2025 NFL Draft Stock Report: Pop-Tarts Bowl

2025 NFL Draft Stock Report: Pop-Tarts Bowl

Next up for the 2025 NFL Draft Stock Report series is the Pop-Tarts Bowl. It was a thriller for a number of different reasons. Honestly… I don’t even care who plays in this game. This Bowl game is a must watch for several reasons.

Seriously… look at this cheese!

Put your chubby away and let’s get to the notes! Here are your 2025 NFL Draft Stock Report notes from the Pop-Tarts Bowl featuring Iowa State and Miami!

Iowa State

Those Brock Purdy vibes for Rocco Becht are so real. He really might be the next Purdy. It feels like I’m watching the same thing. Defense stinks, baller qualities, never quits, makes big comebacks, same height, wide receivers are meh. Just like Purdy, both versions of Iowa State got blasted in the Big 12 Title game but only made it that far because of the QB play.

The Miami defense has been shaky all year but Becht was impressive tossing for 270 yards at a 7.5 YPA clip with three touchdowns and no picks. He also had a rushing touchdown near the goal line mixed in there too. I can’t say for sure if they win if Cam Ward plays the whole game but Becht went shot for shot during the time he was in there.

Some people might hate me for this and I don’t care. Jaylin Noel posted eight receptions for 117 yards and a touchdown. I couldn’t be less impressed. I don’t care what his stats were. That’s not an elite NFL wide receiver. Shove the stats you know where. He’s not that good.

I said this during the Big 12 Title game. I don’t like either of these receivers. At least Noel showed up and honestly, he looks better than Jayden Higgins who didn’t suit up. Noel is 5-foot-11, 200, but it just feels like he’s missing something. Only has one gear to him. Hands are okay. A lot of the production came on one 49 yard catch. Miami hasn’t covered anyone all year so why should I be impressed? I’m just telling you right now, I don’t know what the expectations are here but as things stand now, you can have him.

Miami

Miami belongs in the Big 12 with the way they played defense this year. I think that’s how we should view this Bowl game. This was a classic Big 12 shoot out.

Damien Martinez house call? Maybe the wheels are underrated here, hey? Never thought he was dirt slow but it wasn’t exactly common theme for him to be ripping off THESE kind of runs. I’ve always been fan but you love to see this. Dude runs with real power. Keeps the feet churning. Big 230 pound back. It’s a lot of flashes of Rhamondre Stevenson except I think he can be better.

14 carries for 179 yards and a score. Dude was a menace in this game. I’ve been high on him since the Oregon State days. You have to have hammers like this to win in short yardage. I just think he’s consistently proved he’s more than that. The Steven Jackson comps I threw out there years ago might not be far off. It’s a high bar but I love this player.

I like Mark Fletcher but he had a stupid fumble on a nice reception trying to do too much. Had his fair share of moments beyond that. 12 carries for 62 yards and a score. He was a nice change of pace to Martinez and has been all season. Just wrapped up his sophomore year so we’re going to find out what he’s made of next year. This is what you should be watching for next year. Is the backfield Fletcher’s or does Jordan Lyle and Chris Johnson Jr. start eating into it? That’s going to tell you a lot of what you need to know. We have time to figure that one out next year though.

Isaiah Arroyo is so legit. Tight ends just don’t move like this. It’s like watching Mike Evans if he had a younger cousin that played tight end like a gazelle. I’m just telling you this right now, he might be my TE1. Four receptions for 64 yards and a touchdown. I don’t care about the stats. Dude glides. How a tight end like this keeps getting over the top of the defense is remarkable. Sneaky fast and he has six more levels to climb. Potential out the wazoooooo. 6-foot-4, 245, great size, and no clunky movements. No issues starting and stopping. Real athlete and I think if you really project him forward in the right offense, we might not understand how good he is yet. He might be Jimmy Graham who can block better. I know it sounds like I’m blowing him but right now he seems lost in the tight end shuffle and shouldn’t be. No idea where others stand on him but be careful about taking another TE ahead of him.

Cam Ward is the best quarterback in the draft. I think I’ve been saying that all year year and nothing we saw differently in this game should change that. The dude just balls out. The speed of the game, everything looks slow to him. Constantly making accurate shots up the field. It’s all the same cheese I’ve been talking about all year. The guy is legit. He’s now the all time leader in career passing touchdowns for D1 football. He’s just constantly manipulating and maneuvering angles to his favor and it’s impossible to ignore.

Oh, and it sure seems like the Giants are leaning in a certain direction…

I’ll leave you with this. The plan to only play a half seems like it was part of the plan before the game started. Ward wanted to break the Case Keenum record and call it a day. Why anybody has a problem with that is baffling. Keep in mind, Ward was essentially missing his entire receiving core beyond Arroyo and Jacolby George (George also only played half the game).

Let me explain something to you. The way the sport is constructed right now, the Bowl games for teams not in the playoff are the first valuable piece of film for the Spring portion of any program. They needed film on Emory Williams and it’s pretty obvious that he’s not ready to start for them next year. They need another solution beyond Williams and I’m not sure we knew that for a fact before the game. This game is no different than some BS preseason cup European soccer teams play to get ready for the following season. It is what it is.

Some quick hits to leave you with. Give me Francisco Mauigoa on my team. He’s the only guy on that defense that excited me in that game. Joshisa Trader and Elija Lofton sure look like targets to monitor next year.

Subscribe to Vendetta’s Twitch

Subscribe to Vendetta’s YouTube

Click here for Vendetta Fantasy Contests

Click here for more NFL Draft content