With The First Pick
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2017 NFL Draft Holiday Wishlist

By Jon Dove

Nov 26, 2016; Columbus, OH, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes safety Malik Hooker (24) is congratulated by teammates following his pick six during the second quarter at Ohio Stadium. Michigan Wolverines lead at half 10-7. Mandatory Credit: Joe Maiorana-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 26, 2016; Columbus, OH, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes safety Malik Hooker (24) is congratulated by teammates following his pick six during the second quarter at Ohio Stadium. Michigan Wolverines lead at half 10-7. Mandatory Credit: Joe Maiorana-USA TODAY Sports /
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Jan 1, 2016; Glendale, AZ, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish linebacker Jaylon Smith (9) cries as he is carted off the field after suffering an injury un the first quarter against the Ohio State Buckeyes during the 2016 Fiesta Bowl at University of Phoenix Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 1, 2016; Glendale, AZ, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish linebacker Jaylon Smith (9) cries as he is carted off the field after suffering an injury un the first quarter against the Ohio State Buckeyes during the 2016 Fiesta Bowl at University of Phoenix Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports /

The Bowl Season is injury free.

As the college season comes to an end, there are a lot of teams and high profile prospects getting ready to enjoy the bowl season. The bowl season has its positives, but it also comes with a lot of risk. NFL prospects are risking a lot of money by playing in these basically meaningless games.

Last year, Notre Dame’s Jaylon Smith suffered a devastating knee injury during the bowl game and it cost him. He was projected as a top-10 pick and was the top rated prospect on my big board. The injury cost him to slip to the 2nd round and miss his entire rookie season.

His long-term future is still in question with the problems in his knee not healing as expected.

This year we’ve seen LSU’s Leonard Fournette and Stanford’s Christian McCaffrey elect to sit out their bowl game in order to prepare for the draft. Their decision has created a lot of controversy with supporters on both sides of the fence.

The biggest thing is to keep your fingers crossed that nobody suffers an injury during the bowl season. These kids have worked to hard to have their future jeopardized based on an injury in a meaningless game.

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