Down the Rabbit Hole | NFL/Combine Departures on 2024 Schedule

One common factor, your teams with double digit draftees are the one is the top 6 of the nation. Signs show we are headed in the right direction. 

Also OU and Aggies together don't even make up one side of the ball...

5 hours ago, CJ Vogel said:

The NFL released the Combine invitation list Tuesday morning. For Longhorn fans, the headline and takeaway was the 11 names on the Combine list who wore the burnt orange and white in 2023 that will represent the university at the next level.

No one truly needs a reminder, but Texas will be joining the SEC in 2024 as well. The SEC for the last 15 seasons has been the gold standard for conferences in terms of NFL Draft production. On top of a full SEC schedule, the Longhorns will also take a trip up north to Ann Arbor to face off against the defending National Champions.

Which leads me to the following talking point – how many NFL departures are expected from each P5 opponent on the Texas 2024 schedule.

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Number of 2024 Combine Invites per Upcoming Opponent:

• Michigan – 18
• Mississippi State – 4
• Oklahoma – 3
• Georgia – 10
• Vanderbilt – 0 
• Florida – 2 
• Arkansas – 5
• Kentucky – 6
• Texas A&M – 5

In total, 53 NFL caliber players are off of the schedule for Texas in 2024. Add in two more from Colorado State as well, who Texas begins the season with on August 31.

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Interestingly, in 2023, Texas entered the season with 52 NFL caliber players having departed the year previously with invitations to the NFL Combine. It is not a guaranteed science, nor does it give an indication on what is to come the upcoming season on the field. But it is interesting. 

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What is to come for the upcoming season? A quick rundown of what each team is losing to the NFL. This won't include a look at the portal, which teams like Texas A&M have been hamstrung by this offseason as well.

Michigan – Just about every meaningful starter from a year ago with the exception of Will Johnson, Mason Graham and Kenneth Grant.

Mississippi State – Three combine invites went to the defensive side of the ball. Miss State also lost a wide receiver in Lideatrick Griffin (658 yards in 2023).

Oklahoma – Only three invites for OU this offseason. All three come on the offensive line which will have 100% turnover this upcoming season.

Georgia – Ten feels a bit low for UGA, but that also does not include a handful of impactful portalers. Regardless, UGA has reloaded in the talent department and will be a top five preseason team in the country once again.

Vanderbilt – Well, zero.

Florida – Florida was hit much more significantly in the portal than the draft. WR Ricky Pearsall was the Gators' No. 1 WR in 2023, he will be in the NFL next fall.

Arkansas – I was actually surprised to see five names on this list. Old recruiting heads might remember Dwight McGlothern, he is the most notable name to depart. Three other combine invites go to the trenches, then a specialist.

Kentucky – Kentucky's backfield is heading to the NFL, QB Devin Leary and RB Ray Davis. Two departures in the back seven as well on the defensive side of the ball.

Texas A&M – Three big departures here from College Station: LB Edgerrin Cooper, WR Ainias Smith, DB Domani Richardson. But again, the portal hit the Aggies much harder.

 

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I'll go down the rabbit hole with you. While the teams we play lost similar NFL caliber players, we lost slightly more than double. We lost our top 5 pass catchers (including Brooks), substantially better DL duo, and starting RT and starting CB. We didn't have that loss last year. The question is will that have a bigger impact than what we lost last year imo.