Is Payton Thorne playing in East-West Shrine Bowl? Looking at Auburn QB's availability for postseason game

Auburn quarterback Payton Thorne will be playing in the East-West Shrine Bowl. The game is scheduled to take place on Thursday at 8 p.m. ET. It is designed as a last opportunity for players entering the NFL draft to show off their talents to scouts.

Although players like Thorne will be able to show off their physical attributes at the NFL Combine in February, the Shrine Bowl will be the last time the participating players will be able to show off their talents in a game environment before the 2025 NFL draft.

Payton Thorne will be available to play on Thursday in the Shrine Bowl and will be one of three quarterbacks on Team East. He will split playing time with Syracuse's Kyle McCord and North Dakota State's Cam Miller.

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What to expect from Payton Thorne in the Shrine Bowl

The Shrine Bowl is designed as a final opportunity for players to show off their talents in a game before the NFL draft. Payton Thorne will be looking to use the opportunity to improve his draft stock. He had a strong season in his second season at Auburn, completing 199 of 317 passes for 2713 yards and 21 touchdowns.

Although he had an overall strong season, it did not translate to success for the Auburn Tigers (5-7, 2-6 SEC), who finished third last in the SEC. Furthermore, it was not enough to earn Thorne a ranking from Pro Football Focus.

As things stand, it does not look like Payton Thorne will be an NFL draft pick. Instead, there were reports in December that Thorne was on a list of 10 players the Saskatchewan Roughriders in the Canadian Football League plan to speak within the winter.

Thorne planning to meet with CFL teams is not a good sign for what he has likely heard internally about his NFL draft potential. However, he still has a chance to change things for himself in the Shrine Bowl. With a strong performance in the Shrine Bowl, especially against some top defenders, Thorne has a chance to raise his draft stock.

This is viewed as a weak year for QBs. Even the only first-round projected quarterbacks, Shedeur Sanders and Cam Ward, have been criticized by many scouts. So, there is room for a player like Thorne to jump up the QB rankings with a strong Shrine Bowl performance. If he has a strong performance, it could change the trajectory of his career.