The Steelers GM made a tough but fair point about the 2021 NFL Draft.
The 2020 college football season is underway and it is easily the most unique in the sport’s history. Certain conferences are not playing games, at least for now, and top teams and prospects may not see the field until 2021.
This puts players with NFL dreams at a serious disadvantage if they are at a school that isn’t playing this fall. Players in the Big Ten and Pac-12 may be wondering how far their stocks will fall. And that is before mentioning players at smaller schools such as those at Mid-American Conference schools.
Pittsburgh Steelers general manager Kevin Colbert offered up some tough news for those players. He revealed in a recent interview with The Ringer that he would be wary of drafting a player who did not play in 2020.
Steelers GM reveals the tough truth
Is this too harsh of a stance by Colbert? It appears he is just using simple logic when determining players to spend millions of dollars on in 2021. Players who miss the 2020 season not only lose out on a year of development, but they are limited to what they put on tape in 2019.
Someone like Justin Fields at Ohio State may be immune from this problem. However, he is an elite prospect. That is not true for hundreds of other players who need more time to prove themselves.
This problem may force conferences like the Big Ten and Pac-12 to play some sort of season. Seeing other conferences succeed without any COVID-19 shutdowns could also provide a blueprint to play.
Shutting down the season is a multi-layered issue and the draft stock of players was likely not even close to being a deciding factor from a school’s perspective.
Players and coaches from schools like Ohio State and Nebraska have been pushing to play. Citing Colbert’s comments could be included in the arguments to get back on the field.