The first big-time opt out of the 2020 season came five days ago when Virginia Tech cornerback Caleb Farley–a top 10 player on NFL Draft boards–decided to sit out this season and prepare for the upcoming NFL Draft.
The next player to announce he is opting out of the season in order to prepare for the draft came this morning in Minnesota wide receiver Rashod Bateman–by many accounts the best wide receiver in the Big Ten.
Wishing well❤️ pic.twitter.com/fxV1FI7r7o
— Rashod Bateman (@R_bateman2) August 4, 2020
Bateman will not be the last, as around the country players have began to weigh their options and decide what is best for both their health and their NFL prospects.
The Minnesota receiver along with Purdue’s Rondale Moore are the only Big Ten receivers projected to go in the first round by TheDraftNetwork, with Moore going No. 26 and Bateman No. 30 in their latest 2021 NFL mock draft.
There’s plenty to like about Rashod Bateman. He will be in contention to be one of the first WRs off of the board during the 2021 NFL Draft. pic.twitter.com/smhiEExxeb
— Jordan Reid (@JReidNFL) August 4, 2020
Aside from the health factors that may have weighed heavily in Bateman’s decision, his opt out will have a significant effect on the football field as now Minnesota and quarterback Tanner Morgan are without their No. 1 threat on the outside, losing a player that caught 60 passes last year for 1219 yards and 11 touchdowns.
Last year the Golden Gophers were able to find connections down the field early and often during their impressive 11-2 campaign. Now with Tyler Johnson on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Bateman opting out of the season, they’re losing a combined 2537 receiving yards and 24 touchdowns–practically the entirety of their 2019 passing attack.
Players expected to step into those roles include upperclassmen Chris Autman-Bell, Demetrius Douglas and Seth Green, though Golden Gopher fans know that recreating Johnson and Bateman’s 2019 production is next to an impossible task.
Minnesota will meet the Badgers at Camp Randall this season in a game that figures to be the Big Ten West title game with the winner likely heading to the conference championship.
And now, after today, they will do so without the conference’s best receiver in future first round pick Rashod Bateman.