The NFL will have 13 incoming players at the draft. Not many more than that were invited.
The league wanted to keep it to no more than 15. The goal, per a source with knowledge of the situation, was to ensure that no one lingers too long in the green room in Detroit.
Toward that end, neither quarterback Bo Nix nor quarterback Michael Penix, Jr. was invited. The league didn’t have either, we’re told, on the projected list of the top 15 to 20 picks.
Both could still go in the top 15, given the number of teams looking for quarterbacks. As noted earlier, the betting markets have Penix as the favorite to go to the Raiders at No. 13.
It can’t be easy to get clear and reliable information about who will be picked and when from teams that will be inclined to keep their plans top secret. If the goal is to ensure that the invitees have limited stays in the green room, the challenge is to ensure that the invitations go to those players whom the league regard as can’t-miss first-round picks.
The league views quarterbacks Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels, Drake Maye, and J.J. McCarthy (who didn’t respond to his invitation and had it basically rescinded) as clear and definite early picks. The league doesn’t have that same opinion as to Nix and Penix.
In 13 days, we’ll all find out how good the league’s intel on this was.
