NFL Draft
11/13/24
2 min read
Isaiah Bond 2025 NFL Draft: Scouting Report For Texas Longhorns WR
Height: 5110 (unofficial)
Weight: 180 (unofficial)
Year: Junior
Pro Comparison: Jaylen Waddle
Scouting Overview
Texas Longhorns wide receiver Isaiah Bond projects more favorably to the pro game than what he has showcased at Alabama and Texas. He has all the physical ability in the world to be a supreme separator against man coverage in the NFL.
He’s got creativity as a route runner and pairs it with a loose frame, wiggle at the top of the stem, and immediate gas when pressing off the line of scrimmage to put defenders on the defensive. Bond, in a precision-based passing attack, could be a volume pass catcher instead of the lower percentage throw option he’s been across both of his stops in college football.
Bond is ready to run routes from the slot or the perimeter and become a preferred option in a passing attack.
2025 NFL Combine Results
TBD
Positives
- Surreal short-area agility and explosiveness to change directions and create space
- Desirable open field speed and initial acceleration to threaten vertically or close cushion to create room underneath
- Hyper-creative route runner that can turn defenders inside out from the slot or perimeter alike
Negatives
- Modest catch radius doesn’t offer the quarterback much “bailout” opportunity for errant throws
- Incomplete production profile across multiple programs with multiple opportunities with multiple quarterbacks
- Unlikely to be a true asset in the run game as a blocking presence
Background
Bond was born in Buford, GA, and played his high school football for Buford HS. He was also a standout sprinter for Buford, winning the Georgia AAAAAA 100m state championship with a 10.51s in addition to winning the 200m (21.19s) as a junior. Bond ranked as a 4-star recruit (247 Sports) coming out of Buford after posting explosive plays as a receiver and returner to close his high school career with the program.
Bond played two seasons in Tuscaloosa for the Tide, posting 13.5 yards per catch on 66 receptions with the program. Upon the news that legendary head coach Nick Saban was retiring, Bond announced he would be entering the transfer portal as a 5-star transfer (247 Sports).
He eventually landed with Texas and entered the 2024 season as a true junior looking to break out to new heights. His explosive play ability has been affirmed — averaging more than 18 yards per touch this season. Bond has also doubled his career touchdowns in his first season with the Longhorns.
Tale Of The Tape
The word you’re searching for is “electric.” Isaiah Bond isn’t just dynamic in straight-line situations — he’s arguably more potent in short-area spaces and with lateral agility. He’s the NFL wide receiver equivalent of a point guard with elite ball-handling skills.
Bond can cross you up and break into space while creating loads of separation in the process. This is a trait that oozes into the elements of his game as a route runner and a run-after-catch threat with the ball in his hands.
He is a diverse route runner who explodes out of steep angled breaks, allowing him to suddenly change directions and break free from leveraged coverage overtop of his stem or alternatively dash away from a defender playing him in the trail position. He offers enough vertical speed to stack defenders and run by them on go’s or win back leverage to run through pre-snap leverage and get into his breaks clean away.
That is one of his underrated superpowers and will afford him ample room to win routes at the NFL level, particularly if he’s given free releases off the line of scrimmage.
Bond offers a slew of routes and ran a vast tree during his college years. Across his three seasons of play, crosses, ins, outs, hitches, and go’s all make up more than 10 percent of his routes. The variance is healthy and further amplifies how dangerous he can be. Bond runs plenty of breaks off the same stem and is an effective salesman.
The actual production seems to be the missing link for Bond, but there’s plenty of context in the “why” of how Bond’s usage has come in conflict with the kind of monster production put up by the likes of fellow 2025 NFL draft-eligible WR Tetairoa McMillan, for example.
Bond played primarily in the slot during his 2023 season at Alabama with Jalen Milroe, who struggled in the short and intermediate areas of the field while shining in the vertical passing game. The precision of the offense was modest as Milroe was still raw as a passer, and the opportunities vs. the individual execution for Bond were in stark contrast.
The same could be applied to Bond this year at Texas, who is consistently shredding defensive backs but now plays in an offense that is schemed target-reliant with Quinn Ewers at quarterback. It is not a coincidence that Bond was most consistent in production in the games when Arch Manning played behind center.
A great example of this is the seam route Bond ran as the No. 3 against Oklahoma in the Red River Rivalry, Ewers’ first game back from injury. Bond exploded through the middle of the defense and quickly got behind the safeties for what would have been an explosive play touchdown — Ewers missed the throw short by probably 5-8 yards.
The tape doesn’t lie. This is an explosive player who can change the game at the drop of a hat. He’s doubled his career average for yards after the catch per reception this year, thanks to the schemed touches he’s getting on the perimeter with free-release hitches and perimeter screens. His open-field vision is excellent, and he plays at a speed that is different from most others.
He’s not a create-a-player profile, however. He’s not overly physical and will need to maximize and optimize his release package to ensure the freak athletes playing outside cornerback in the NFL can't compress air in the contact window and disrupt his timing.
His play strength is modest and not something he can lean into to play through heavy press and clouded corners. The physicality element of his game shows up in the run game, too. He is not a particularly proficient run blocker, so his NFL team will need to be selective with implementation in order to ensure the success of the run schemes when he is on the field. Added work is needed to help prevent Bond from being a “personnel tell.”
This element of his game extends to the catch point, too. He’s got good hands, but physical players who time up the football are going to create irregular finishes if he’s not hit while having created separation available to him. He’s been a low-percentage contested catch player despite having good hands.
Ideal Scheme Fit, Role
Isaiah Bond would thrive in a timing-oriented offense, where the separation he can create at the top of the break can be consistently targeted and afford him the opportunity to optimize his run-after-catch skills.
Bond has reliable hands in the middle and can work from all over the formation — teams can put him in motion and generate free releases to work into space and rub off defenders to create explosive plays in the passing game, too. Bond should be considered an early starter and a potential featured player in an NFL offense.
Grade: 82.50/100.00, Late First Round Value
Big Board Rank: TBD
Position Rank: TBD
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