March 1st is an important date for potential NFL draft prospects. It’s the deadline for college players who still have college eligibility to formally declare for the 2021 NFL draft.
The NFL moved the deadline from January due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. It includes the FCS players who are currently participating in that level’s season.
Players who have played in four college seasons will not have to formally declare, per the league.
“This clarification means that any college football player who participated or would have participated in his fourth season of full-time participation, as distinguished from a ‘red-shirt’ year, during the 2020 college football season will be deemed to be automatically eligible for the 2021 NFL Draft,” the NFL said in a statement from January.
