Cole Bishop declares for NFL draft

[BD]

Thank you❤️ @Utah_Football pic.twitter.com/qMZJbBrD7O

— Cole Bishop (@Cole_bishop_8) December 8, 2023

[EagleMountainUte]

Good for him. I like what Utah has behind him.

[DUte]

Stud. Will represent Da Utes well in the NFL.

[The Miami Ute]

With Kincaid and Rising, one of my favorite Utah players ever…I just hope that he made the right decision…I trust PFF on this and they have him at this moment as the 202nd ranked player in the 2024 draft. That would put him getting drafted in the middle of the sixth round. By way of context, PFF has Sataoa Laumea as the 121st ranked player in the draft (late 3rd RD) and Jonah Elliss at the 40th ranked player in the draft (early 2nd RD – though by virtue of playing Edge, which is a premium position in the NFL, he might make it into the late 1st RD). Those are the only Utes they deem draftable at this point and time. Regarding Bishop, sounds like he’s probably crazy to play in the NFL but he’d probably make himself more money by staying one more year and having a stellar senior season. I know that there a lot of variables, but statistically, Bishop has regressed in a big way from his sophomore season. Good luck Cole, wish you and your family all of the best.

[Utah]

I agree. It’s one of two things:

1 – He’s getting some really, really bad advice.
2 – He doesn’t think another year will get him drafted any higher.

I guess it could be a third: He needs the money. But I’d assume that he could pull an NLI deal that was comparable to the NFL minimum.

I hope he goes to a good situation. Him dropping in the draft means hopefully he ends up in Philly.

[The Miami Ute]

There’s more to it than that…getting drafted in the later rounds means that a team can get rid of you easier because they haven’t invested much in you. You don’t get many chances to survive training camp mistakes or injuries as a sixth or seventh round draft pick. I checked the stats and, shocker, players taken in the sixth and seventh-rounds have the toughest time to earn a roster spot. Their odds can fall as low as having a 30-35% chance of making a team.

[Utah]

I agree 100%. I wouldn’t tell Bishop to go to the NFL. Especially with NIL. Get a couple hundred grand from Utah and try to improve your draft status. I think Bishop will be very disappointed come June.

[Rick]

I love Cole and I hope he is making the right decision for himself but I have doubts as to where he will land in the draft. There are a lot of safeties in this year’s draft. He had some great moments this year but he also had some not so great moments like the Colorado game TD he gave up because he misread the play. I don’t see him going any earlier than the 5th round and he probably would have made more money with NIL staying put.

[The Miami Ute]

Yeap…we think he’s the cat’s meow because he’s our guy and we see him on a weekly basis but you’re right…not the right time for him to go considering the competition and the fact that he regressed in his statistical performance, because let’s face it, Cole is not a physical freak that you can project will turn into X, Y, and Z with NFL coaching. I have no doubt that he can play in the NFL and will make some team very happy but that will be because that team got a premium guy at a bargain. If he balled out next year he could have probably vaulted easily into the 3rd-4th RD thus making himself a lot more money over the course of his first NFL contract.

[Kellso]

He is very good. When he shows for the combine, his draft stick will rise.

[The Miami Ute]

I’m not certain about that at all…the guys that shine in the combine are the under the radar players from unknown schools that have undocumented freakish physical traits. Bishop is neither freakishly big, nor freakishly strong, nor freakishly fast. He might be smart as hell but this is not a CPA competition and intelligence will only carry you so far.

[Yergensen]

Vaki is a guy who would dominate the combine and further improve his stock. His 40 time and vertical will be top/near top of whatever class he comes out in. Bishop’s stock will ride on his game tape, not a great athlete, but a good football player.

[The Miami Ute]

Fully concur…if Vaki has a 40 time in the 4.4 range and bench presses 225 lbs say 20-25 times, that’s going to draw a crowd.

[2008 National Champ]

You’re assuming he even gets invited to the combine, which isn’t a sure thing. More likely his only chance to impress is at pro day.

[22Ute22]

No he won’t. Bishop isn’t a freak athlete like Vaki. Bishop should’ve come back and worked on his spread, quickness, and pass protection in the offseason, and then showed that he improved in all of those areas with Utah in 2024.

[Jim Vanderhoof]

Sad to see him go. College and professional football has gotten so violent and the athletes are so big and fast. Injuries are now more common. He is 1 play away from ruining his career. It’s become an issue. Look at the number of injuries we had and the risk has become to great.

[mesovanhorny]

Once he declares, is he gone from the team? Or could this just be exploratory?

[The Miami Ute]

The deadline for underclassmen, sophomores and juniors to declare themselves eligible for the NFL draft is in January. However, once a player declares for the draft, which is a formal application process through the NFL, they forego their remaining eligibility to play college football. This means that once they declare for the draft they cannot return to play in college.

[2008 National Champ]

That’s not exactly true. Kids can pull themselves out of the draft and apply for a waiver to reenroll and use any eligibility they have remaining. It used to be that if you hadn’t signed with an agent, you could also pull yourself out but I’m not sure if that stipulation is still valid.

Jaxson Kirkland, OT at UW, got injured prepping for the draft and successfully petitioned for a waiver so that he could play his final college season in 2022. I believe he had to sit two games as part of the deal.

[The Miami Ute]

Exceptions to every rule then…on a case by case basis. NCAA rules explicitly state that applying for the draft cancels out any eligibility left. In addition the NFL also states that participating in the Draft means that an underclassman loses his remaining eligibility: If he is not selected by an NFL team, he will not be able to play another college season and he will not be able to improve his draft standing for the following year’s draft.