If NFL scouts don’t already have a dossier on the prospects in the 2018 NFL Draft, they could get a leg up this spring thanks to a new rule approved by the NFL and the American Football Coaches Association.

While not all players have, or will, take advantage of the rule, current underclassmen who will soon be eligible for the 2018 NFL Draft can perform for scouts in the controlled environment of their college campus. It’s designed to give more information for evaluations by the NFL’s college advisory committee.

Five underclassmen per program can participate in pro days when NFL coaches and scouts visit college campuses to watch workouts. But schools can request to have more involved.

The Associated Press reported that the committee changed its rating system last year to “potential first-round pick,” “potential second-round pick” or “neither.”

These changes will benefit the likes of Auburn defensive end Byron Cowart, Alabama defensive back Minkah Fitzpatrick, LSU running back Derrius Guice, South Carolina tight end Hayden Hurst, Florida offensive lineman Martez Ivey, LSU defensive end Arden Key (though he’s out this spring), Texas A&M receiver Christian Kirk and Alabama defensive lineman Da’Ron Payne.

At South Carolina, Hurst was joined by offensive lineman Zack Bailey and wide receiver Deebo Samuel along with 16 already draft-eligible former Gamecocks.

This is the first spring for the new rule, which has been lobbied for by Ohio State’s Urban Meyer and Alabama’s Nick Saban. While Meyer and others would like an underclassmen combine, that hasn’t happened. But NFL teams can meet with, test and scout certain prospects.

It’s all designed to prevent 30 to 50 players from making a poor decision and enter the draft in a given year. It clarifies and puts above board a practice where scouts would previously visit a school under the guise of scouting seniors or draft-eligible players only to keep another eye on next year’s crop of talent.

The number of underclassmen entering the draft had been steadily rising in recent years and hit a record 107 in 2016, the AP reported. This year, 103 players reportedly left school early and declared for the draft, including 23 from the SEC.

Some of the SEC’s top draft hopefuls are underclassmen: Myles Garrett, Derek Barnett, Leonard Fournette, Jamal Adams, etc. Florida lost both starting cornerbacks, Teez Tabor and Quincy Wilson. Alabama had three underclassmen declare for this year’s draft: Cam Robinson, ArDarius Stewart and Marlon Humphrey.

The issue isn’t so much about those who are locks to be drafted, but rather those on the bubble, or worse. Last year, 30 underclassmen were not drafted, including six from the SEC.

“There is a cross-section of people out there who maybe aren’t giving young men responsible information about making this decision, which is indicative of 107 guys going out for the draft last year. Probably at least half of those guys probably shouldn’t have made that decision relative to whether they didn’t get picked, or where they got picked,” Saban was quoted as saying by NFL.com in July.

“They’d have been better off enhancing their draft status by staying in school and developing as a player. There is a group of people out there not being responsible on how they help these guys, and create unrealistic expectations of what their future might be as a football player based on where they are in their development.”

In January, Clemson’s Dabo Swinney credited Saban for leading the way for the change after he organized a conference call with about five coaches, the AP reported.

It’s too late to help previous SEC players who declared and weren’t drafted, but it might prevent more from joining that list in 2018.