When Christian McCaffrey and Leonard Fournette decided to skip their bowl games last December, nobody really knew how it would impact their NFL draft status, or that of future players considering the same choice.
We found out very quickly Thursday night -- with a rubber stamp of approval from the NFL. All those who thought perhaps league executives would frown upon players abandoning their teams to get a jump on their NFL careers got a resounding answer.
Fournette and McCaffrey went early in the first round, anyway. And that could have a far-ranging set of consequences that go beyond a few players.