Older Prospects

mayoclinic · Apr 3, 2026

A number of board favorites this year are older prospects. With the NIL and transfer portal, it is increasingly likely that the mean age of draftable prospects will increase, and that 14 yo prospects will become more common.

We've already had 1 older prospects fail for the Pats: EDGE Keion White. However, an n of 1 is not enough.

Jeff Risdon recently posted 10 "hot takes":

#9 addresses the age issue with respect to 2 board favorites, Akheem Mesidor and Emmanuel Pregnon. Both are 5th/6th year prospects who have bounced around the portal, and who have only 1 good year of tape: their current year. Both are also playing on talented lines.

Risdon's argument - based on rumors he hears - is that these older prospects are physically more mature and developed, giving them an inherent advantage against younger college opponents - an advantage that will not translate to the pros.

Interesting thought. I thought this was worth it's own discussion.

Thoughts?

DoubleDeluxe · Apr 3, 2026

mayoclinic said:
A number of board favorites this year are older prospects. With the NIL and transfer portal, it is increasingly likely that the mean age of draftable prospects will increase, and that 14 yo prospects will become more common.

We've already had 1 older prospects fail for the Pats: EDGE Keion White. However, an n of 1 is not enough.

Jeff Risdon recently posted 10 "hot takes":

#9 addresses the age issue with respect to 2 board favorites, Akheem Mesidor and Emmanuel Pregnon. Both are 5th/6th year prospects who have bounced around the portal, and who have only 1 good year of tape: their current year. Both are also playing on talented lines.

Risdon's argument - based on rumors he hears - is that these older prospects are physically more mature and developed, giving them an inherent advantage against younger college opponents - an advantage that will not translate to the pros.

Interesting thought. I thought this was worth it's own discussion.

Thoughts?

Well....
that would need a really deep dive.
Their lone good year, were they matched up against much younger players on the opposite side?
For example, did Messidor dominate against a 20 -21 year old Olineman on a frequent basis?
I didn't watch the video, maybe that deeper analysis is provided.
If not, this would need much more in depth analysis.

Username · Apr 3, 2026

mayoclinic said:
A number of board favorites this year are older prospects. With the NIL and transfer portal, it is increasingly likely that the mean age of draftable prospects will increase, and that 14 yo prospects will become more common.

We've already had 1 older prospects fail for the Pats: EDGE Keion White. However, an n of 1 is not enough.

Jeff Risdon recently posted 10 "hot takes":

#9 addresses the age issue with respect to 2 board favorites, Akheem Mesidor and Emmanuel Pregnon. Both are 5th/6th year prospects who have bounced around the portal, and who have only 1 good year of tape: their current year. Both are also playing on talented lines.

Risdon's argument - based on rumors he hears - is that these older prospects are physically more mature and developed, giving them an inherent advantage against younger college opponents - an advantage that will not translate to the pros.

Interesting thought. I thought this was worth it's own discussion.

Thoughts?

It can definitely be a factor. But in Mesidors case, he doesn't rely entirely on physical strength to win, so it's not really a concern for me

mayoclinic · Apr 3, 2026

I'm neither pro nor con.

I can see - especially for linemen, who match up physically against each other on every snap - how a physically mature 23-24yo could theoretically beat up on 18-20yo underclassmen who aren't as developed, and then struggle in the prison against more physically mature competition.

In theory.

But I think it requires case-by-case analysis, and that it applies less to skill positions (e.g., Treydan Stukes at safety).

In Risdon's examples, if Mesidor and Pregnon slude, I would be happy to scoop either up.

I think we'll see more of this, as 24yo rookies become much more common.

DoubleDeluxe · Apr 3, 2026

mayoclinic said:
I'm neither pro nor con.

I can see - especially for linemen, who match up physically against each other on every snap - how a physically mature 23-24yo could theoretically beat up on 18-20yo underclassmen who aren't as developed, and then struggle in the prison against more physically mature competition.

In theory.

But I think it requires case-by-case analysis, and that it applies less to skill positions (e.g., Treydan Stukes at safety).

In Risdon's examples, if Mesidor and Pregnon slude, I would be happy to scoop either up.

I don't think we'll see more of this, as 24yo rookies become much more common.

You think we WILL see more of this you meant, correct?

mayoclinic · Apr 3, 2026

Yes ... corrected. TY.

DoubleDeluxe · Apr 3, 2026

mayoclinic said:
Yes ... corrected. TY.

With NIL money, guys have a lot of incentive to stay in school, especially if they're not going to be a very high pick.

bakes781 · Apr 3, 2026

I was just thinking about this but moreso the impact this has on NBA prospects. You only have to be 19 to be eligible but now they would have to compete with guys 7-8 years their elder if they want to compete in college. That's messed up.

OldEngland · 2026-04-18T13:21:11-0400

We've had a lot of discussion on older prospects across several threads, but I've not seen the economics discussed on the older prospects yet.

With someone like Mesidor, Stukes or Scott (an experienced, well developed, technically sound, older prospect) who a team thinks can play significant snaps from their rookie year, you are getting them for their prime years (25-30 Mesidor or 24-28 Stukes) on a rookie contract. Its potentially very solid value with the right player in the right team need situation.

Rdforty2 · 2026-04-18T13:46:20-0400

I dont think its fair to say Mesidor and Pregnon had 1 good year of tape. Pregnon was All B10 at USC before Oregon. On USC boards during his time there, he was discussed as a potential day 2 pick. Mesidor had 35 tfl and 23 sacks before this year.

Sure, I think their advanced age and physical development helps. But theyre playing top level football. There are big physical players throughout the B10 and SEC. Its not like they dominated D2 at 24.

The concern certainly is how much growth physically they can make. Its just a normal part of the evaluation. Some 22 year olds are maxed out physically as well. Its a fair concern but one to take on a case by case basis.

Older Prospects

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