The NFL announced that a record 73 underclassmen have been granted special eligibility for the April draft.
Think about that number for a second. That’s it two full rounds and then nine additional picks in a third round – or it is 28.5 percent of the 256 total picks in the draft.
Now, we all know nowhere near all 73 players will be selected. Some players get bad advice. Some are not what people tell them they are cracked up to be. Some just fall through the cracks. But 73 is eight more than came out a year ago and 17 more than there were in 2011. There were 65 in 2012, 56 in 2011, 53 in 2010 and 46 in 2009, so you can see the number just remains on the rise. Scouts tell you that isn’t going to change anytime soon, either.
Here are the 73 names in alphabetical order:
Number Player Pos. College
1 Allen, Keenan WR California
2 Amerson, David DB North Carolina State
3 Bailey, Alvin G Arkansas
4 Bailey, Stedman WR West Virginia
5 Bakhtiari, David T Colorado
6 Beckford, Dwayne LB Purdue
7 Bell, Le’Veon RB Michigan State
8 Bernard, Giovani RB North Carolina
9 Bray, Tyler QB Tennessee
10 Brown, Terrence DB Stanford
11 Carter, Duron WR Ohio State
12 Davis, Knile RB Arkansas
13 Edwards, Mike DB Hawaii
14 Elam, Matt DB Florida
15 Ertz, Zach TE Stanford
16 Escobar, Gavin TE San Diego State
17 Faulk, Chris T Louisiana State
18 Floyd, Sharrif DT Florida
19 Ford, Michael RB Louisiana State
20 Frederick, Travis C Wisconsin
21 Geathers, Kwame NT Georgia
22 Gholston, William DE Michigan State
23 Hankins, Johnathan DT Ohio State
24 Harley, Jajuan DB Middle Tennessee
25 Hopkins, DeAndre WR Clemson
26 Hunter, Justin WR Tennessee
27 Jamison, Jawan RB Rutgers
28 Jefferson, Stefphon RB Nevada
29 Jefferson, Tony DB Oklahoma
30 Jenkins, Jelani LB Florida
31 Joeckel, Luke T Texas A&M
32 Jones, Jarvis LB Georgia
33 Jose, Jose DT Central Florida
34 Kruger, Joe DE Utah
35 Lacy, Eddie RB Alabama
36 Lattimore, Marcus RB South Carolina
37 Lemonier, Corey DE Auburn
38 Logan, Bennie DT Louisiana State
39 Maponga, Stansly DE Texas Christian
40 Mathieu, Tyrann DB Louisiana State
41 Milliner, Dee DB Alabama
42 Mingo, Barkevious DE Louisiana State
43 Minter, Kevin LB Louisiana State
44 Montgomery, Sam DE Louisiana State
45 Moore, Brandon DT Texas
46 Moore, Damontre DE Texas A&M
47 Ogletree, Alec LB Georgia
48 Patterson, Cordarrelle WR Tennessee
49 Randle, Bradley RB Nevada-Las Vegas
50 Randle, Joseph RB Oklahoma State
51 Reed, Jordan TE Florida
52 Reid, Eric DB Louisiana State
53 Reid, Greg DB Florida State
54 Rhodes, Xavier DB Florida State
55 Richardson, Sheldon DT Missouri
56 Robey, Nickell DB Southern California
57 Ryan, Logan DB Rutgers
58 Sanders, Ace WR South Carolina
59 Sentimore, Darrington DT Tennessee
60 Simon, Tharold DB Louisiana State
61 Sims, Dion TE Michigan State
62 Spence, Akeem DT Illinois
63 Stills, Kenny WR Oklahoma
64 Toilolo, Levine TE Stanford
65 Ware, Spencer RB Louisiana State
66 Watson, Menelik T Florida State
67 Werner, Bjoern DE Florida State
68 Williams, Steve DB California
69 Wilson, Marquess WR Washington State
70 Wing, Brad P Louisiana State
71 Wood, Cierre RB Notre Dame
72 Woods, Robert WR Southern California
73 Wort, Tom LB Oklahoma
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Brad Biggs covers the Bears for the Chicago Tribune
This story originally appeared on Nationalfootballpost.com
