Now that the Super Bowl is over, the focus of the NFL world is finally shifting to the upcoming NFL Draft. Teams are getting ready to pick the new talents. But, are rookies ready for the pros? Every year, rookies enter the league with confidence, yet many struggle to adapt to the level of professional play. This highlights the huge gap between the college division and the league. Former Patriots‘ WR, Julian Edelman, had something to say about the same.

NFL legends Julian Edelman and Rob Gronkowski appeared on Dudes on Dudes and addressed the query of a listener named Pedro. And per Edelman, the college game is becoming too “collegy” and it is starting to show.

In his eyes, college football ain’t doing enough to prepare athletes for the NFL, and called their game too simple. “A lot of these RPO stuff… there’s no complexity to that,” pointing out the overuse of RPOs and spread-out offenses. The former WR believes that NFL players must read defenses, adjust their protections, and know how to make decisions under center. It is worrisome since he knows from his experience as a college football player that college systems don’t teach that.

Edelman further took a dig on college-style offenses, “NFL pro-style coaches are having to go to the college-like scheme because they’re not able to come in”. He genuinely believes players from college don’t have experience in pro-style. Quite understandable, right? The former Patriot also suggested that the NCAA needs to take a hard look at how players are compensated, as most struggle to make ends meet, despite the NIL earnings. But Edelman’s biggest gripe is something else.

In the words of Edelman, it’s “the quality”. His biggest pain point is: that college football is missing out on teaching players the fundamentals needed at the next level. This makes the gap between college football and the league even wider, making it harder for rookies. However, he also pointed out: “I don’t think the talent’s lower, I just think the play is different.”

And then the discussion shifted from college to whether today’s NFL is less talented than before and Gronkowski had to add his two cents—him being a former player and all.

Gronkowski agrees on Julian Edelman’s talk

As per Gronk, the talent is there, it’s just the way the game is played that has changed: “Exactly! I mean, you got guys like Justin Jefferson, Ja’Marr Chase just absolutely balling out on the football field like never,” backing up his point that there’s no shortage of elite players. He further opined on the D-Line: “Look at the D-ends—Myles Garrett, look at Verse, this little new guy Verse with the Rams that had a crazy good year. There’s D—I mean, Jaylen Carter at the defensive tackle position.” Rob thinks that NFL offenses have shifted to a more pass-heavy, spread-out approach.

Now we know why the game might feel different, but it doesn’t mean the level of competition has dropped.

When it comes to college football, Gronkowski and Edelman both agreed it “ultimately comes down to how players aren’t being developed in college.” When Edelman called RPOs simple Gronk matched that thought, saying, “Like West Coast offenses that are throwing the ball all the time… It’s just how many times they’re throwing the ball compared to running the ball, just the whole entire style of play is different.” 

Gronk then wrapped the conversation by playfully calling out Bill Belichick’s son, who’s coaching at North Carolina. “Good thing we got Chapel Bill, he’s going to develop all the players out there at UNC, and then they’re going to be NFL-ready.” And then the legend duo went on to make a funny song, hyping up players’ development in the future.

Someone’s got to give NCAA the cure, be it better coaching, new systems, or more support for players post-college. As we know, the debate ain’t going away anytime soon.