The deadline for early declarations for the NFL Draft passed this week and while some teams were fortunate to find out that their top players will return for at least one more year there were other teams that were hit hard by early declarations. Here is a look at the biggest losers in college football after the early NFL Draft declarations.
Stanford Cardinal
Christian McCaffrey’s decision to skip the Cardinal’s bowl game might not go over well with some NFL executives but the bottom line is that he is talented enough to be a late first or early second round draft pick. While McCaffrey should have no problem finding a new home at the NFL Draft, Stanford could be in trouble without their biggest playmaker next season. McCaffrey has been an absolutely dominant force for the Cardinal over the past couple of years so his versatility and talent will be missed. Stanford will be in tough to replace him so losing McCaffrey despite him having one more year of eligibility left puts them at the top of this list.
The Cardinal took a big fall last season as they lost three times conference play. They still finished the year with a bowl win over North Carolina but the Cardinal clearly weren’t playing in the postseason game they had hoped to be. 2017 becomes an important year for Davis Shaw and company as they have to prove that the program is not in decline. With teams like Colorado, Washington and Washington State on the rise in the Pac-12, Stanford has to show that they’re not slipping down the rankings.
Miami Hurricanes
Miami wasn’t dominant in Mark Richt’s first season as head coach but after showing flashes they could be in trouble after taking a couple of significant hits this offseason. The Hurricanes will lose five early entrants including star quarterback Brad Kaaya and running back Joseph Yearby, which were two of the most important players on their offense. Kaaya in particular will be a massive loss as Miami will now have to look for a new starting quarterback. Meanwhile, tight end David Njoku is going to be a big loss while linebacker Jermaine Grace and defensive end Al-Quadin Muhammad round out the list of early entrants that will leave the Hurricanes after declaring for the NFL.
North Carolina Tar Heels
The Tar Heels are another ACC team that will be looking for a new quarterback after their star passer Mitch Trubisky decided it was time to make the jump to the NFL. Trubisky has all of the raw skills to be a top-five pick and there are some that think he could go first overall to the Cleveland Browns. There is no doubt about his immense level of talent and the fact that Trubisky declared early leaves North Carolina on the list of the biggest losers when it comes to early NFL Draft declarations.
While Trubisky has been rumored to be heading to a team like the New York Jets, the Tar Heels are left a little bit shorthanded. With Trubisky back, it would have been possible that the Tar Heels could have emerged as a fringe contender for the ACC. Without him, they’re still behind Florida State, Clemson and maybe others in the ACC pecking order.
Oklahoma Sooners
Oklahoma running back Joe Mixon received a ton of negative publicity after his shocking off-field incident was released on video. Mixon was suspended for a year for punching a female student and while there are some that believe he shouldn’t have been allowed to come back to the Sooners at all his sheer talent could be enough to convince an NFL team to take a chance on him at the next level. The problem for Oklahoma is that it will be difficult to replace Mixon’s talent, especially since they will also lose fellow running back Samaje Perine. The Sooners backfield will miss both running backs next season and that leaves them on the list of losers when it comes to early NFL Draft declarations.
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