Lanning staff would have help everybody.

 

Live and learn.

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Pennsylvania Duck, items 1-5 that you posted, in addition to a myriad of other reasons may have come into play. 

 

I know on occasion family financial hardships have forced young men to make moves that physically, mentally, and emotionally they’re just not ready to make.  In the end, some of these players are made to face the cold hard truth that they’re just not good enough to see their dream through to the end, and they self-impose the burden of letting-down loved ones and disappointing peers.  Not saying that's the case with any of our Ducks, but it happens.

  

Unfortunately, I’m sure these players are being fed a ton of misinformation by sources that have their own interest at heart instead of having a genuine concern for the player.  I’m not sure what kind of tools or programs are set in place to educate players on, “What happens when you’re not drafted?”  Players should know the financial implications.  What would my salary be if I was a more polished 3rd or 4th round selection?  Is the average NFL player lifespan greater for a drafted player vs. and undrafted free agent? 

 

I would have many more questions, and the day-to-day in the NFL is so unpredictable it very difficult to compartmentalize this as I’m trying to do.  I know if I was considering this exceptionally life-altering move, I would appreciate honest feedback on what my value and trajectory may look like at the next level.  Nothing promised, but please give me something to ponder. 

  

This really makes me think of Devon Williams and how I hoped he would be here this fall.  I thought he was a rising player with a superb catch radius and an improving knack of high-pointing the ball.  He has room to grow physically (Is there a better place to do that than here?), his game tape would be significantly better, and with this coaching staff I find it hard to believe his repertoire wouldn’t have grown dramatically.  I think he really missed an opportunity here, but I wish him the best in the NFL.    

 

DuckPhan has another solid point.  The NFL is not only about your college numbers and game tape, it's about measurables and trajectory.  You got the speed, you got a chance.   

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Well, we can see that nationally the Pac12 reputation has dropped. Perception is reality, and the reality is the Pac doesn't measure up. 

 

Oregons undrafted players tested poorly and they're numbers weren't impressive during the season.

 

They'll get their shot, some like Williams (who has financial issues) could have benefitted from coming back. The others have hit their ceiling. It is what it is. 

 

The National Champions had 15 people drafted. The Pac12 runners-up had one. 

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Jester - I agree with your points. I am just sorry to see that so many of these kids left early and perhaps didn't see that their dreams weren't going to come true first.

 

I am not sure how Oregon athletics is set up, but all these kids should have access to counseling as to what their draft outcome realistically might be prior to leaving school.

These facts need to be told to these kids by someone who has interest for the good of the player, independent of agents, coaches, or even family.

 

Even for a player who might have financial problems, a college degree will be his biggest asset if he doesn't get drafted or has a short career. To be honest, I don't know

how many of our undrafted players have graduated.

 

Hopefully, future Duck players will take this draft into consideration and ask lots of questions before making a decision.

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All the draft "experts" were full of it, and not just on Oregon players who were expected to be drafted.  All I heard was how the Steelers were in love with Malik Willis but he wouldn't be available for them at #20, how all these QBs were going to go in the first round, etc. etc.  

 

The Steelers drafted a different QB, and guys like Willis lasted until the third round.  One Penn State O-lineman I saw mocked in the first round by multiple people finally got drafted toward the end of the seventh round.

 

I consistently saw McKinley mocked into the 3rd or 4th rounds, and look what happened.

 

The draft is just like recruiting and the transfer portal - lots of kids who think they're better than they really are or constantly get told they're better than they really are - and find out the hard way.  And lots of "experts" who rate guys with 4 or 5 stars...and then those guys end up entering the transfer portal because they're third on the depth chart.

 

It's all such an inexact science (more guesswork than science, really).  When I saw the 40 times and other measurables for guys like Verdell and McKinley, I figured they faced long odds of getting drafted.

 

 

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On 4/30/2022 at 10:22 PM, Pennsylvania Duck said:

Jester - I agree with your points. I am just sorry to see that so many of these kids left early and perhaps didn't see that their dreams weren't going to come true first.

 

I am not sure how Oregon athletics is set up, but all these kids should have access to counseling as to what their draft outcome realistically might be prior to leaving school.

These facts need to be told to these kids by someone who has interest for the good of the player, independent of agents, coaches, or even family.

 

Even for a player who might have financial problems, a college degree will be his biggest asset if he doesn't get drafted or has a short career. To be honest, I don't know

how many of our undrafted players have graduated.

 

Hopefully, future Duck players will take this draft into consideration and ask lots of questions before making a decision.

Undergrad players can request an evaluation of draft potential from the NFL prior to entering the draft.  From the NFL operations site...

 

To help both the clubs, who want NFL-ready players in the Draft, and the student-athletes, who are looking to enter the Draft early, the NFL relies on its College Advisory Committee. The Committee, which includes high-level personnel evaluators from NFL clubs and directors from the league’s two sanctioned scouting organizations (National Football Scouting and BLESTO), advises underclassmen on their draft prospects before they make a formal request to the league to join the Draft.

 

The College Advisory Committee’s process for determining whether underclassmen are ready for the NFL changed in 2014. Under the revised NFL guidelines, a college can request evaluations for only five players, with exceptions determined on a case-by-case basis; previously, there was no limit on the number of players from one team who could be reviewed.

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On 5/1/2022 at 9:36 AM, McDuck said:

Undergrad players can request an evaluation of draft potential from the NFL prior to entering the draft.  From the NFL operations site...

 

To help both the clubs, who want NFL-ready players in the Draft, and the student-athletes, who are looking to enter the Draft early, the NFL relies on its College Advisory Committee. The Committee, which includes high-level personnel evaluators from NFL clubs and directors from the league’s two sanctioned scouting organizations (National Football Scouting and BLESTO), advises underclassmen on their draft prospects before they make a formal request to the league to join the Draft.

 

The College Advisory Committee’s process for determining whether underclassmen are ready for the NFL changed in 2014. Under the revised NFL guidelines, a college can request evaluations for only five players, with exceptions determined on a case-by-case basis; previously, there was no limit on the number of players from one team who could be reviewed.

Thank you. Isn't there a limit on the # of players from 1 team that CAC will rank?

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Um, but a few Ducks (Brown, Verdell, Williams, McKinley) have signed with teams via free agency--and isn't that considered better than being drafted in the later rounds? At least, that's how I understand it. Maybe a couple of others will sign in the next few days?

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On 5/1/2022 at 9:02 AM, Jon Joseph said:

Thank you. Isn't there a limit on the # of players from 1 team that CAC will rank?

 Under the revised NFL guidelines, a college can request evaluations for only five players, with exceptions determined on a case-by-case basis; previously, there was no limit on the number of players from one team who could be reviewed.

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On 5/1/2022 at 12:12 PM, Annie said:

Um, but a few Ducks (Brown, Verdell, Williams, McKinley) have signed with teams via free agency--and isn't that considered better than being drafted in the later rounds? At least, that's how I understand it. Maybe a couple of others will sign in the next few days?

These players have signed undrafted free agent contracts. The chances of making an NFL roster is much lower.

 

I read an article regarding the 2020 draft where only 33 undrafted free agents actually make an NFL roster. That number was considered impressive! 

Only 24 drafted players did not make their teams that year. A big difference.

 

The article I read is below.

 

Screen-Shot-2020-09-06-at-11.50.21-PM.pn
WWW.NFLDRAFTDIAMONDS.COM

Reggie Gilliam made the Buffalo Bills 53 man roster after getting signed as an undrafted free agent. I love this signing!

 

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On 5/1/2022 at 12:08 AM, shawnski said:

Well, we can see that nationally the Pac12 reputation has dropped. Perception is reality, and the reality is the Pac doesn't measure up. 

 

Oregons undrafted players tested poorly and they're numbers weren't impressive during the season.

 

They'll get their shot, some like Williams (who has financial issues) could have benefitted from coming back. The others have hit their ceiling. It is what it is. 

 

The National Champions had 15 people drafted. The Pac12 runners-up had one. 

The final 2022 Draft numbers by conference.

 

SEC - 65 - Vandy 0 - this is to be expected. Auburn 1 - this is terrible for a 'big time' SEC program - 4.6 per team

 

B1G - 48 - 3.4 per team.

 

B12/Pac-12 - 25 -  B12  2.5 per team  Pac-12  2.08 per team

 

ACC - 19 - 1.35 per team

 

AAC - 19 - Cincinnati had 9 players drafted. 

 

The SEC again cements its CFB #1 conference ranking.  It will of course add 2 more teams to the per team mix but OK/TX will add to the SEC's total numbers.

 

Not sure about a Power 2? But there is definitely a Power 1.

 

Sending guys to the NFL absolutely matters when it comes to recruiting so it becomes rinse and repeat.

 

 

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     Excellent points PD. The sum of all these insightful views would seem to point towards the need to create an athletic department exploratory committee whose goal would be to help determine athletes’ needs regarding the cause and effect of leaving early, leading towards the possible creation of an official counseling service (attached to the Jaqua Center?) that would enlighten this life-changing decision process.

 

     Yet again, Oregon’s unique capacity for innovation could be a great help to athletes.

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None of them were dominant. VM had one decent year but neither he nor the other not drafted Ducks has NFL speed. Devon consistently underachieved. Verdell is undersized and has no nfl top end speed. 

These guys should be milking college and grad school and play 6 years like George Moore so when it is all over life’s just beginning instead of crashing down. 
 

NFL means not for long. 

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Didn't covid have an impact on the number of players who were able to be drafted this year?

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I'd like to see the numbers by conference after 5 seasons.  I don't think the disparity is quite as big.  Starting QBs, RBs and WRs aren't dominated by SEC by any means.

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On 5/2/2022 at 11:26 AM, Tandaian said:

I'd like to see the numbers by conference after 5 seasons.  I don't think the disparity is quite as big.  Starting QBs, RBs and WRs aren't dominated by SEC by any means.

Check it out my friend. The SEC has been dominant for close to a decade in recruiting and sending guys to the NFL. 

 

At this point, the B1G schools make more money per team, but do not recruit or send guys to the NFL anywhere near what we see from the SEC. The SEC dominated the BCS in titles and the to date the Playoff in the number of appearances and titles. (1 team outside of the SE has won a playoff title. Clemson is in effect an SEC school hiding in the ACC.)

 

The next media negotiations will cement the B1G and the SEC as the CFB Power 2. Within 3 years the teams in the B1G and the SEC are expected to receive $100M+ per annum.

 

The B1G does not have the on-field or recruiting success of the SEC. But it has huge member institutions with huge numbers of alumni/alumnae who give a whip about CFB.

 

Do I like this situation? No. But it is the CFB lay of today's land.

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On 5/2/2022 at 1:41 PM, Kurt Rambis said:
https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-43
WWW.JOHNCANZANO.COM

Underclassmen should have returned to UO.

And on this topic...

Thanks, Kurt Rambis. This article says it all. This should be mandatory reading material for any future Duck athlete thinking of leaving school early for the draft! 

 

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We don't know every kids reason for leaving.  I only would have liked the DBs back, the others in my opinion saw the writing on the wall and they likely wouldn't have got much play time.  Just because they left and didn't get drafted doesn't mean they got bad advice.  The advice could have been you are not going to get drafted.  They chose to leave early anyway.

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What Is It Reaction GIF by Nebraska Humane Society

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