It appears CFB does not have the level of talent from a few years back.

Trading to get Travis Hunter and Jackson Dart were signals of how shallow the talent was this year.

Forment Fan said:

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It appears CFB does not have the level of talent from a few years back.

Trading to get Travis Hunter and Jackson Dart were signals of how shallow the talent was this year.

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It is just an off year, this isn't a sign that college football as a whole is diminishing.

It's only weak in regards to norm of usually having 10-15 elite players, compared to just 3-5 this year. And even then the difference was more exaggerated since only 2 of those players this year are at value positions. So it was just an off year for the top level guys at value positions, but this draft is also a lot deeper than most drafts. So, this will probably end up being one of those drafts where people look back and wonder why the hell some teams picked this or that person in the 1st round and let all of these great players drop into the later rounds.

IrishAg said:

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It's only weak in regards to norm of usually having 10-15 elite players, compared to just 3-5 this year. And even then the difference was more exaggerated since only 2 of those players this year are at value positions. So it was just an off year for the top level guys at value positions, but this draft is also a lot deeper than most drafts. So, this will probably end up being one of those drafts where people look back and wonder why the hell some teams picked this or that person in the 1st round and let all of these great players drop into the later rounds.

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This. It's why you're not seeing many trades with teams moving up. Everyone wants to move down and get more picks bc there's a lot of depth, but few are doing it. Lots of guys graded really close to one another. Why move up to take a guy you have rated an 88, when you can stand pat and have your pick of guys you rated 87 and keep your options open with your next pick ?

sam callahan said:

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College development has to be suffering under the new rules

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Tough to say really. Are you arguing the $$ of NIL is making the kids lazier, or they are picking programs based on who pays them more rather than who would develop them/be the best fit? or that the constant moving around keeps them out of off season/s&c programs so they aren't developing as well as they should?

This draft is kind of an outlier compared to the last 3 where the new rules still applied. None of those drafts were considered weak. (I would argue this draft isn't considered "weak" though, just that there is just a smaller pool of top end talent. This draft has a TON of potential starters and long career guys. More so than years past )

Also, you had multiple guys, including the top two overall picks, that took advantage of the new rules. Hell, you could argue without them, Cam Ward doesn't become the first pick. Going down the list, thru day 2 and there are a lot of guys where it helped or at the worst didn't seemingly effect draft stocks, as they were taken above dudes that stuck around their original schools . Multiple guys that went in the first two days came from small schools then went to top tier programs for their last year. Would they have been picked where they were had they not transferred?


That being said, if we start to see more drafts like this where there is so little "top talent", I think I'll change my opinion to be more in line with yours.

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Are you arguing the $$ of NIL is making the kids lazier, or they are picking programs based on who pays them more rather than who would develop them/be the best fit? or that the constant moving around keeps them out of off season/s&c programs so they aren't developing as well as they should?

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All of that - except I wouldn't say lazier. I would say misplaced priorities.

And I don't know that I am saying there will be weaker draft classes in terms of raw talent. Just that a four year player from Alabama that played back up and learned for his first two years and had the continuity and consistent coaching of a system will be much further along developmentally than these kids bouncing around all over the place chasing playing time and paydays.

it was a weak QB crop- the rest of the talent was about the same but at non sexy positions like OL and DL

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it was a weak QB crop- the rest of the talent was about the same but at non sexy positions like OL and DL

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Evidently, former NFL tight end Delanie Walker said on a podcast way back in January that this would be an OL/DL draft and Shedeur would fall to the 5th round.

Easiest $1,000 of my life

Delanie @delaniewalker82 doesn’t think Shedeur Sanders will get drafted in the TOP TWO ROUNDS 😂😂 pic.twitter.com/wzjVaWw4GP

— Will Compton (@_willcompton) January 30, 2025

DELANIE KNEW 🤯

Back in January when Shedeur Sanders was the odds-on favorite # 1 OVR pick, he called Shedeur dropping out of the first round- and maybe the second round as well. pic.twitter.com/jT4i5GilEv

— Bussin' With The Boys (@BussinWTB) April 26, 2025

Had to call @delaniewalker82 and apologize for calling him an idiot for saying Shadeur Sanders would get drafted in the 5th round

He was right. I was wrong.

He won the $1000 bet. pic.twitter.com/XfJBQ3iWa0

— Will Compton (@_willcompton) April 27, 2025

generally speaking the 1972 NFL draft is considered the worst ever

it only produced 2 Hall of Famers

interesting though...the powerhouse franchises of the 70's correctly forecasted / drafted the two future greats

Steelers took Franco Harris in the 1st round

Raiders took Cliff Branch in the 4th round