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2025 NFL Draft Stock Report: Week 2
2025 NFL Draft Stock Report: Week 2
Week 2 is on the docket for the 2025 NFL Draft Stock Report notes. Week 0 was a limited slate (for reasons that are obvious) and Week 1 was a 28-minute read. No… I’m not kidding. If you’re new to the party, now is probably a good time to remind you of the goal with this series.
I started Vendetta Sports Media for many reasons but my first actual job in the sports media realm was for a fantasy football publication. I got hired because I won a writing contest and was tasked with completing a weekly college football report for readers to get a head start on what to expect for the upcoming rookie class in fantasy. That’s why the series is fantasy-leaning. Plus, I don’t get paid enough to break down offensive line film soooooooo, yeah.
I believe that I know the ins and outs of the NFL Draft better than every single person on the planet. You don’t have to agree but if you actually stacked up my resume compared to other NFL Draft people, it’s not close. Nobody has been better at predicting the NFL Draft than me and that’s because nobody actually understands what the NFL Draft process is.
The College Football season represents the information process. You must scout from inside out. Not the other way around. Scouting is about eliminating. How am I supposed to decided who will make it if I can’t properly narrow the list? Knee bend is vital. Isolating the player from the situation is even more vital. I’m here to speak the truth. If you can’t handle the truth, go read someone else and suffer the consequences later. If you don’t understand the Saturday game, how do you expect to understand the Sunday game? This process starts with high school recruiting continues through the Senior Bowl and Combine.
The Chinese farmer always says maybe. The answers are within us all. We are more than our thoughts. If we do our homework, we can find those answers.
The slate this week includes BYU vs. SMU, Texas vs. Michigan, Arkansas vs. Oklahoma State, Georgia Tech vs. Syracuse, California vs. Auburn, South Carolina vs. Kentucky, Tennessee vs. NC State, and Colorado vs. Nebraska.
BYU
Blake Mangelson, the 6-foot-5, 275, defensive end deserves a shout-out. Had one sack and 2.5 TFLs in this one. He’s been on the team for a while and is a senior now but he definitely made an impact on this one.
Finding three techs that move like that isn’t exactly easy. Maybe a late round guy to keep tabs on.
SMU
SMU remains on crack if they don’t go to Kevin Jennings full time over Preston Stone. It is what it is, Jennings just gives this offense way more juice. This game wasn’t much different than the Nevada game.
Stone starts the first two drives. Both drives end 3 and out combining for negative yardage. Jennings comes in the third drive and immediately drives them down the field in what would have been a touchdown if it weren’t for two drops in the end zone. Next drive results in a field goal.
Stone comes back in the game and immediately stinks it up again. Jennings gets back out there and leads another field goal drive.
I did not watch the second half because the Packers / Eagles Brazil game was on. However, they went to Jennings for basically the rest of the game. It wasn’t super pretty and they took an L to BYU but there is no question who should start the rest of the way. It’s Jennings’ team. It has to be.
Jennings is still a young guy and could be there another two seasons after this one. He needs to keep developing but has tools to be something. Right now it’s a lot of ugly mixed in there but the potential is there to be a weapon in a multitude of ways.
Texas
Super impressed with Quinn Ewers. Started right out of the gate. Kept converting third down after third down on the road against a Michigan defense with several NFL players and Wink Martindale showing 800 exotic blitzes. Threw a touchdown pass on the first drive that got called back for holding. Say whatever you want about Ewers but moving the ball like this all things considered is super impressive.
He’s definitely got some Uncle Rico in him in terms of having that weird Philip Rivers low angle release point. You wonder if tip balls will be a problem for him at the next level. The feet have gotten so much better over the years. The pure mobility is probably very underrated. Has no issues picking up first downs with his legs. Has no problem finding guys down the field. Has gunslinger in him with good eye level.
This is a first round pick no question about it. I think we have to remember this was a monster recruit who actually reclassified a year sooner than he needed to. Nobody should be surprised by the growth and he’s going to keep getting better. Texas was 10-16 on third down and it would have been worse if not for a called back holding call and them taking the foot off the gas by the third quarter. This game was over ten minutes in and that’s not sarcastic.
Ewers finished the game 24/36 for 246 yards and three touchdowns.
Jaydon Blue suffered an ankle injury in this one. Which isn’t ideal considering CJ Baxter is already done for the season. Blue did come back and looked fine. It wasn’t overly sexy. Just nine carries for 22 yards. However, did look alright as a receiver adding 37 yards and a score in that area. He could be a late round guy but it’s clear Baxter was going to be the star talent. Just keep that in mind moving forward.
This Texas offensive line has some guys on it. They won the battle up front. That line has NFL guys. When I say NFL guys, I mean if they were wearing Georgia or Bama helmets, you wouldn’t know the difference. Texas really hasn’t produced NFL offensive linemen in a while but that’s coming. I promise you. I don’t just mean one either with Kelvin Banks being the headliner.
Isaiah Bond had some moments in this one. Former Bama guy who is going to take on a bigger role at Texas. The freshman Wingo is probably their best talent at wide out but Bond can really run and will help them. 51 yards in this one. He’s not Waddle level freaky but has some of that juice.
Andrew Mukuba deserves some love. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out he’s helped their secondary. A secondary that lowkey struggled last year. Mukuba served as an anchor back there who can make plays on the ball and tackle. Had a pass deflection and an interception in this one. Not going to be a ballhawk at the next level but looks like a real player.
Michigan
Still love Donovan Edwards. Not sure why that would change after this game. We’ve talked about this so many times but when he explodes through the first level of the defense, he’s fun to watch. Has real juice and should run a fast time. Still averaged 5.1 yards per carry and Michigan had no prayer at winning this game. They barely moved the ball. Not going to jump into it further because I’m not sure we learned anything we didn’t already know.
Mason Graham and Will Johnson are both a yes for me to the point where I don’t care what happens during the rest of their collegiate career. I’d include Kenneth Grant in that category but he’s not quite on that tier. More than anything, the two defensive tackles dictated how Texas attacked the defense. A lot of stuff to the outside getting them to run and chase. The Michigan defense was gassed by the second quarter from being on the field too long.
Colston Loveland had a flukey fumble. Not sure we can ding him for it. Michigan was going to get beat regardless. Loveland is a nice pass catcher. Hard to find at the tight end position with good leaping ability. Still had 70 yards and eight receptions with terrible QB play. There is real talent here. Don’t think that’s a question anymore.
Arkansas
Sam Pittman should be embarrassed they lost this game. 800 mistakes led to this loss.
What a mess this Taylen Green is. Does a great job going up 14-0 then makes the most idiotic pick 6 ever. Boise State transfer and isn’t an NFL guy but he can at least move around if that counts for something. I don’t even want to talk about it because it’s a waste of time.
Same thing with the running back Ja’Quinden Jackson. Had some great runs in this one. Converted quarterback who originally attended Utah. 24 carries for 14 yards and three scores says something. Big body at 6-foot-2, 233. I knew the former QB background but I didn’t think he would play with this much speed and power against a team like Oklahoma State. He has my attention now. Now he will need to prove that he can do this against an SEC defense when the cards are stacked against him. Then he will really have my attention. We’ll see when that time comes.
Xavian Sorey Jr., the Georgia transfer… yeah… he’s good. Really good. 13 tackles in this one and two TFLs. By the way, being forced to transfer from Georgia, there is no shame in that. If you’re paying attention to Georgia right now, they have four middle linebackers that might start for any NFL team right now and that’s not a joke. I’ll show this clip below because it epitomizes what I saw during the game. Guy just buzzes at a different gear. Again, it’s here to remind you when those MFers from Georgia come through, you will have more appreciation.
Oklahoma State
What do you even say? What if I told you Oklahoma State won the game after this…
Sam Pittman gotta go, wow.
Alan Bowman looks like they rolled Brandon Weeden out there in a wheel chair. I used to have some faith in Bowman to be a backup but it’s time to stick a fork in that guy. Just ugly. Air Raid guy who is a hot mess. We can move on now but the good news is it’s still Big 12 football so he fits right in. Just not NFL wise.
Ollie Gordon couldn’t get anything going in this one. I don’t want to totally sound the alarm bell because this game was so weird but against an SEC defense, he really didn’t look that good. I think the more alarming part is his numbers would have looked putrid if he didn’t pad some of the stats during overtime.
Finished the game with 17 carries for 49 yards and 1 touchdown. Had two receptions for 20 yards as well. If you have been reading this series every week, you have noticed I haven’t gone in full detail on Gordon yet. It’s mostly because I’m still on the fence. This game didn’t help matters. I think he’s better than Chuba Hubbard but by how much? That part is still a mystery.
I just think there are a ton of questions to be asked here yet. How much of this is playing Big 12 defense? Just how fast is the guy? Is he really a factor in the passing game?
Georgia Tech
Haynes King is probably three notches below McCord as a passer but his legs make him intriguing. Finished the game 29/39 with 266 tards and a score. Then added 67 yards on six carries for two touchdowns. He should go back to school another year but there’s no reason why he can’t become a way better version of what people thought they were getting with Desmond Ridder. A backup that can run and actually make some throws.
Eric Singleton Jr. still looks like their best weapon. I’ll keep saying it. Just has different juice levels in the lower half.
This Remello Height can play. No sacks in this one but you have to account for him off the edge. One year at Auburn, one year at USC, now one year at Georgia Tech. Needs to actually build a resume as a sack artist but you can tell he has something.
Syracuse
I don’t think Kyle McCord totally sucks. As I said in my hot takes post, you bet your ass I took Syracuse in the ACC Conference Title game. He can actually make throws. You can be disappointed all you want with last year at Ohio State but he’s way better than a Sam Ehlinger. Actually can move the ball through the air. DJ U couldn’t move the ball like this against Georgia Tech.
McCord did his job and almost got cheesed. Pulled through anyway. His team gave up an onside kick and made things really hairy. McCord got the ball back and ended it converting another huge third down. The guy makes big boy throws from the pocket and you’re just hating to hate if you don’t see it.
It should be made clear that his supporting cast at Syracuse really isn’t that great either. The numbers here would have been far better if he had better athletes to just pick up first downs that his guys didn’t. Bang on the guy all you want. That’s an NFL quarterback. Executes the pass game too well to not make the league in same form. I’m not quite sure how good, good he is but he’s taken a leap compared to last year. Mostly a pocket passer but not a statue either. Had a key run on third that changed the game.
The people who dumped on this guy because he didn’t reincarnate CJ Stroud at Ohio State are uneducated. Guy can play. Bottom line. Finished the game 32/46 for 381 yards and four touchdowns. He played his tail off and Syracuse doesn’t win if they get even 5% worse QB play.
California
I came for Jaydn Ott. Unfortunately, this is just going to be one of those games I think we just throw in the toilet. Cal was missing three offensive linemen (which makes it more insane that Auburn couldn’t win but that’s what you get when you think Payton Thorne is your answer). Ott also came into the game questionable. They just couldn’t run the ball at all, which makes some sense given you’re on the road against an SEC front while being banged up. 10 carries for 11 yards. Let’s just chalk it up and move on. We’ll see more of Ott down the line.
Not sure what else to say here because I came to watch for Ott. Did you know Cal is an ACC team now? What a joke that is. Mendoza the QB played with balls. Something Thorne doesn’t have. Okay… moving on.
Auburn
Payton Thorne is unplayable. That’s being generous. Don’t ask me why this guy still is starting for an SEC team. Keon Coleman bounced from Michigan State because he sucks. We will not waste another second talking about this bum the rest of the year regardless of what happens. Been over it enough.
Look, I hate being the blame the quarterback guy but this is embarrassing. How Hugh Freeze continues to trot that guy out there is insane. I wouldn’t take Thorne as my D3 quarterback. Got outplayed by a nobody at Cal. Missing 800 guys wide open and threw disastrous pick after disastrous pick. If I played for Auburn it would be to the point where I’d quit if he was still the starter. Freeze has to do something about this or he’s going to lose the room.
Auburn has some pieces but they’re all young guys as Freeze builds his core. Jarquez Hunter averaged 5.7 yards per carry on 12 attempts but had a gross fumble. I think he’s really similar to Tank Bigsby and can play. KeAndre Lambert-Smith looked good too scoring a touchdown on two catches for 30 yards. Probably could have went for over 100 but we’ve already been over how vomit-worthy Thorne is.
South Carolina
LaNorris Sellers, baby!!! Necessary ECU video game shout-out (please follow that series)! If anyone has a chance to have a Cam Newton type rise, maybe it’s Sellers. That boy is thiccc and can really run. Made some nice throws too. It’s way too early and he’s not close to being draft eligible yet but so far so good, hey!
South Carolina was the worst rushing team in the SEC last year averaging 85 yards per game. Was Rocket Sanders going to fix that problem? Injured his knee last year and it just doesn’t look like he has that same level of explosion. Before he was a literal rocket ship. Not that he was super terrible because there were moments but I’m not sure the guy who we thought might be a second round pick might be gone. Maybe it will take him some time to heat up over the rest of the season. Looked better even in this one after he got hit a few times. Maybe jittery coming off the injury.
13 carries for 54 yards and a score. Some ups and some downs. Wasn’t overly surprised with the performance one way or another.
The South Carolina defensive front really won them this game. I know this isn’t going to be a draft topic for quite some time yet but if you haven’t looked up highlights on the freshman Dylan Stewart, you need to. Thank me later. What a freak that guy is. Either way, really good start for that front and it may be time to dive into names on that unit if they keep this up.
Kentucky
First action of Brock Vandagriff I’m tuning into. I don’t want to totally bang on the guy but I wasn’t super impressed. The South Carolina pass rush controlled the game and that freak freshman Stewart is ridiculous. Still, this is a team that ran the ball a ton and it didn’t really look like they trusted him to make throws down the field. Vandagriff threw the ball 10 times and got benched. Gavin Wimsatt threw it seven times and got picked off to end his time.
Really ugly start for Vandagriff. Pretty easy to see why couldn’t beat out Carson Beck at Georgia. Maybe it’s the hair but he looks like a skittish Gardner Minshew. All over the place with just limited talent in the lower half and in the arm. I haven’t been impressed. 30 yards passing is so gross and this throw summarizes things pretty well. Just a hot mess.
The sad part is Kentucky has two NFL targets in Dane Key and Barion Brown. We just didn’t have a chance to even evaluate them in this one.
Demie Sumo-Karngbaye got heavy work in this one. Chip Trayanum is currently hurt but the Ohio State transfer likely will be the starter when he gets back. When it comes to Sumo, we’re not looking at much. Maybe you will see him in the preseason as an undrafted guy. 17 carries for 70 yards of meh for the former NC State guy.
It’s not hard to notice defensive tackle Deone Walker. Not a big stat game for him but you can tell that’s a guy right there.
Tennessee
The best quarterback in the country plays for Tennessee.
Remember when I said Jaylen Wright wasn’t even the best running back on his own college team? Do you understand why now?
Not a crazy game from James Pearce but he’s done the opposite of Patrick Payton with Florida State. Even when he’s not getting sacks, you feel him. He’s passed the eye test for me even if a disagree with the idea he’s the best edge rusher in the class.
Good to see Squirrel White get in on the action. It’s go time for him. Be more than a returner. Made two big plays in the passing game for a total of 67 yards. Got a taste. Now it’s time to be that Jaylin Hyatt breakout guy. We’re all waiting for it.
NC State
Kevin Conception is the real deal. Guy is just automatic. Always open with plus speed. Game got out of hand but he more than proved himself regardless of the stats.
Just not a fan of this Grayson McCall at all. His stock just keeps going down after being somewhat interesting at Coastal Carolina. He’s a wildcat quarterback without the upside. Like a bad iteration of Will Levis without the arm power or speed element. Not a real pocket passer. Everything comes with a smoke and mirror. The pick 6 was brutal. Touch accuracy far from ideal. What is there to like?
Colorado
Travis Hunter is just so impressive. I’ll take Ohtani if you pass on him. How about him make that play to blow up the bubble screen in the first quarter? Doesn’t just have speed but tough and tackles too. Had 10 receptions for 110 yards as a receiver. They couldn’t stop him. Nebraska really didn’t even throw to his side of the field. I don’t know what more that could be said. He’s about as can’t miss as it gets. You’re an idiot if you think there’s a better corner than him. He might also be the best receiver in the country but we need Ohtani to hit 40 homers before we go down that road sort of thing.
Shilo Sanders left the game early with an injury. Broke his arm in this one. Trevor Woods got ejected in the second quarter for targeting. Chidozie Nwankwo, the defensive tackle, also went down. This isn’t exactly a team that can lose guys. They already lack depth.
I know everyone without a brain is going to pick on Shedeur today. Don’t be that clueless. If you simply swapped quarterbacks, I promise Nebraska still wins and probably wins by more. It’s probably a miracle he went 23/38 for 1 touchdown and 1 pick. The pick six wasn’t great but was facing pressure and got conned into making the throw. When you give up six sacks and get pressured on every snap, you shouldn’t win the football game. It’s a team game. If Shedeur wasn’t the quarterback, they would have lost by 40. This is not the game to sound panic alarms on. I’ve seen enough now to what we’re really waiting for is to see how he tests.
Nebraska
Nebraska is going to be good. Said it in the hot takes post. What I find more interesting is if these new transfer targets are going to pop. Jahmal Banks was held in check but Isaiah Neyor had some moments with four receptions for 31 yards. Neyor has some juice to him with height.
This defense is real. Just want to single out Tommi Hill, who deserves love today. Under the radar led the Conference in PBUs last year. This pick six was sexy and overall played well throughout the game. There are some names on that front that deserve recognition too but I’m not convinced yet that they’re NFL good simply because this Colorado offensive line is putrid. Hill though has my attention.
Bonus Quick Hitters:
We’ll close things out with some quick hitters. I caught bits and pieces of these games. Alabama was on the ropes late in this one (the score is not accurate to how that game went) and I tried to watch Oregon but was really good at watching the back of my eyelids, if you know what I mean.
Alabama:
Just going to leave it at this for now with Bama. Jihaad Campbell and Deontae Lawson… holy smokes. Both of them have developed in a good way. I’m pretty sure Campbell was playing the wrong position last year. Looks really good in this new role. Looks slimmer and moves great. Looks like Lawson slimmed down too. Both guys off the charts good. Don’t want to forget about this Juco transfer linebacker Justin Jefferson because he looked great too.
75 on the offensive line got his ass kicked the entire night. Bama has a big problem on their hands if they lose lineman during the year. They need Proctor back ASAP.
South Florida:
Doug Blue-Eli no real stats but definitely caused problems. 75 couldn’t block him or anybody lined up across him. Mac Harris made some plays too.
Boise State:
Ashton Jeanty… you have my attention. It’s one thing to go nuts against Georgia Southern. This was Oregon and he played damn well. 25 carries for 192 yards and three touchdowns but who cares about the stats. Forget everything about the guy. The contact balance he shows is unquantifiable good. It’s really not the broken tackles, the speed, vision. That contact balance he has is eyebrow-raising insane level good.
Oregon:
I’ve always liked Dillon Gabriel but he’s clearly limited. Lefty, accurate, but not going to ever carry a team level good.
I think we finally got a vintage Evan Stewart game in this one going for 112 receiving yards and a score. Stupid talented but hasn’t always shown it. This was important.
Speaking of running backs, I love Jordan James. Fast and efficient every time I watch him. Better than Oregon fast guys of the past comes with real 210 size. Big fan.
Oh, and Riley Leonard and Notre Dame stinks too…
Skattebo!!!
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Trey Daubert
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