MOBILE, Ala. — The NFL Draft process is generally familiar with the concept that some players may have different-length seasons than others.
Some players have their years cut short by injury. Others may deal with suspensions. Still more will get only 12 regular-season opportunities while the Alabamas, Clemsons and Ohio States of the world get 14 or 15.
This year, the ability to differentiate players with largely different sample sizes will be stressed to the extreme. Some of the players at the 2021 Senior Bowl played as many as 12 games. Others played far fewer, like Arizona State wide receiver Frank Darby, whose Sun Devils suited up just twice. Many of the FCS-level players in the field had their entire 2020 seasons postponed until the spring, leaving them without a senior season on their resume.
For Darby, that just means that he needs to take advantage of the opportunity that he’s been given to show NFL coaches what he can do in this setting.
