2025 NFL Draft Stock Report: Week 0

2025 NFL Draft Stock Report: Week 0

I know why you’re here. You know why you’re here. You’re tired of the same old nonsense in the mainstream media that funnels you the same politics and lies. The track record speaks for itself. I give you the truth and I graciously give you thanks for caring about my thoughts that run wild every single day. I’m still here and the 2025 NFL Draft Stock Report notes are coming right up.

Scouting is about eliminating. If you know what you want, you will find players. We find gems every year and we give many thanks to the Chinese Farmer along the way. The College Football Season as it always has represents the learning process. As you buckle up along this journey, just remember karma works in mysterious ways but it favors those who pay attention. The signs are among us. We just have to see them coming.

It’s Week 0 so I shouldn’t need to tell you that the slate isn’t going to be a big one today. There are only four games on total today and we’re going to cover two of them. The slate includes Florida State vs. Georgia Tech and SMU vs. Nevada. I don’t care what anybody says. Week 0 needs to stay. That was so much fun and 100% convinced karma made Florida State lose for their entire fan base being crybabies over the playoff last year.

Florida State

The Godfather 3 meme is back. If you’re an OG reader of the series you already know who I’m talking about. DJ Uiagalelei is now on his third team after leaving Oregon State as he will now suit up as the starter for Florida State taking over for Jordan Travis.

DJ Finished the game 19/27 for 193 yards. No touchdowns or picks. It was the same old nonsense as last year except it doesn’t look like he’s improved at all.

The guy still has issues and we saw all the ones we’ve mentioned in the past. In terms of having Tua like accuracy to put balls in a spot, I’m not sure that trait will ever be there for him. Not sure is being generous. We’re lucky if we get him to be a B in the accuracy department. A lot of easy throws off target and they were on display. Targets low and behind guys. Rain started picking up and the ducks were out.

The coaching staff is also telling you a lot here. The depth of target on all of the throws (literally 0 yard depth of target in the first half. Somehow a real stat) says a lot. They were managing the quarterback here. Easy throws to try to get the guy in rhythm. He’s just not naturally rhythmic having that same Joe Milton sort of problem. That right there is the problem though. With Milton, he was a much better runner. DJ continues to look slow-footed with plus power but it only gets you so far.

Just couldn’t make any plays down the field, which is the biggest red flag. The execution to create offense before the end of the half was gross. Finally, two deep balls and both were way off. How many yards did their receivers have compared to last year? That tells you everything you need to know. Ja’khi Douglas topped the game with 55 yards. Next was Malik Benson for 39 yards. The sad part is the ball zip is good which is why you’re willing to give him more and more chances.

Then the 4th quarter hits and it’s Godfather 3 all over again. You could tell the panic set in on Mike Norvell’s face and he was forced to take the training wheels off. Looked much better being forced to speed things up. Actually made big throws in the 4th to go lead a score. Even 4th down gotta have it situations. His numbers without that 4th would have looked treacherous without it.

At the end of the day, this right here sums it up the best. No longer Godfather 3. Adios and goodbye. Someone will take him in the 6th round but unlike Milton, has way less arm power and speed. We’ll move on to more pressing topics the rest of the season but glad we got that out of the way in Week 0.

Roydell Williams will also look to rebuild his stock after transferring from Alabama. We know the deal with Bama. They have so many quality backs that even the ones that don’t make their team usually have talent. I found out that lesson the hard way on Alvin Kamara. I’m not calling Roydell the next Kamara. Brian Robinson though? That feels possible.

Finished the game with 12 carries for 38 yards and a touchdown. But thick body and helped out as a blocker a few times. This part is what will be tested over the next few weeks to see what’s real. Georgia Tech totally kicked their ass on both lines of scrimmage. More so the Tech offensive line but still. That was shocking. My point is, who looked good on Florida State? With the exception of DJ U, Williams feels like he has hope along with some candidates on the defense.

The thing is he wasn’t the only running back that looked good. I’m not sure Roydell is actually the best back on the roster. That part remains to be seen. Lawrence Toafili had a big run in this one and often times they played the two guys on the field at the same time. Toafili was actually impressive. Looks like he can do more things like help out in the passing game with a bit more explosion. Toafili had eight carries for 32 yards and a score. Both had three receptions. We’ll see.

DJ Lundy

It’s hard to say this defense looked good in any aspect but we’ll try to isolate some of them. DJ Lundy looked like he had some pep in his step. A little jolt at least to him. Seven tackles and one TFL in this one. Thought it was a mixed bag. Has the green dot and downhill at least gets there quick.

Also looked small getting swallowed up in the run and chasing couldn’t chain stuff together.

Time will tell. Maybe a late round linebacker.

Patrick Payton

Couldn’t find him. Did nothing noticeable the entire game. Romello Height on Georgia Tech was way more impactful. The mock drafts say Payton could be a top 5 pick. I’m not going to throw the flag on the play yet but I didn’t talk about him at all last year. Jared Verse got my eyeballs when I watched and now Payton needs to prove he can be that top dog this year. Bad start for sure. Finished the game with one tackle and I can’t say he helped stop the run…

Josh Farmer

You can just tell Florida State really missed Verse and Fiske. Verse for his power and Fiske for his chaos. Farmer is a big body at 318 but got totally chewed up. Georgia Tech ran for 190 yards at 5.3 yards per carry. Farmer had one singular tackle in the game. There was a goal line play where Farmer was literally 10 yards away from the guy.

Yes, that’s him falling on the ground. Guy needs help or something.

Bad start… Maybe we’ll check back in later down the line.

Shyheim Brown

Number one on the field and number one in your heart. Mandatory shout-out here because of the ECU series . Shyheim looks like the best player on that defense. Just saying. The signs are with us, maybe? Had a team-high 13 tackles in the game and often times felt like a babysitter out there. If Shyheim didn’t make about six plays, this score would have been worse. Tough to think about but it’s true.

He’s a box safety who we’re not sure how good he is at playing balls in the air. Trust me, I know after using him in the game. I’m partially kidding about that. But seriously, he might be something. Just obviously not going to scream it from the clouds yet. We have more to learn.

Lucas Simmons

Sorry for the mandatory shout out here too. Simmons is the backup left tackle this year. He’s my starting left tackle in the game right now. Please go support that series because it’s been a blast.

Georgia Tech

Let’s not totally sleep on Haynes King, hey. He’s clearly not going to be a total disaster like Jeff Sims was. Very different style of player but this guy was a high-level recruit at Texas A&M for a reason. He’s actually a pretty good runner too despite being snipped at the goal line for a different running QB on one of the drives. But mobility isn’t a big concern. Broke multiple tackles against a capable defense. That shouldn’t go unnoticed. Unlike DJ U, he can actually hang in the pocket and make tight-window throws.

Still not the greatest pure thrower. Had a brutal miss on a deep ball that would have been a score. He needs his running to keep the football moving and you could tell he was exhausted at the end of the game. Will run out of steam at some point but there’s no question he outplayed DJ U, which is a win for him. DJ U was a higher recruit than CJ Stroud.

Eric Singleton Jr. from a pure movement perspective looks like the best guy on their team. Only three touches but 10 YPC and 9.5 YPR is pretty good, right? Running back Jamal Haynes had a good game too. Not going to declare anything on either guy but 11 carries for 75 yards and two touchdowns against Florida State is a win for this program. Georgia Tech has produced NFL running backs in the past. Shout out Tashard Choice, Jordan Mason, and almost Jahmyr Gibbs. The good news is Brent Key has this program looking more functional which is great for our Saturdays.

Nevada

Before the game started, my thoughts were that if Nevada was going to get anybody into the NFL (beyond the left tackle who might be a project lineman) the running backs may have some sizzle. Savion Red started the game for Nevada over Sean Dollars. Red, a transfer from Texas, finished the game with 12 carries for 30 yards and a score. I don’t see any NFL stuff there with Red. Honestly, Dollars looked better who was the incumbent. Dollars just looks like a better athlete and was a former Oregon recruit. He finished with 11 carries for 39 yards.

Who knows what this backfield will look like the rest of the way but Dollars deserves his looks. I’d take him if I’m picking one.

Two guys in the secondary looked at least intriguing. Chad Brown had a pick and a PBU. Kitan Crawford looks like he’s moving out there alright as a former four star Texas transfer. Shoot Hanifan a message if you want to know more because he probably knows way more about Nevada’s defense than I do after one game of watching them.

SMU

I posted this in the Slack prior to the game. After the game, I still feel the same way. I think I like Kevin Jennings better than Preston Stone. Jennings is draft-eligible this year but only a redshirt sophomore and will be back next year. Stone is going to be a sleeper QB to watch for this year. First pass of the game, Stone rifles a pick to Chad Brown.

He’s just another one of these gunslingers from Texas. It is what it is. Case Keenum vibes with less accuracy. Stone was under 60% last year. First two drives against Nevada got nothing going. Third possession of the game here comes Jennings. 4th possession even after a failed drive, Jennings is still in the game. If Stone was a stud would they even consider taking him off the field?

Total arm thrower too. Looks like he’s trying to throw a shotput. Stark difference in pure athleticism when Jennings is on the field. I was actually stunned they let Stone finish the game. To Stone’s credit, he made some big throws to go win it. Mostly on the back of RJ Maryland who Nevada just couldn’t cover.

I don’t care what the stats were. Jennings is the better player. They may want to think about what to do here.

LJ Johnson… stick a fork in him. The former Texas A&M back who had promise just looks done. He’s been relegated to a short yardage duty. Just has no pop. 2.1 yards per carry of nonsense.

RJ Maryland the tight end saved the day. I don’t think they win without him. Eight catches for 162 yards and a score. Yes, a tight end that had over 20 yards per catch. He was lined up wide a ton but still. Guy took the game over and you have to credit him for having the talent for doing so. Time will tell what it actually means.

Brandon Crossley got ejected for spitting on someone. If I were an NFL GM, a staff member would just be sent to go investigate what happened there. I’m doing this from my couch so I don’t care enough. We’ll be back next week.

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