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The 2025 NFL Draft starts in just over two weeks, and the stars of the show — the players who will be selected — are taking more agency in their own evaluation process than ever.
This year's most notable example was Travis Hunter, the two-way, Heisman Trophy-winning Colorado star who measured at the combine and ran a few routes at Colorado's pro day, but nothing more.
On the latest episode of Inside Coverage, Yahoo Sports Senior NFL Writer Frank Schwab and Yahoo Sports Senior NFL Reporter Jori Epstein discussed the changing landscape of the pre-draft process, and a comment by Colorado head coach Deion Sanders was the launching point.
"He said, 'Look, Travis Hunter played more snaps than anybody in college football,'" Schwab said. "'What more do you guys need to see? The tape is the tape. You don't know who Travis Hunter is?' And I thought that that was really interesting, because I agree with it."
Epstein pointed out Caleb Williams handled the pre-draft process similarly to Hunter last spring, and said based on her own feelings as a report as well as conversations with scouts, it's mainly important for prospects to do what they say they're going to do vs. do every event possible.
She also said some prospects don't hire agents during the evaluation process, which is another thing that influences narratives and shapes our perception from the outside vs. reality.
"Most of these teams who are going to take (a prospect) sent scouts to practices and to the games when he played," Epstein said. "So a lot of the pre draft process is pretty outdated."
Epstein said if she were a team, the only thing she'd absolutely want from prospects is to do a medical evaluation — which some prospects didn't do last year.
"That's when you find certain things, and I understand why the players wouldn't necessarily want to do it, because why would you want to potentially hurt your earnings?" Epstein said. "But from a team standpoint, you are investing millions in these people, and so then you have to figure it out."
Schwab then speculated if the NFL's pre-draft process could change in a major way over the next 5-10 years, citing the NBA's growth in player empowerment and the success of bonafide NFL stars like Christian McCaffrey at taking control of their future as prospects. Plus, he pointed out that players occasionally get hurt in private workouts, so prospects might decide the risk isn't worth it.
Epstein isn't convinced there will be some universal banding together of NFL prospects and agents, for example, and it's for a similar reason that she doesn't believe the NFLPA has maximized its strength.
"Football just has so many players with so many different interests that we have not historically seen them band together in successful ways to get the player rights in the same way that guys in the NBA have and sometimes in MLB and other leagues," Epstein said. "So I don't expect that to happen anytime soon."
To that point about the two sides of the negotiating table, Schwab views the NFL as being very controlling with the pre-draft process, and subconsciously letting the players know they control them right away.
"The NFL acts very militaristic at times, and I think to them this is basic training," Schwab said. Epstein likened it more to pledgeship for fraternities and sororities.
Regardless of how you view it, Schwab thinks resistance to the pre-draft process could catch on.
"I think this is going to take off," he said. "I think a lot more players are going to be like, 'This process is dumb.'"
Continue reading...
This year's most notable example was Travis Hunter, the two-way, Heisman Trophy-winning Colorado star who measured at the combine and ran a few routes at Colorado's pro day, but nothing more.
On the latest episode of Inside Coverage, Yahoo Sports Senior NFL Writer Frank Schwab and Yahoo Sports Senior NFL Reporter Jori Epstein discussed the changing landscape of the pre-draft process, and a comment by Colorado head coach Deion Sanders was the launching point.
"He said, 'Look, Travis Hunter played more snaps than anybody in college football,'" Schwab said. "'What more do you guys need to see? The tape is the tape. You don't know who Travis Hunter is?' And I thought that that was really interesting, because I agree with it."
Top NFL Draft prospects taking control of their evaluation process is becoming more common
Epstein pointed out Caleb Williams handled the pre-draft process similarly to Hunter last spring, and said based on her own feelings as a report as well as conversations with scouts, it's mainly important for prospects to do what they say they're going to do vs. do every event possible.
She also said some prospects don't hire agents during the evaluation process, which is another thing that influences narratives and shapes our perception from the outside vs. reality.
"Most of these teams who are going to take (a prospect) sent scouts to practices and to the games when he played," Epstein said. "So a lot of the pre draft process is pretty outdated."
1 thing teams should absolutely want from NFL Draft prospects
Epstein said if she were a team, the only thing she'd absolutely want from prospects is to do a medical evaluation — which some prospects didn't do last year.
"That's when you find certain things, and I understand why the players wouldn't necessarily want to do it, because why would you want to potentially hurt your earnings?" Epstein said. "But from a team standpoint, you are investing millions in these people, and so then you have to figure it out."
Could NFL Draft prospects band together and refuse to participate in pre-draft process?
Schwab then speculated if the NFL's pre-draft process could change in a major way over the next 5-10 years, citing the NBA's growth in player empowerment and the success of bonafide NFL stars like Christian McCaffrey at taking control of their future as prospects. Plus, he pointed out that players occasionally get hurt in private workouts, so prospects might decide the risk isn't worth it.
Epstein isn't convinced there will be some universal banding together of NFL prospects and agents, for example, and it's for a similar reason that she doesn't believe the NFLPA has maximized its strength.
"Football just has so many players with so many different interests that we have not historically seen them band together in successful ways to get the player rights in the same way that guys in the NBA have and sometimes in MLB and other leagues," Epstein said. "So I don't expect that to happen anytime soon."
To that point about the two sides of the negotiating table, Schwab views the NFL as being very controlling with the pre-draft process, and subconsciously letting the players know they control them right away.
"The NFL acts very militaristic at times, and I think to them this is basic training," Schwab said. Epstein likened it more to pledgeship for fraternities and sororities.
Regardless of how you view it, Schwab thinks resistance to the pre-draft process could catch on.
"I think this is going to take off," he said. "I think a lot more players are going to be like, 'This process is dumb.'"
Continue reading...
