Shooter: Antoine Winfield Jr. "is expected to declare himself eligible for April’s draft."

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I really have a tough time believing he'd be drafted day 2. Yes, he had an awesome year, but with the injury history and his size, I just can't see him honestly being drafted that high.

One more year might move him up, but as everyone else has said, that is a risk, also. He's the B1G Defensive Player of the Year. Will he repeat? Maybe, but if he's not as good as some other safety, does his stock drop? God forbid he gets hurt again, who knows what happens then.

I hope to see him back but will not be upset if he moves on. I just hope Rossi has a plan on how to restructure the secondary without him there.
 

Lakeville Goldy said:
I really have a tough time believing he'd be drafted day 2. Yes, he had an awesome year, but with the injury history and his size, I just can't see him honestly being drafted that high.

One more year might move him up, but as everyone else has said, that is a risk, also. He's the B1G Defensive Player of the Year. Will he repeat? Maybe, but if he's not as good as some other safety, does his stock drop? God forbid he gets hurt again, who knows what happens then.

I hope to see him back but will not be upset if he moves on. I just hope Rossi has a plan on how to restructure the secondary without him there.
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He isn't going to suddenly gain 2 inches in height and another 20 pounds nor will another year dispel injury risks so there really isn't a great reason to back out unless he is hearing he would go as a udfa but that isn't likely.
 

Two things: do we play Fresno state next year? and where is he at academically? He should be close to graduating I would think and could come back to work on a masters. Free education from a world class university would serve him better in the long term than a shot at the nfl.
 

Thymanst said:
Two things: do we play Fresno state next year? and where is he at academically? He should be close to graduating I would think and could come back to work on a masters. Free education from a world class university would serve him better in the long term than a shot at the nfl.
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He is probably close to graduating.

College is always right there for him.
 

I would love for him to stay, but that's only because he is one of my favorite Gophers ever. I can't imagine that there is much he could do next year that would raise his stock much. As others have noted, the primary knocks on him are his size and his injury history. He isn't going to change either of those things no matter how well he plays next year. If he loves college life and really wants to try to elevate the team and his standing as a legendary Gopher, I'd welcome him back, but the best thing for his career earnings is to come out now.
 


If Winfield were to graduate (finish his degree)....could he theoretically return to the team and not take classes or take only fluff?

Could give him plenty of time training to go along with another great season.
 

Sid chimes in:

Winfield to NFL?

Gophers safety Antoine Winfield Jr. was named the top defensive back in the Big Ten this week and there’s no doubt that if he chooses, he could turn pro.

His father, Antoine Winfield Sr., was a standout Vikings and Bills cornerback and 14-year pro who can offer insight into the decision. There isn’t a ton of upside for Winfield to return to the Gophers, because he is already 21 after missing the bulk of two seasons because of injuries.

Winfield is leading the team in tackles with 83 and interceptions with seven — that latter number ranked fourth in the country — and also forced two fumbles.

Pro Football Network rated Winfield as a top-five safety and a second-round draft pick who could potentially move into the first round if he chooses to enter the NFL draft.

www.startribune.com

Defensive end Ifeadi Odenigbo prepares to step in for Vikings

The defensive end could play a more pivotal role as other linemen age or have contract issues.
www.startribune.com www.startribune.com

Go Gophers!!
 

BleedGopher said:
Sid chimes in:

Winfield to NFL?

Gophers safety Antoine Winfield Jr. was named the top defensive back in the Big Ten this week and there’s no doubt that if he chooses, he could turn pro.

His father, Antoine Winfield Sr., was a standout Vikings and Bills cornerback and 14-year pro who can offer insight into the decision. There isn’t a ton of upside for Winfield to return to the Gophers, because he is already 21 after missing the bulk of two seasons because of injuries.

Winfield is leading the team in tackles with 83 and interceptions with seven — that latter number ranked fourth in the country — and also forced two fumbles.

Pro Football Network rated Winfield as a top-five safety and a second-round draft pick who could potentially move into the first round if he chooses to enter the NFL draft.

www.startribune.com

Defensive end Ifeadi Odenigbo prepares to step in for Vikings

The defensive end could play a more pivotal role as other linemen age or have contract issues.
www.startribune.com www.startribune.com

Go Gophers!!
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If he goes through the process and he truly projects as a 1st or 2nd round pick he would be nuts not to go pro. Although would love to have him back in Maroon and Gold next year.
 

He was just voted B1G DB of the year. His stock will never be higher and he should go to the NFL.

That said, I don't think he will ever be a 1st or 2nd round draft pick based on his size.
 



I’m wondering more about whether he will play in the Bowl Game.
 

He is not registered for spring courses so I assume that he will be declaring for the draft
 

It didn't do Maxx Williams much good to go pro as a sophomore - he didn't play much and missed out on a unanimous All-America season and winning the McKay Award, which might have improved his draft chances. Winfield could be an All-American and win the Thorpe Award next year - he should stick around and become a legend. Besides, his teammates need him.
 

noamfromm said:
He is not registered for spring courses so I assume that he will be declaring for the draft
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Wasn't aware you could see enrollment status on students, feels a little stalkerish...

Not saying you are wrong but if Winfield was 100% sure he was going pro it would be silly for him not to just go ahead and declare for the draft. He is leaving the window open to come back for another year. Won't be surprised one bit if he ultimately does decide to go pro but will take him at his word that he hasn't made that decision yet.
 



I'm sure he can register for Spring semester at the last second, and just pay a late-registration fee or something like that.
 

Great Plains Gopher said:
It didn't do Maxx Williams much good to go pro as a sophomore - he didn't play much and missed out on a unanimous All-America season and winning the McKay Award, which might have improved his draft chances. Winfield could be an All-American and win the Thorpe Award next year - he should stick around and become a legend. Besides, his teammates need him.
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I agree.

It's just the risk. The risk of getting injured in college and having all the guaranteed NFL money go out the window.

Every player has to decide for themselves.
 

CBS Sports did a way to early 7 round mock draft. They had Winfield going in round 6 at pick 207. If that is truly the kind of read he is getting draft wise it may well be in his best interest to come back for another year of college to improve his stock. Because as a 6th rounder the guaranteed money wouldn't be all that much.

Just one take of course but here is where they had our guys going:
TJ - 3rd Round - 78 overall
Kamal - 6th Round - 184 overall
Winfield - 6th Round - 207 overall
Coughlin - 7th Round - 249 overall

www.cbssports.com

2020 NFL Seven-Round Mock Draft: Patriots, Raiders, Chargers take QBs on Day 2; Steelers start with RB

See who could come off the board in April in our way-too-early seven-round mock draft
www.cbssports.com www.cbssports.com
 

What is the guaranteed money for a 6th/7th rounder? I'm taking a wild guess of low six figures?

Vs being a 2nd/3rd rounder? It's the risk you gotta weigh ...
 

MplsGopher said:
What is the guaranteed money for a 6th/7th rounder? I'm taking a wild guess of low six figures?

Vs being a 2nd/3rd rounder? It's the risk you gotta weigh ...
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Found this link: https://heavy.com/sports/2019/04/nfl-draft-pick-salaries-contracts-signing-bonuses/

Couple rounds in the draft make a huge difference in signing bonus and total contract value. Great money no matter where you get drafted but given the shelf life of NFL players, if you can improve your stock by coming back it is probably worth the risk.
 

Thanks! Guessing only the signing bonus is guaranteed. So indeed it can be quite a jump to go from 6/7 to even 3/4.

Could be talking going from $100k-200k to over $1M if you're an upper 3rd rounder. Is that worth the risk of coming back for another year in college??? The difficult question....
 

MNVCGUY said:
Wasn't aware you could see enrollment status on students, feels a little stalkerish...
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Nah, it's publicly available information to anyone with internet access.

And I agree, it doesn't necessarily mean anything at this point.
 

I was just looking at the CBSportsline 7 round mock(I know pretty inexact science) They had Winfield as a 5th rounder I believe. The part that caught my eye though is that they projected 4 Gophers to be drafted. Wonder when the last time we had 4 guys drafted in the same year?
 


CBS 7 round mock draft has winfield going in round 6 to the Bills and CC in round 7 to the giants.
 

The University of Minnesota is a public school, and so the following webpage is available to the public:

Web Login Service - Stale Request

www.umn.edu www.umn.edu

I don't know if the information shown there regarding enrollment indicates the current semester, or any future semester enrollment.
 



dpodoll68 said:
Nah, it's publicly available information to anyone with internet access.

And I agree, it doesn't necessarily mean anything at this point.
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Given general rules and customs on student privacy, that seems very surprising to me. Do you have a link to prove that?
 


Round 6 seems low. If that is truly in the right ballpark, you could see him come back. 6 rounders don't always even make the team.
 

WoodburyTim said:
Round 6 seems low. If that is truly in the right ballpark, you could see him come back. 6 rounders don't always even make the team.
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I would agree that the 6th round seems low, but with whatever grade he ends up with it would seem that the limiting factors are things like size, injury history, speed, etc. that he's unlikely to be able to improve by coming back. Maybe if they identify some major technique flaws in his game it would make sense to come back to work on those, but his strengths in my view are his football intelligence, work ethic, tackling and his overall knack to be a play maker. There doesn't need to be any more evidence of that. And if he gets hurt for the third time in four years, he might not drafted at all.
 

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