2025 NFL Draft Notebook: Elic Ayomanor and his awkward evaluation, Wyatt Milum, and a couple of Utah State stars

Pinpointing the upside of Elic Ayomanor

There may not be a more enigmatic wide receiver in the 2025 class than Stanford star Elic Ayomanor. At 6-2 and 210 pounds, Ayomanor projects best physically into the boundary. Although he’s still only 21 years old, he is one of the more developed pass catches in the class from a frame perspective. Ayomanor has the body type to play immediately on the next level.

When you think of a boundary receiver, you probably think of physicality and catch-point prowess. That isn’t Ayomanor. While he has great body control to pull in a highlight reel reception from time to time, he wins more because of his nuance as a player. Ayomanor is one of the very best route runners in the entire class.

With Ayomanor possessing such a unique skill set, some are going to hesitate on just how well he fits on the NFL level. There will be some archaic scouting departments that throw him away entirely. For a team that is willing to utilize what Ayomanor does well, and develops the rest of the game, he has a chance to become an outstanding No. 2 wide receiver in the mold of former San Francisco 49ers star Michael Crabtree.

Utah State sleepers

Speaking of wide receivers, we probably aren’t paying enough attention to Utah State star Jalen Royals. Although he’s a bit of a smaller wide receiver at 5-11.5 and 193 pounds, Royals just does so many things well. He has an argument as one of the most well-rounded players in the group.

Royals has an uncanny ability to track the football down the field. He understands how to adjust his track, and get his body in proper positioning. The former Utah State star also is a really efficient route runner, and creates easy separation. There’s a very good chance that Royals becomes an extremely valuable member of a wide receiver room on the NFL level.

For a second, it looked like Utah State running back Rahsul Faison was also going to be a part of this class. If he was, Faison would have been one of those classic “day three running backs you want” candidates. With the new JUCO extra eligibility, Faison received another year of eligibility, and decided to transfer to South Carolina.

At 5-11 and 200 pounds, Faison has some unique contract balance for his size. He routinely creates second effort runs, and finds hidden yardage. Faison also gets up to top gear quickly. He is certainly a running back to watch for the 2026 NFL Draft class.