As of Tuesday, August 11th, two major football conferences canceled their Fall seasons and thousands of student-athletes will not be able to showcase their skills for NFL teams in 2020. With the Big 10 and the Pac-12 canceled, it seems as though it’s only a matter of time before other major conferences follow suit. Howie Roseman and the Eagles will be keeping their eyes peeled.
Barring a last minute change of conferences, the affected schools so far are:
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Maryland
- Michigan
- Michigan State
- Minnesota
- Nebraska
- Northwestern
- Ohio State
- Penn State
- Purdue
- Rutgers
- Wisconsin
- California
- Oregon
- Oregon State
- Stanford
- Washington
- Washington State
- Arizona
- Arizona State
- Colorado
- UCLA
- USC
- Utah
That’s a whole lot of schools not playing in the Fall. As more conferences follow, it could further Howie Roseman’s ability to get a king’s ransom in 2021 for a certain second-round pick in 2020.
When the Eagles selected Jalen Hurts in the second round, people were outraged due to the (1) position selected and (2) round in which he was selected. Of course, Howie couldn’t foresee the chaos the Fall would be for college football, but his “quarterback factory” selection could prove that choice to be the best pick for the future of the team.
The top three quarterbacks
The only top quarterback that is 100% affected so far is Ohio State’s Justin Fields. Fields is already considered a top 5-10 selection in 2021, so losing the season shouldn’t impact his draft stock too much.
Trey Lance, of North Dakota State, is scheduled to only have non-conference games in the Fall, as the Missouri Valley Conference moved its league games to the Spring. The other three non-conference games, however, have been canceled. The team is attempting to add three non-conference games, but Lance may not get a chance to improve his stock for the draft.
Trevor Lawrence, of Clemson, is still scheduled to have a full slate of games but even if the games are canceled, his number one selection is all but guaranteed.
Those three quarterbacks are widely viewed as the only first-round prospects for the 2021 draft. With no games in 2020, other quarterbacks will not have the chance to shine and move up draft boards.
Enter Howie Roseman & The Eagles
If the conferences do all cancel, Howie Roseman finds himself in a powerful position. Sure, the team could hold on to Hurts to continue to have a very good back up to Wentz, but if a team misses out on the top three quarterbacks there could be a chance to send Hurts to a QB needy team for Sam Bradford-type deal.
Some of you may say “well, in a perfect world Hurts doesn’t play. How will teams see any 2020 film on him?” As with the top three quarterbacks, Hurts will always have his collegiate film. But the cherry on top for Hurts is that when the 2021 draft comes around, he’ll have a season under Doug Pederson’s tutelage in his arsenal. Let’s not forget the idea of 2-QB sets with the Eagles.
Who do you think teams will take a chance on? A second-year quarterback who learned from one of the best quarterback developers in the league, or a rookie who didn’t get to play organized football in 2020? I think you know the answer.
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Mandatory Credit: Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports
