As stars like Marvin Harrison Jr. and Caleb Williams pull plug on NFL combine drills, the league grapples with ‘the opt-out generation’

INDIANAPOLIS — At some point this week, NFL Network’s commercial touting the combine became a cyclical reminder of the league’s changing landscape with elite college players. Interspersed between televised 40-yard dashes and on-field drills — and running during ad breaks on the network day and night — it showcased Los Angeles Rams breakout rookie receiver Puka Nacua narrating the combine’s ability to make NFL teams “remember your name.”

The problem? The promotional spot for one of the NFL’s most prized offseason tentpole television events was sewn together with highlights from an all-star cast of draft prospects who haven’t done a single thing during the televised portion of the event. All three of the marquee quarterbacks — USC’s Caleb Williams, LSU’s Jayden Daniels and UNC’s Drake Maye — have pulled out of all throwing and drill work. Two elite wideouts, Ohio State’s Marvin Harrison Jr. and LSU’s Malik Nabers, won’t run 40-yard dashes or do drill work. And then late Friday night, just prior to his position group running the 40-yard dash, the biggest star tight end in years, Brock Bowers, pulled out from that event and all of the combine drills.

(Williams and Harrison also raised some eyebrows going a step further in different respects Friday, with Williams declining to do his medical exam in Indianapolis and Harrison no-showing his scheduled media availability.)

As a collective, it brings us back to that commercial and what the NFL is now grappling with when it comes to the most elite prospects in the draft. All six of those players were significant parts of the league’s promotion of this year’s event. And by Friday, all of them had bailed on the portions of the week that actually land on a television screen.

If agents have anything to do with it, that’s a trend that could be getting cemented into the foundation of this event moving forward. That means if you want to see highlights of skill position players likely to be taken…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/as-stars-like-marvin-harrison-jr-and-caleb-williams-pull-plug-on-nfl-combine-drills-the-league-grapples-with-the-opt-out-generation-023322745.html

Author : Yahoo Sports

Publish date : 2024-03-02 02:33:22

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