NFL Draft
12/16/24
7 min read
2025 NFL Draft Stock Report: Injuries, Draft Decisions Affecting Class
Welcome to bowl season! The 2025 NFL Draft is almost here now that the Heisman Trophy has been decided and the regular season is over. Playoff games start this coming weekend. And while there weren't more than a few games throughout the college football landscape this weekend, that doesn't mean the news and on-field results didn't matter.
Some players received tough injury news or are heading toward a decision that is suboptimal for their future. Others are trending upward after making their 2025 NFL Draft intentions known.
Let's examine the three stars who pushed their 2025 NFL Draft stock up and those who fell.
CFB Week 16 Stock Up Players
This week, we only had a few games played, so we're highlighting three risers and fallers who weren't just on the field.
BLAKE HORVATH ➡️ BRANDON CHATMAN
— The American (@American_Conf) December 14, 2024
Navy is up 14-0‼️#AmericanWay x @NavyFB pic.twitter.com/mZZXyUuSPM
📈Blake Horvath, QB, Navy
Stats: 4/9 passing, 107 yards, 2 TDs; 25 carries, 204 yards, 2 TDs
The process for a military serviceman to enter the NFL has been made difficult in recent years, as deferred service was made impossible under the Joe Biden Administration. Previously, there was a waiver process that would allow academy graduates to wait until after their playing careers to fulfill their mandatory two-year service. Despite this, players like Roger Staubach, Alejandro Villanueva, Keenan Reynolds, and Joe Cardona caught onto rosters throughout the last few decades.
Blake Horvath doesn't graduate until 2025, and it's unlikely he could've declared early even when the waiver process existed. While he's not a 2025 NFL Draft prospect, he deserves his roses for a stellar 2024 campaign. When he's finished with his service in the Navy, Horvath should get NFL interest.
The explosive runner gashed Army with his second 200-yard game of the season. The 195-pounder had only 12 passes and 37 carries in 2023, so his breakout campaign helped put Navy in a position to upset Army. When it's time, Horvath should get camp invites to see if he can stick in the NFL because he's certainly athletic and tough enough to make it as a tailback.
📈Nic Scourton, EDGE, Texas A&M
Season stats: 37 tackles, 5 sacks, 1 forced fumble
It's not a surprise that Nic Scourton remained high on draft boards or declared for the 2025 class after only one season at Texas A&M. The NFL requires freakish athleticism to stand out, and Scourton fits the bill as well as anyone. The 6-foot-4, 285-pounder is perfectly built to play any position across 3-4 and 4-3 fronts.
His speed and twitch for his frame contributed to a dominant 10-sack season at Purdue in 2023. He failed to reach those numbers at A&M, but he also played 144 fewer snaps and was keying in on the run game more often. With Scourton now officially in the 2025 class, he gets a boost.
Nic Scourton's Full Scouting Report, Pro Comp
Kyren Lacy just out here making shoe string catches look routine…
— Jeremy (@PopesFFH) December 5, 2024
Great catch radius and ability to transition in a runner quickly and easily. pic.twitter.com/7oEZkPXdY7
📈Kyren Lacy, WR, LSU
Season stats: 58 receptions, 866 yards, 9 TDs
Using this past week as a chance to catch up on some guys, I came away more impressed with Kyren Lacy than ever before. A bigger-bodied threat at 6-foot-2, 213 pounds, he can hold his own physically right away at the next level. With the 2025 class lacking thickly built options that aren't overly reliant on speed, Lacy stands out.
The obvious concern with receivers his size is that Lacy isn't blazing fast or twitchy compared to 170-pounders. However, his toughness and strength through routes and at the catch point allow him to play inside or outside and create after the catch. He reminds me of Jarvis Landry.
With a drop rate under 10 percent and a solid athletic profile, Lacy should garner top-100 interest.
CFB Week 16 Stock Down Players
📉Carson Beck, QB, Georgia
Season stats: 290/448, 64.7% completion rate, 3,485 yards, 28 TDs, 12 INTs
Public details of Carson Beck's elbow injury are sparse, but the worst-case scenario for his UCL injury is that he requires Tommy John surgery, as Brock Purdy did last offseason. Considering how poorly Beck has responded to playing with a worse supporting cast at Georgia and now a lengthy recovery period, Beck's stock is undoubtedly down. Beck's first-round projections were always rich, but now they seem impossible.
His increased turnover rate while seeing his yards per attempt, pressure-to-sack rate, and play under pressure bottom out have been huge red flags. Few quarterbacks in the nation were worse than Beck under pressure this season, but he's also cerebral when kept clean. That dichotomy is a familiar one for teams that watched Mac Jones, Kenny Pickett, and many others bust.
The right landing spot will be critical for Beck, who is out of collegiate eligibility.
Carson Beck's Full Scouting Report, Pro Comp
A healthy Kevin Winston Jr is a heck of a ballplayer.
— Ryan Fowler (@_RyanFowler_) December 12, 2024
• Instinctive
• Physical
• Long
• Advanced run defender
Testing/medicals will be big but he bolds many of the boxes teams look for in a multi-level defender.👇 pic.twitter.com/gDFvwHum8R
📉Kevin Winston Jr., SAF, Penn State
Season stats: 13 tackles, 1 forced fumble
After missing most of the 2024 season with a partially torn ACL, Kevin Winston Jr. is heading to the NFL. While Winston was a consensus top safety behind Malaki Starks entering the year, his absence opened the door for others to take his spot. With health concerns present and a lost year of film, Winston will likely plummet on draft boards.
How much will evaluators trust Winston's 2023 tape and be willing to overlook his injury? History suggests that he'll suffer despite being an elite player not long ago. Safeties aren't highly valued, and Winston's circumstances are difficult.
When he's right, Winston is an all-around star. The term versatility is overused to describe someone who is decent at everything, but Winston is truly excellent in run defense, tackling, and coverage. He was a first-round value only five months ago.
However, it's possible he's a borderline top-100 pick and flagged as one of the premier value picks in the class.
📉Quinn Ewers, QB, Texas
Season stats: 233/352, 66.2% completion rate, 2,665 yards, 25 TDs, 9 INTs
After a miraculous Texas run that gave the program the chance to compete for a National Championship, I posed the question of whether Quinn Ewers should jump to the NFL before he was ready or transfer from the Longhorns while his stock was high.
While I take no pride in the worst-case scenario playing out for Ewers, he's now in a declare-or-transfer ultimatum after an injury- and inconsistency-filled season.
Ewers, despite reported huge interest in the transfer portal, is set to go to the NFL despite 2024 being uneven and lacking the growth he needed. There were some bright moments where his passing motion was better, and his reaction to pressure was less chaotic, but as a whole, does he profile as a quality starting NFL quarterback? And will he improve after leaving Steve Sarkisian's elite scheme and Texas' offensive line?
With Ewers' pocket-heavy style, he'll need a favorable supporting cast and offensive coach to get the most out of him. Once projected in the first round, it's hard to imagine Ewers is taken before several other prospects coming off better years. He could be a third-round pick in 2025.
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