Looking at the whole roster, that is likely true. However, take the starting 22 of Alabama and I bet the majority play in the NFL.
It would also be kind of embarrasing to the NFL team. I’m sure the worst team realizes they are a bad team, but such an exhibition game sounds like making the players publicly wear a dunce cap.
True, good point.
But back on the OP topic, wonder how many players would have to be removed from the NFL team to even the odds. Maybe 9 NFLers vs. 11 college players makes it exactly even?
I always wondered what would happen if you had the worst NFL team take on the best NCAA team but make it so it’s flag football rules and you heavily penalize excessive force.
They are still much bigger and much faster and have more experience. It would be a blow out.
Last year 12 Alabama players were drafted and that was a record. I relize a few people make the NFL undrafted, but I suspect more drafted players never play an NFL game.
In the case of those Alabama players, ten out of the 12 made NFL rosters, which is a pretty good hit rate; only the two drafted in the seventh round failed to stick (and even those two are currently on practice squads).
But, even then, of those 12 draftees, seven were drafted in round 4 or later, and players who get drafted that late often wind up as reserves, if they do make a roster at all (and that looks to be the case with most of these players).
So, what we wind up with here was a half-dozen or so seniors* from that Alabama team who were good enough to start in the NFL as rookies (and I’m including their punter there, who is now the Packers’ punter). To that, we could likely add a few underclassmen who are probably good enough to play (possibly even start) in the NFL without more seasoning in college.
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- not every player who enters the draft is a senior, I recognize, but that’s usually the case.