Royce Newman to Enter NFL Draft After 2020 Season, Forgo Extra COVID-19 Eligibility

Lane Kiffin interrupted the start of Royce Newman's press conference on Tuesday afternoon with the drop off of a package.

Lane Kiffin interrupted the start of Royce Newman's press conference on Tuesday afternoon with the drop off of a package. 

"Congratulations: Senior Bowl," Kiffin said, dropping off the package into his offensive lineman's lap. "Too bad you won't need it because you're coming back, right?"

Nope. The redshirt senior right tackle will not be coming back for his extra season of COVID-19 granted eligibility and will be instead entering the 2021 NFL Draft, and thus playing in the Senior Bowl.

"(The Senior Bowl) is a big opportunity," Newman said. "(The draft) will go along with playing in the Reeces Bowl... I haven't really thought about four more games left in the regular season. I just take it one week at a time."

The NFL hadn't exactly always been an expectation for Newman. Part of the 2016 signing class, Newman didn't see any playing time until 2017, where he appeared in nine games as a reserve but never started. It was more of the same for Newman in 2018, where he saw action in every single game but never started once. 

Last year was the breaking point. Newman worked his way into the starting lineup, starting each game at left guard for Ole Miss. He was so good in pass protection at guard in 2019 (allowing just one sack in 416 pass blocks) that the new coaching staff moved him to right tackle, where he's been all of 2020.

At 6-foot-6, tackle allows the now senior to use his full frame to his ability. Coming into the season, Newman was ranked as the No. 35 draft eligible guard by Phil Steele. Now he's a tackle, and others, like Jim Nagy, an 18-year NFL scout and director of the Reese's Senior Bowl.

"OL Royce Newman stands out athletically on tape and the staff believes he will be among the top testers in '21 draft," Nagy tweeted recently. "Newman can play all five OL spots and he could match this year's No. 13 overall pick Tristan Wirfs with a 36-inch vertical jump."

Where Newman could fall in the draft is truly a crapshoot. Most projections have him between the 5th and 7th rounds, which makes things such as the Senior Bowl appearance a really important means to boost his stock. 

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