More players than in recent years want to get to the NFL as soon as they can.
The league just put out a list of the 106 early entry candidates for the 2018 NFL Draft. That’s up from 95 in 2017 and 96 in 2016, along with 74 from 2015 and 98 in 2014.
And because the league knows where its bread is buttered when it comes to generating interest in the draft process, they’re promoting the seven quarterbacks who were on the list of players made eligible.
That includes Wyoming’s Josh Allen, Houston’s Kyle Allen, USC’s Sam Darnold, Louisville’s Lamar Jackson, Nebraska’s Tanner Lee, Marshall’s Chase Litton, and UCLA’s Josh Rosen.
The reality for many of the guys on the list is that they won’t be drafted, but the rush for them comes from a two-pronged exploitation — the lack of money available to them at the college level (where everybody else is getting rich), and the desire to start the clock on rookie deals and get to actual paydays in the NFL (where the owners are getting super-rich).