NFL Draft
1/6/25
8 min read
2025 NFL Draft Stock Report: New Year's Bowls, CFP Bring New Stars
The New Year brought the final handful of bowl games of the college football season. The NFL has already finished its regular season, and there are only a couple of College Football Playoff matchups remaining. The 2025 NFL Draft class is shaping up as early declarations are made.
A few major names made themselves available for the 2025 NFL Draft this past week, including Alabama's Jalen Milroe and Georgia's Carson Beck. Time will tell if they made the right decision or not. With a big slate of games for us to evaluate, we're looking at the on-field action to find this week's top risers and fallers.
Let's examine the three stars who pushed their 2025 NFL Draft stock up and those who fell.
CFB New Year's Stock Up Players
Here are three other risers who need recognition for their bowl game efforts.
Honorable Mentions
- Lathan Ransom, SAF, Ohio State
- Grey Zabel, OT, North Dakota State
- Jack Sawyer, EDGE, Ohio State
— dubs408 (@dubsvidstouse) January 1, 2025
📈Drew Allar, QB, Penn State
Stats: 13/25, 171 yards, 3 TDs, 1 fumble lost
The raw stats don't tell the whole story of Drew Allar's case as a top 2025 prospect. Allar clearly looks the part of what NFL teams love to have at quarterback, boasting a thick 6-foot-5, 235-pound frame and cannon for an arm. He's not a gunslinger, though, but instead favors a more methodical approach that limits turnovers.
The Nittany Lions handled Boise State, and Allar's tools were part of the reason why. Delivering a handful of high-end NFL-caliber throws and only coughing up one turnover, Allar looked a lot like current Los Angeles Chargers star Justin Herbert. Keeping in mind that Penn State has only one quality pass-catcher to utilize, Allar showed his adjustment to the next level may not be too steep.
His timing, accuracy, and occasional flashes of aggression pair well with his physical gifts and aversion to turnovers. There are still areas for growth, but the 20-year-old has a lot in his favor. Allar has said he won't enter the 2025 draft, but he might need to rethink that in a weak class where the need for quarterbacks would push him into the top-five picks.
— dubs408 (@dubsvidstouse) January 1, 2025
📈Cam Skattebo RB, Arizona State
Stats: 30 carries, 143 yards, 2 TDs, 8 receptions, 99 yards, 1/1 passing, 42 yards, 1 TD
Arizona State's incredible journey ended in a thrilling overtime loss to Texas, but they walked away with their heads held high. Cam Skattebo introduced himself to the national spotlight throughout the year, totaling 1,712 rushing yards and 21 scores. He saved his most impressive performance for a loaded Longhorns defense that kept taking haymakers.
Skattebo did more than just carry the load as a rusher, totaling 39 touches for 284 yards and three scores. His 42-yard touchdown pass stunned everyone in the crowd and revived the Sun Devils as they made one final push late in the game. It was a performance that had evaluators envisioning a future beyond being a power back.
The 2025 running back class has so much talent that it's hard to project when the run on ball-carriers will begin. Skattebo isn't the most impressive athlete or best pass blocker, but he's strong, tough-nosed, and hard to bring down. His pass-catching ability and tenacity mean there's a role for him on high-end teams.
He might not hear his name called until Day 3, but his showing against Texas showed what he can do against elite defenses.
📈Michael Taaffe, SAF, Texas
Stats: 10 tackles, 2 PBUs
Texas' other safety, not named Andrew Mukub, has been a significant riser throughout the 2025 season. Michael Taaffe was a stabilizing force as a free safety, a rarity in college football. When targeting Taaffe in coverage, offenses produced only 157 yards and a 45.8 passer rating, plus he racked up 19 run stops.
His showing against Arizona State wasn't perfect, but the Sun Devils' willingness to attack Taaffe highlighted more of his game than what we usually see. For the most part, Taaffe starred. He allowed five receptions on 10 targets for 71 yards, including a paltry 13 yards after the catch.
He's not the most versatile safety in the class, recording a concerning missed tackle rate of 21.4 percent, but his solid man coverage and roaming presence should earn him projections in the top 100 picks. Considering the 6-foot, 195-pounder was a part-time player in 2023, that's a huge rise for the third-year playmaker.
CFB New Year's Stock Down Players
Gabriel just can't read the field at all right now. There are WRs running open, but he's taking brutal sacks pic.twitter.com/F3w1X0uGRF
— Billy M (@BillyM_91) January 2, 2025
📉Dillon Gabriel, QB, Oregon
Stats: 29/41 passing, 299 yards, 2 TDs
After Dillon Gabriel was almost perfect in his previous showing against Ohio State, the sixth-year lefty was in a blender against the Buckeyes in the Rose Bowl. Ohio State's overhauled pass rush continued to create pressure and make Gabriel miss reads and throws. Outside of an efficient stretch in the middle of the game, Gabriel looked overwhelmed and outmanned.
Ohio State also dropped at least three interceptions, compounding how much the super senior struggled to stay composed and compensate for the increase in his role. Taking seven sacks, Gabriel had no answers when he couldn't rely on the scheme to create easier looks.
With Gabriel's average arm strength and reliance on RPO-based schemes throughout his career already giving evaluators a hard time being optimistic about his projection, his inability to rise against a top foe when all isn't going well is another major strike.
While we've seen bad quarterback prospects like Stetson Bennett be drafted on Day 3, the argument for Gabriel going before more physically gifted options on Day 3 is merely because of his experience in quick passing games, not any upside to becoming a starter.
📉Trevor Etienne, RB, Georgia
Stats: 11 carries, 32 yards, 1 TD
Carson Beck held the Georgia Bulldogs together this season, but even that wasn't enough to fulfill their previous role as a powerhouse. Beck's elbow injury meant Georgia needed a young quarterback to rise or be carried by his surrounding cast. When Gunner Stockton struggled, it wasn't Trevor Etienne doing the rescuing.
The junior tailback wrapped up a disappointing debut campaign with Georgia by producing a quiet and impactful performance against Notre Dame. Etienne could not find rushing lanes and then couldn't make defenders miss when he had some daylight. His yards after contact per carry was already a concerning 3.43 average before the game, but his paltry 2.64 mark with two forced missed tackles against the Irish elevated concerns.
Most running backs can't handle being more than a complementary piece of a functional offense, and Etienne may not even be a qualified athlete enough to be that in the NFL. His decision about the 2025 NFL Draft should be made easy after this disappointing outing.
📉LT Overton, EDGE, Alabama
Stats: 4 tackles, 3 QB hurries
LT Overton is heading back to Alabama for his senior season, and that decision could pay off with being a top-10 overall prospect next year. He likely made the right choice for his future, even after a breakout 2024 season put him on the map to be a top-45 selection. So, why is he a faller?
The 2025 Alabama Crimson Tide might struggle even more than the 2024 team that limped to the finish line of a 9-4 campaign. With Jalen Milroe bolting for the NFL and the Tide looking overly reliant on an admittedly impressive freshman class but weak transfer haul thus far, Kalen DeBoer has his work cut out for him to get more out of this roster. Overton will help, but he might be better served to continue his development at the next level.
Overton's consistency in finishing tackles and sacks should come with experience and physical maturity. While he faded a bit in the back half of the 2024 season, scouts like Overton's raw tools and positional versatility at 6-foot-5, 285 pounds. Hopefully, he won't be lost in the fray next year as the Tide scrambles to figure things out.
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