2021 NFL Draft: 5 Pac-12 prospects most affected by cancelled season

What 2021 NFL Draft prospects from the Pac-12 are most affected by the canceled season?

The Pac-12 has decided to follow the Big Ten’s lead and has reportedly canceled the fall football season with hopes of potentially playing in the spring of 2021. The news was first reported by ESPN’s Brett McMurphy. This decision not only affects the college landscape but the 2021 NFL Draft as well.

The scouting process will be a new and difficult experience for NFL talent evaluators as well as us analysts here at NFL Mocks. But, that will certainly make things interesting to see who evaluates talent the best at the NFL level. Do the All-Star games (if they are indeed still played), the combine, and pro days matter that much more now for scouts and general managers? One would certainly believe so.

It’s hard to imagine college players playing in the spring season and then moving to the NFL to play in just a few months, and it will be tough for college programs in general if there’s a spring season followed by a fall one in 2021. So, it seems more likely the conferences cancel altogether.

This is a huge deal for 2021 NFL Draft prospects, who were hoping to either take advantage of an opportunity to start in 2020 or rebound from tough seasons in 2019. It’s likely that if there is a spring season, many 2021 NFL Draft hopefuls will just opt out and begin draft preparation.

While there are players like Penei Sewell, who is likely unaffected by the fate of the season (he’s a consensus top-three prospect, and the top overall for many). However, there are those who this affects a ton. Let’s look at five players whose draft stock is affected by the cancellation.