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Rob Rang
NFL Draft Analyst
Before the college football season even begins, scouts from every NFL team are hard at work evaluating the upcoming crop of talent. Most of the early round draft picks selected the next spring were identified at least a year in advance as players to watch.
Occasionally, however, star players sprout up unexpectedly. Take the Cincinnati Bengals’ 2024 first round pick Amarius Mims, for example. Scouts traveling to the University of Georgia could see the talent, but Mims entered last year with just two career starts. Nevertheless, the 6-foot-8, 340-pound right tackle flashed the upside to ultimately earn the No. 18 overall selection.
[2025 NFL mock draft: Ashton Jeanty surges up board, Travis Hunter remains No. 1]
Two years earlier, the Detroit Lions gambled the No. 12 overall pick on Alabama wide receiver Jameson Williams based largely on a breakout campaign in which he led the SEC in receiving yardage (1,572) and touchdown receptions (15). Williams was virtually unstoppable in 2021, but that only came after transferring to Tuscaloosa, following two seasons stuck behind fellow future first round wideouts at Ohio State.
Frankly, describing prospects as “risers” is often an overused expression in NFL draft coverage. Normally, this is a case of the media simply catching up to prospects that scouts have liked for a year or more. However, like in the case of Williams, today’s more liberal transfer policy has provided the stage for players to turn breakout campaigns into dramatic leaps up draft boards. And, in other cases, players enter the season with impressive statistics but lacking key traits or success against quality competition, leaving scouts more skeptical than certain about their chances at NFL success.
The following is a list of 2025 NFL Draft prospects producing at a high level, and raising their stock as a result.
Derrick Harmon, DT, Oregon
While quarterback Dillon Gabriel and a host of…
Source link : https://www.foxsports.com/stories/nfl/2025-nfl-draft-5-players-who-flying-up-scouts-draft-boards-season
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Publish date : 2024-11-07 14:37:06
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