It’s time to check in on the {at least reasonably assumed} players that could make up the 2025 rookie class, and players that have seen their stock go down. There’s been some players so far this year that have struggled relative to expectation, some players have struggled due to the situation around them, and some that may just not be as good as we had hoped. But it’s a good thing to keep in mind, it’s still early in the year and a lot is going to change between now and draft season next Spring.
Let’s check out who has raised their future fantasy stock this early into the season.
Ollie Gordon II (RB, Oklahoma State)
Ollie Gordon’s production and efficiency have taken nosedives this season. Through four games, he is only averaging 3.3 yards per attempt compared to his 6.1 last year and has a 7.6% breakaway percentage compared to 54.8% last season. Gordon has only gone over 50 rushing yards once this year, against their FCS opponent South Dakota State.
To be fair, the Oklahoma State’s offensive line has been a tough scene to watch, and has refused to help Gordon out at all. It’s concerning as they’ve brought back their top 5 offensive linemen in terms of snaps from the 2023 season that helped Gordon earn offensive player of the year. A bounce back from Gordon is going to require some big-time improvements from the offensive line. The talent was on display last season, Gordon just needs the situation to improve so that he can showcase that talent one more time before departing for the NFL.
Evan Stewart (WR, Oregon)
Stewart was regarded as one of the top receivers in this class by many in terms of talent but has been relatively disappointing so far into the season. Especially when you check the stats of other top receivers in this class like Tetairoa McMillan or Luther Burden. Oregon looked like they built one of the best receiving corps in the nation when they lured Stewart away from Texas A&M this offseason, and so far the ball has been distributed fairly evenly between Stewart, Tez Johnson, Terrance Ferguson, and Traeshon Holden (all between 150 and 190 receiving yards). Through three games though, it’s been obvious that new quarterback Dillon Gabriel has taken some time to gel in this offense and get used to the weapons around him. As the year continues, I expect both newcomers, Stewart and Gabriel, to continue to develop and improve.
Conner Weigman (QB, Texas A&M)
Weigman might have taken one of the biggest tumbles this early in the collegiate season. He’s done nothing but struggle through two games and was subsequently benched for Marcel Reed who has already doubled Weigman’s production this year. Despite the pedigree and the lofty hopes for Weigman this season, it looks like an uphill climb just to get back his starting role. He was a hopeful prospect who could have bolstered this fairly weak quarterback class, but it doesn’t look like that will be the case this season.
Emeka Egbuka (WR, Ohio State)
While Egbuka isn’t doing poorly necessarily through three games, it is a little concerning that he isn’t dominating this receiving corps. He was supposed to have this receiving room to himself with Marvin Harrison Jr. finally gone. But he went from one of the best wide receivers in college to potentially the next best wide receiver in college in the form of true freshman Jeremiah Smith. Smith is leading the team in receiving yards and touchdowns and trailing Egbuka by just one target.
It looks like this is a 1a/1b situation, but Jeremiah Smith has only played three college games so far. We could see Jeremiah take over the receiving room by mid-season. Or, we could see the Ohio State quarterbacks lean on the veteran Egbuka as they enter Big 10 conference play next week. So far, they have beaten up on the lesser competition in Akron, Western Michigan, and Marshall – the best environment for a young and talented wide receiver to excel. Regardless, this is a situation to monitor as Egbuka could drop down into late Day 2 NFL Draft territory if things continue to trend downward.
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Image Credit: Mark J. Rebilas – USA TODAY Sports
2024 Rookie Class Stock Down October
