The NFL preseason is in midseason narrative form, coaches and front offices are already putting the bottom of their rosters under a microscope, and we’re one week closer to the regular season kicking off and games counting for real.

Inside this mailbag, we get an insider perspective on the court ruling that just might forever change the NFL and College Football landscapes, a front office executive’s thoughts on the positions his team is already looking for on the trade market and building their waiver wire wish list around, and examine the new coaches who might already be on the clock before even teeing up the ball in Week 1.

Let’s get after it …

The college football and NFL landscapes have officially become the Wild Wild West.

After the NCAA adjusted its strict eligibility rules, effectively ending the need for redshirts at the college level and increasing a player’s eligibility to five years, a Louisiana judge ruled that there are 16 players currently on NFL rosters who now have an extra year of eligibility.

Already, running back T.J. Harden, who spent time with the Seattle Seahawks and Cleveland Browns this summer, after going undrafted this spring, has officially entered the transfer portal. So, he’s hoping to land on a college roster this fall, rather than potentially falling onto the NFL waiver wire in a couple of weeks.

Harden made the leap into the portal before NFL teams even begin trimming their roster on August 30, but he isn’t going to be alone.

Former New York Jets Director of Player Personnel Greg Nejmeh is now the President of Accelerate Sports Ventures, where he leads the Football Evaluation and Advisory service, offering major college programs objective film analysis based on his roster construction and decision-making experience at the NFL level, believes chaos is coming.

“Yes, I think we should expect to see it,” Nejmeh tells Between The Hashmarks. “The wheels are already in motion. There are college staffs watching NFL film right now and preparing for the possibility, and it’s something we’re actively monitoring and helping some of the programs we partner with evaluate from a roster-construction and player-valuation standpoint.

“To me, it’s another example of the ever-changing landscape in college football and the pressure it puts on personnel and coaching staffs to keep up. Philosophically, I still have a hard time wrapping my head around a player who has already spent months in an NFL locker room, received NFL coaching and trained in an NFL strength and conditioning program being able to go back and play college football. That player has had a level of professional development that could give him a clear advantage going back.”

This really is a new era, both for major college football and all facets of the NFL.

Name Image and Likeness, and the [long overdue] ability for college athletes to be paid has changed the calculus.

This court decision adds another layer to any value-based decision for a player who winds up going undrafted.

In terms of these most recent developments, the clock is ticking on the eligible players to make a decision, because they must be granted their release from their NFL teams before September 1, and then be allowed access into the transfer portal, where there are going to be inevitable bidding wars among college programs.

“It becomes a really interesting decision for the player,” Nejmeh says. “If a school believes that player can materially help its roster, it will find a way to make the resources work. Programs always find ways to invest in players they believe can make a real difference.

“So does the player stay on an NFL practice squad with the opportunity to potentially get elevated and earn game checks, or does he go back to college, potentially make the same — or in some cases more — money, play meaningful football and have an opportunity to improve his draft stock for the following year?”