Jackson Free Press

Former University of Mississippi Damore’ea Stringfellow is http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/draft/news/2017-nfl-draft-underclassmen-tracker-mitch-trubisky-myles-garrett-headline-list/">one of 95 underclassmen to declare for the 2017 NFL Draft. http://www.espn.com/nfl/draft2017/story/_/id/18264097/underclassmen-declared-2017-nfl-draft-tracker-date-mock">Monday, Jan. 16, was the deadline for players who are three years out of high school to announce their intentions.

Some players who decided to forgo their college eligibility received information from the NFL’s College Advisory Committee, which graded them as a first- or second-round pick. An interesting article on http://www.espn.com/blog/nflnation/post/_/id/229070/how-the-nfl-advises-college-underclassmen-on-entering-the-draft">ESPN.com from Kevin Seifret took a closer look at the process.

Those who received a favorable free evaluation from the CAC are graded just on their football potential. The CAC doesn’t look at their off-the-field issues, or academic or medical problems.

A great example used in the story is University of Oklahoma running back Joe Mixon. There is no doubt that Mixon has first- or second-round talent on the field, but it will be interesting to see how teams view his year-long suspension for assault in 2014.

A http://www.si.com/college-football/2016/12/16/joe-mixon-assault-video-released-oklahoma">video of Mixon punching a woman in the face and breaking her jaw, cheekbone and eye socket came out in December 2016. Recently the NFL has mishandled some very public cases of domestic assault .

Mixon entering the draft is another case where the league could be scrutinized depending on where he is drafted. If the talented running back is taken in the first round, it proves that winning in football matters more than off-the-field issues.

Just looking at football talent, it makes sense for players such as former Louisiana State University running back Leonard Fournette and Texas A&M University defensive end Myles Garrett to leave school early. That is not the case with every player who does, though.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/darrenheitner/2017/01/18/roughly-100-underclassmen-will-declare-for-2017-nfl-draft/#61ed66123781">Some get bad advice from friends and family or look to improve their life and their families’ lives by becoming a professional player. During the NFL Combine, it is good to hear NFL Network’s Mike Mayock’s evaluation of players.

Mayock is quick to point out that he doesn’t know a player’s personal situation, but he can tell if the player should have stayed in school and might be hurt by coming out early. That doesn’t mean Mayock is correct on every case.

In the 2015-2016 season, 322 players were evaluated, and 73 were told to return to school but declared for the draft anyway. Of those 73, 11 went in the first or second round, but 20 went undrafted.

That is the tricky part of the draft. It only takes one team to fall in love with a player and have need at that position.

Sometimes draft order hurts a player. One prime example is current http://www.si.com/nfl/2015/04/24/aaron-rodgers-alex-smith-2005-nfl-draft">Green Bay Packer quarterback Aaron Rodgers. The draft order of the 2005 NFL Draft meant that Rodgers could, and eventually did, slide after the San Francisco 49ers made their pick at No. 1.

That meant Rodgers fell all the way to the 24th pick, mainly because teams after the 49ers felt that they didn’t need a quarterback. The fall worked out for Green Bay and Rodgers, as the quarterback has a Super Bowl win under his belt.

Last year 107 underclassmen declared for the draft, and http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/draft/news/2016-nfl-draft-30-underclassmen-left-undrafted-but-trend-is-positive/">30 went undrafted. Of the players who got an evaluation, just 19 of 25 went in the first or second round. In 2015, 18 of 20 players went in the first two rounds, and in 2014, 20 of 22 players went in the top two rounds.

Still, there are years like 2010 where just 13 of 18 players with first- or second-round grades went drafted. Overall since 2010, the CAC is 84.1 percent about players that are drafted who received first- or second-round evaluations.

Players who leave early and don’t get drafted don’t see their dreams of playing in the NFL die. After the draft, every http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/draft/news/2016-nfl-draft-30-underclassmen-left-undrafted-but-trend-is-positive/">NFL team signs undrafted free agents, and several of those players nearly always go on to make a team’s 53-man roster.

For some players it is a risk to leave early, but the rewards can be too great to pass up.