Friday is the deadline for 36 SEC underclassmen who declared for the 2019 NFL Draft to reconsider and return to campus.

Few if any will. Maybe a few more should.

Last season, 27 SEC players left school early to enter the NFL Draft. For some, it was as easy decision that paid off exactly as anticipated. For others, the struggle was real.

Who made the best decision? Who made the worst? A year later, let’s evaluate their first year out of college.

27. Trenton Thompson (Georgia/Undrafted)

A 5-star enigma and No. 1 overall prospect in the 2015 class, Thompson’s story isn’t finished, but it clearly has more questions than resolutions.

He signed with Cleveland after the draft but didn’t survive training camp.

It appears obvious that another year in Athens would have been beneficial, but given his production as a Bulldog, that’s hardly a guarantee.

26. Kamryn Pettway (Auburn/Undrafted)

A battering ram with surprising speed at Auburn, Pettway didn’t waste much time transitioning after going undrafted. He signed with an Arena Football League team but quickly moved on to coaching high school ball in Alabama.

“Things didn’t turn out like I thought it would,” Pettway told AL.com. “I couldn’t sit around and wait on another opportunity, so I started working on my (coaching) career. If an NFL opportunity comes about again, I’ll be ready for it. I’m still working out. When I’m coaching on the field, I still run through the drills when I show them an example. I’ll be ready if the opportunity presents itself again.”

25. Kevin Toliver II (LSU/Undrafted)

Toliver gambled and paid the price when he was not selected last April. But he did what all great defensive backs do. He quickly erased a bad moment and replaced it with a highlight.

Toliver signed with the Chicago Bears and worked his way into the starting lineup.

So he’s contributing in the NFL. Still, at 6-2, 192, it’s hard to imagine the former 5-star recruit being undrafted this April had he returned.

24. Toby Weathersby (LSU/Undrafted)

Weathersby obviously overestimated his draft value last year and could have benefitted by staying another year in Baton Rouge. The Tigers obviously would have, too. But credit him for sticking with it. Picked up (and later released) by the Philadelphia Eagles, he recently signed with the New England Patriots’ practice squad.

23. Rashaan Gaulden (Tennessee/Carolina)

Gaulden was selected in the third round, so the financial gains were significant enough to merit the jump ($3.5 million over 4 years). His actual impact was a little less so. He played in 15 games but couldn’t crack the starting lineup. The Panthers liked his hitting ability, though.

22. John Kelly (Tennessee/L.A. Rams)

Kelly was a 6th-round pick last season. Could he have stayed at UT, dominated and increased his draft value? Maybe. Maybe not. He’s still a 5-10, 205-pound back, and it’s difficult to question any running back’s decision to leave early. He probably would have preferred to go to a team that didn’t have one of the game’s best at his position, but credit Kelly for carving out some playing time late in the regular season.

21. Kahlil McKenzie (Tennessee/Kansas City)

Is it possible to redshirt in the NFL? That’s essentially what McKenzie has done as a rookie transitioning from the defensive line to offensive guard. Except, he’s done so while drawing a paycheck from a team that could win the Super Bowl.

20. Jeff Holland (Auburn/Undrafted)

Holland hoped to cash in after a breakthrough junior year in which he finished third in the SEC with 10 sacks. Instead, he went undrafted before landing with the Denver Broncos. He played in the Broncos’ final 3 games.

19. Arden Key (LSU/Oakland)

This isn’t a full-blown indictment of his decision. It worked out well — third-round pick, started 10 games as a rookie, etc. But his combination of size and speed leaves you to wonder whether a huge senior season could have pushed him into the first round in 2019. At 4 years, $3.9 million, it feels like he might have left money on the table.

18. Bo Scarbrough (Alabama/Dallas)

In terms of usage, returning to Alabama would have been more of the same, meaning it’s difficult to see how much he could have enhanced his draft stock. As much as he looks the part, his medical file is filled with injury notations.

Dallas took him in the 7th round and that began a multi-city journey that reached its latest stop last month when the Seattle Seahawks signed him off Jacksonville’s practice squad. Seattle rushed for just 73 yards in its playoff loss to Dallas, so it could use the help in 2019.

17. Will Clapp (LSU/New Orleans)

Clapp likely could have improved his draft stock — he was taken late in the 7th round last year — but the bottom line is he not only made the Saints roster, he ended up starting as a rookie for a team that has a chance to win the Super Bowl.

His 4-year deal is worth $2.5 million. He probably could have improved on that a bit, too, had he returned, but that’ll buy a lot of rounds for friends on Bourbon Street.

16. Ronnie Harrison (Alabama/Jacksonville)

Harrison slipped into the third round, a surprising bonus for Jacksonville, which quickly moved him into the rotation and ultimately the starting lineup before he suffered a season-ending knee injury. The Jaguars’ secondary, so dominant in 2017, is being remade, and Harrison is a big part of that. Still, it’s fair to wonder how much higher would have gone had he returned and been the unquestioned star in the Alabama secondary this season.

15. Eddy Pineiro (Florida/Undrafted)

Would it have mattered had Pineiro returned, gone 24-for-28, bombed a few more 50-yarders, maybe even a game-winner or two and posted it all on YouTube?

Not really. Since 2000, just 41 kickers have been drafted. The rest just kind of show up, walk-on style. That’s what Pineiro did. He signed with the Oakland Raiders and reportedly was in position to win the starting job until he injured his groin in the preseason and was placed on injured reserve.

14. Taven Bryan (Florida/Jacksonville)

Bryan surprised some by sneaking into the first round, on an already loaded Jacksonville Jaguars defense no less. You can argue that Jacksonville had far greater needs, but Bryan represents the next wave as the Jags’ begin to rebuild an aging D-line. You could also argue that Bryan’s stock could have risen had he returned to Florida. Maybe a few spots for a few more dollars, but overall, he landed in a good place for a team that soon will need him to be a mainstay.

13. Breeland Speaks (Ole Miss/Kansas City Chiefs)

Speaks has become an occasional starter and key part of the Chiefs’ front seven. The stat line is modest — 1.5 sacks — but he’s a second-round pick preparing for the AFC Championship Game. All he missed out on was another Egg Brawl.

12. Marcell Harris (Florida/San Francisco)

Harris turned 24 a couple months after he was drafted, so the idea of returning to Florida for one more year didn’t make a lot of sense. He defied the odds, too, not only making the roster as a 6th-round pick but also starting 5 games as a rookie.

11. Hayden Hurst (South Carolina/Baltimore)

Hurst has made a few good decisions regarding his profession. The first was finally giving up baseball to focus on football. The second was to head to the NFL … (early doesn’t exactly sound right, given the fact he turned 25 a few months after the draft).

Taken No. 25 overall last April, it’s difficult to envision a scenario in which that could have improved, especially given his age.

10. Kerryon Johnson (Auburn/Detroit)

Johnson was a second-round pick and signed a 4-year deal that topped $6 million, so nobody in his household is complaining. But as explosive as he was in 2017, it’s fair to wonder whether the SEC Offensive Player of the Year could have played his way into the top 10 of this year’s draft with a repeat performance.

9. Carlton Davis (Auburn/Tampa Bay)

Davis, a second-round pick, signed a 4-year deal worth $4.4 million. It didn’t take him long to make an impact in the Bucs’ secondary, either. He started 12 games as a rookie.

8. Christian Kirk (Texas A&M/Arizona)

What is there to question? Kirk was drafted in the second round, went back home to Arizona, signed a 4-year deal worth $5.89 million and made the All-Rookie team as a returner.

7. Donte Jackson (LSU/Carolina)

Jackson started 16 games and led the Panthers with 4 interceptions. He had a solid case to make the All-Rookie team. The only benefit in returning to LSU would have been to try to get into the first round.

6. Calvin Ridley (Alabama/Atlanta)

Can you imagine a full year of Ridley with Tua Tagovailoa? Goodness. Ridley likely would have become the top WR prospect in the 2019 NFL Draft, but it’s difficult to imagine it turning out any better than landing on a pass-happy Falcons team opposite Julio Jones.

The Falcons missed the playoffs, but Ridley was electric, finishing with 64 catches for 821 yards and 10 touchdowns. He was named to the All-Rookie first-team.

5. Antonio Callaway (Florida/Cleveland)

Ridley’s production was better, but so were his options. Unless you could guarantee Callaway would have stayed trouble-free as a senior, he absolutely made the right decision. Nobody ever questioned the talent. And he quickly rewarded the Browns, too, becoming a consistent playmaker on an offense full of young, emerging stars.

4. Da’Ron Payne (Alabama/Washington)

Next. Alabama has had some established DL return for their senior year, but Payne has no regrets about leaving early.

He finished with 5.0 sacks and made the All-Rookie team after signing a 4-year, $14.4 deal.

3. Minkah Fitzpatrick (Alabama/Miami)

Fitzpatrick likely sneaks into the Top 10 if he stays a year, but it’s obviously worked out, financially (4 years, $16.4 million) and on the football field.

He started 11 games as a rookie and picked off 2 passes. He looked like a star in the making.

2. Roquan Smith (Georgia/Chicago)

This was a no-brainer. Smith was a projected early-first round pick, was taken No. 8 overall and held out for a 4-year, $18 million guaranteed deal.

Then all he did was lead the Bears with 121 tackles, good for 13th in the NFL and a spot on the All-Rookie team.

1. Derrius Guice (LSU/Washington)

And this is why elite running backs leave when they can.

Guice slipped into the second round but still signed a 4-year deal worth $4.5 million, of which more than $2.4 is guaranteed. Before his first snap, he tore an ACL and missed the season.

Had that happened at LSU, as a senior, does he even get drafted? Maybe, but not anywhere near the second round or for that much money.

You might not be able to predict injuries, but you can’t prevent them, either.

As for his recovery?