Of the 59 players selected in the 2020 AFL National Draft, just 31 remain on AFL lists, with the class increasingly raising questions about the long-term impact of football's COVID-19 shutdown.
Three of the top 10 picks have already been delisted, while former top-10 selections Nik Cox and Jamarra Ugle-Hagan are still fighting to secure their AFL futures.
Former Pick 15 Conor Stone was the latest to depart, adding to a growing list of selections who have struggled to establish themselves at the highest level.
Conducted amid the disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 draft presented recruiters with an unprecedented challenge. With Victorian competitions largely shut down, many prospects had limited opportunities to showcase their development, leaving clubs to make crucial decisions with less recent football to assess.
Josh Treacy and Jack Ginnivan both slipped to the rookie draft, and yet have forged successful top-flight careers after emerging from the Bendigo Pioneers.
But the draft's biggest misses may have been the players who weren't selected at all.
Melbourne's Daniel Turner; Collingwood's Roan Steele; Fremantle's Karl Worner; West Coast pair Marcus Herbert and Jack Hutchison; St Kilda's Max Hall; Western Bulldogs' James O'Donnell; Gold Coast's Ned Moyle.
All eight eventually found their way onto an AFL list via the rookie draft, mid-season intake or, as O'Donnell experienced, as a Category B Rookie given his background in cricket.
All eight have emerged as stars of the competition, and yet were denied early entry to the AFL.
Turner is a Melbourne captain in-waiting, and was endorsed by legendary Demon and current skipper Max Gawn as his successor.
Hall has quietly turned into one of the most damaging midfield-forwards in the league, and is set for a massive payday as Tasmania looms.
Worner played a crucial role in the Dockers' surge to premiership contention and the Grand Final against Brisbane.
Moyle has surpassed veteran ruck Jarrod Witts, while Steele's aerobic prowess suits the current climate of the game and the direction it's heading.
Herbert fetched a two-year contract offer from Carlton after only six months at the Eagles.
Their journeys offer a striking counterpoint to the struggles of the original draft class.
While dozens of selections have already fallen off AFL lists, several players overlooked in 2020 have since become valuable contributors — raising fresh questions about how clubs assessed talent during one of the most disrupted recruiting periods in recent memory.
