2021 NFL Draft: No Big Ten season hurts Penn State EDGE Jayson Oweh
Jayson Oweh stands out as a 2021 NFL Draft prospect who will particularly suffer from a lack of a Big Ten season.
On Tuesday, the Big Ten Conference announced that they will not play football this fall. The prestigious conference hopes to suit up in the spring, but that seems relatively unlikely at this point. This news is extremely disappointing for all college football fans and will undoubtedly have a major impact on the 2021 NFL Draft.
There are plenty of 2021 NFL Draft prospects from the Big Ten who are still in good shape and will likely go early in the first round. However, this situation impacts the more fringe prospects in an absolutely massive way. Many Big Ten players were looking forward to the 2020 season in order to cement their status as next-level players and potential high picks in the 2021 NFL Draft. Now, that opportunity is seemingly completely gone.
The single Big Ten player who this seems to hurt the most is Penn State edge rusher Jayson Oweh. Oweh has been a part-time player at Penn State the last two seasons but flashed incredible upside in his limited playing time. He shows an incredibly quick first step and a fantastic combination of length and athleticism that should easily play at the next level.
Based on potential, Oweh could undoubtedly be a first-round selection in the 2021 NFL Draft. However, that prediction is based almost entirely on projection at this point. Oweh needed the 2020 season to establish himself as a premier edge rusher in this class. Unfortunately, this limits Oweh in a big way for the next year.
I am interested to see what Oweh does with his decision and how NFL teams view him if he does enter the 2021 NFL Draft. Oweh could easily go back to Penn State to put together more tape for NFL teams. However, he could just as easily declare and bet on NFL teams looking to take a shot on his obvious upside.
Next. Big Ten players most unaffected by lost season. dark
No matter how we look at it, no Big Ten season hurts Oweh more than most. That being said, he is still an incredibly exciting prospect who has massive upside at an extremely important defensive position. How teams would value him without much tape to go watch would undoubtedly be interesting.