Bucs GM Jason Licht identifies major issue with NFL Draft evaluation process that stems from the transfer portal
The changes in college football have had a ripple effect on the National Football League. We've seen it in multiple facets over the years with the advent of RPOs and versatile weapons like Deebo Samuel and Percy Harvin have changed the game. Those aren't the only changes that have impacted the game as we know […]
The changes in college football have had a ripple effect on the National Football League. We've seen it in multiple facets over the years with the advent of RPOs and versatile weapons like Deebo Samuel and Percy Harvin have changed the game.
Those aren't the only changes that have impacted the game as we know it. The NFL has to evolve due to the talented that the college game gives them. There is one element that has made things more difficult: the transfer portal.
Transfer portal is making NFL Draft evaluations difficult
The transfer portal is a great thing for the players and honestly for colleges as well. They get to move schools when they don't have the opportunity they feel they deserve and schools can fill holes when needed.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers general manager Jason Licht talked about how the advent of the transfer portal is making things difficult when it comes to NFL Draft evaluations, because younger players are getting more opportunities to prevent them from entering the portal with veteran players getting less snaps.
"They're playing more in waves now and they're playing more sporadically than they did in the past, but you're still watching the player and evaluating when he's in there. It's a little bit tougher now, [because] a lot of these players at multiple positions are playing less and less because the colleges want to make sure they keep the young guys there in the pipeline without entering the portal.
"So, we talked to a lot of these seniors that are coming out, and they, you know, they have to be a team player, and they have to allow the freshmen and sophomores play more, even though they may be better, just so the team can keep the player. So you see a lot more platooning now than you ever have."
Licht brings up a really good point about how they maneuver around losing players in the transfer portal. It can also hinder their development because they don't get the reps they need heading into the NFL.
That makes things more difficult for evaluators to figure out how good a player is due to less information to work with. It's an unintended consequence of something that should have been in place to begin with.
The one hope for NFL teams, and college football programs for that matter, are getting guardrails put into place to help regulate how the transfer portal is utilized, which would help the draft process.
It's refreshing to hear an executive discuss these things in-depth and Licht hit the nail on the head.
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