As bowl season ramps up, there are a number of SEC underclassmen deciding whether or not it’s in their best interest to leave school early for the NFL. On Monday, Florida coach Jim McElwain announced that running back Kelvin Taylor, wide receiver Demarcus Robinson and defensive end Alex McCalister had all opted to enter the NFL draft.
Who’s next? Today and tomorrow, we will look at five players who should leave early and five players who would be better off returning to school.
Of note, the deadline for underclassmen to apply for the draft is Jan. 18.
Derrick Henry, Alabama: I’m always a proponent of running backs leaving early if they think they can get drafted. No position in football takes more of a beating each week than running back, and as a result, they typically have the shortest career spans in the NFL. So whether Henry is a first-round pick, a second-round pick or even a third-round pick, why not leave? He’s already won the Heisman Trophy. He has the opportunity to win a national championship. What’s left to play for? It makes more sense for him to leave now and get his career started at the next level. Plus, no running back in college football had more carries (339) this season than Henry.
Pharoh Cooper, South Carolina: Cooper has already announced his intentions to leave early for the NFL and can you blame him? The junior was second in the SEC with 66 catches for 973 yards and eight touchdowns, and he did all that with three different quarterbacks. He proved that it didn’t matter who was throwing him the ball. He was still going to make plays. Cooper might not be a sure-fire first-round pick like his counterpart below, but is he really going to help his draft stock by coming back, playing for a new coach in Will Muschamp and catching passes from the same quarterbacks who were on campus this past season? I don’t think so.
Laquon Treadwell, Ole Miss: Injury is always the biggest concern when players contemplate coming back to school, and Treadwell knows that better than anybody. It’s been a little more than a year since he was carted off the field after he broke his leg and dislocated his ankle. The recovery process was difficult, but he returned to the field this year better than before the injury. He finished with 76 catches, an SEC-best 1,082 yards receiving and eight touchdowns. What’s left to prove? He could come back to help lead Ole Miss to an SEC championship, but why risk it from an injury standpoint when you could be a top-10 pick?
Alabama’s defensive line: It’s not every day that an entire unit would declare early for the NFL draft, but Alabama doesn’t have your everyday defensive line. All three starters -- A'Shawn Robinson, Jarran Reed and Jonathan Allen -- have been projected as first-round picks. And while there’s a chance Allen drops to the second round, it still makes sense for all three to go. Simply put, they’re all ready for the NFL. Not many underclassmen can say that, but this trio at Alabama is strong, fast, fundamentally sound, and they were coached by somebody who knows a thing or two about the NFL. It’s time to move on.
Vernon Hargreaves III, Florida: At SEC media days, Hargreaves talked as if he had already decided to declare early, and that was before the first game. So it was no surprise he made it official after the SEC championship game earlier this month, declaring his intentions to turn pro. Some might think the Florida cornerback was being a little overzealous, but the truth is he likely would’ve been a first-round pick had he left after his sophomore year. That’s how highly thought of he is in NFL circles. And now, most analysts are projecting him as a top-10 or even top-5 pick. Was it the right call for some of his teammates to leave early? Maybe not. But it’s a no-brainer for Hargreaves.