Its that time of year again. The time when young talented rookie football stars will take the field and strut their stuff. The NFL combine is long in the rear view mirror and it is time for the future stars of the league to make their mark and show that they were worth that top draft pick and the boatloads of money they have been given. Everyone who is anyone in football circles is going to be tuned into the action and taking notes. Every pass, catch and cut will be analyzed and scrutinized as these young studs try to make the leap to elite status at the pro level.

Oh yeah!!!! It's football time again!!! (Image Source)

It all started back in April at the NFL combine. A weekend long spectacle where the top U.S. college football athletes compete in a variety of events to showcase their strength and skills. It is very Olympic like in nature except you compete in each event individually. The combine consists of the following events:

40 Yard Dash             Bench Press           Vertical Jump

Broad Jump               3 Cone Drill             Shuttle Run

A full description of each event can be found here.

For the players, this was the last chance to show NFL teams that they indeed are the best at their position and deserving of a high draft pick. The results of this weekend vaulted them higher and into the top echelon of the draft or potentially hurt their draft stock causing them to fall. Where you get drafted has a huge impact on the players financial future. 

Saquon Barkley proved worthy of the 2nd overall draft pick by the New York Giants (Image Source)

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The higher you get drafted the more you can demand in your rookie contract negotiations. The higher draft position also creates more demand for marketing deals and advertising money. Many players stepped up and showed the world exactly who they were and why everyone was talking about them. Saquon Barkley, Bradley Chubb and Baker Mayfield are among a few of the players that stood out and earned high draft picks from NFL suitors.

The NFL draft spectacle: Every player's dream!! (Image Source)

The NFL preseason is now over and the teams are whittling down to their rosters to 53. For some of these young stars, they have already secured their spot in the starting line up and the future seems bright. Rookie standouts like Sam Darnold, Saquon Barkley and Calvin Ridley seem poised to make an immediate impact on their new teams. Others such as Ronald Jones and Nick Chubb will need to keep fighting and clawing to find a regular spot on the field.  Then there are those like Bo Scarbrough who will be searching for another opportunity after getting cut. 

Some players to watch for are:

       QB                                       RB                                          WR

 Josh Rosen                   Saquon Barkley                      Calvin Ridley

 Josh Allen                       Sony Michel                         Christian Kirk

Sam Darnold                 Rashaad Penny                   Courtland Sutton

Baker Mayfield             Kerryon Johnson                     D.J. Moore

Who will be the next Antonio Brown? The next great NFL star? (Image Source)

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The time has come and the games are upon us. It is time to take the training wheels off and let these young studs show the world why they were selected so high in the draft and given huge rookie contracts. On Sunday it is time for these guys to put up or shut up and leave it all out there on the field. I for one will be front and center watching all the action and checking the stats. Every play could be the one that catapults these players into stardom. 


By: @broncofan99