5 college teams most hurt by the 2017 NFL Draft

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Stanford Cardinal

Pac-12, North

Let’s be real. David Shaw is a good enough coach for the Stanford Cardinal to ensure that his alma mater’s football program will hover around 10 wins annually. Shaw has his difficulties assembling elite recruiting classes because of stringent academic standards, but he will continue to keep Stanford as a Pac-12 power.

However, he does lose his two best players a year early from Palo Alto: junior running back Christian McCaffrey and redshirt sophomore defensive end Solomon Thomas. McCaffrey sat out the Hyundai Sun Bowl in preparation of getting ready for the NFL Draft. His father Ed McCaffrey starred for John Elway’s Denver Broncos in the 1990s and the younger McCaffrey projects a late first to early second-round pick. He will land in an ideal spot for his unique skill set.

While McCaffrey sat, Thomas had the best bowl performance of anybody in college football. He wrecked Mitch Trubisky’s North Carolina Tar Heels as a ferocious pass rusher. The blue-chip prospect will leave Stanford two years early for the NFL. He could be as high as a top-10 pick.

Add in that starting quarterback Keller Chryst tore his ACL in the Sun Bowl and Stanford could have a slow start to 2017. Not only are the Cardinal losing its two best players, but the upper tier of the Pac-12 is strong with teams like the Colorado Buffaloes, the USC Trojans, the Utah Utes, the Washington Huskies and the Washington State Cougars. Stanford will be all right in the long-term, but 2017 could be a bad year for Shaw’s high standards for his football team.