With the NFL Combine quickly approaching, Fantasy Life's Thor Nystrom and Ray Garvin, of Blecher Report and Destination Devy, discuss the most underrated 2025 NFL Draft prospects for dynasty leagues.

Find the entire discussion at the Fantasy Life YouTub Channel here: 

Quarterbacks

Garvin: Tyler Shough is starting to get some buzz right now in the draft space. He already came out and said, “I'm going to the Combine next week to compete.” This is an older quarterback prospect, but he's put together, and we got a chance to see him down in Mobile a few weeks ago. 

This kid has arm talent — he put up a 20.9% chunk rate (15-plus yards downfield), a 7.1% explosive play rate (30-plus yards), completing those better than Riley Leonard and Quinn Ewers and right on par with Jalen Milroe.

I don't believe that Shough gets drafted in the first round, but you talked about somebody that can be a developmental backup. I look at where Kellen Mond was drafted a few years ago, top of the third round, Davis Mills at the back of the second round. For the Houston Texans, I can absolutely see a world where Tyler Shough gets Day 2. 

For us in fantasy, you have to keep your eye on guys who get that type of draft capital. Look at how many quarterbacks play each and every year — if you can push the ball downfield, if you could deliver that far hash to sideline throw, which I've seen Tyler Shough do, you have a chance to get on the field and complete some passes. 

In fantasy, we're just looking for the spot start. I like Tyler Shough, and I do think that after the combine, you probably still can see him to climb up the boards a little.

Nystrom: Tyler Shough is 6-foot-5, 224 pounds, a former high four-star recruit, and he was looked at as the heir apparent to Justin Herbert at Oregon. His career got a little bit wonky after he took over the starting job in the COVID season for Herbert. He had a good first three games, and then he had a couple bad games, and they pulled the plug on him so fast. They inserted Anthony Brown, the Boston College transfer. 

Then Shough goes to Texas Tech. He was supposed to be Jordan Love for new head coach Matt Wells. And it did not work out there. It was one season-ending injury after another. The three years he was there, it was major injuries every year and things never came together for him. 

So he transfers to Louisville, plays for Jeff Brown, and it it all coalesces with an 88.5 PFF grade last year. He had an 88.6 PFF passing grade in a clean pocket and a 92.8 throwing grade, very high. He has the frame, athleticism and arm. 

My concern with him is that he didn't break out till his seventh year, plus the durability thing. Shough will be interesting for the medical staffs to poke around on — he has got to have a clean bill of health. 

But you have the potential and a guy who showed it on the field last year for a coach who has sent numerous quarterbacks the NFL already. Jeff Brohm is a super underrated quarterback whisperer. Tyler Shough absolutely deserves to go in the middle rounds.

Garvin: I have him at QB8 in the class right now, ahead of Quinn Ewers and Riley Leonard, but the medicals have to check out. It just seems like we're entering this NFL world where experience matters no matter how the collegiate prospect got it. And what I think he'll be able to do is at least pick up and comprehend what's going on in an NFL locker room. 

Early on, this is a player, once again, I am not projecting to be an elite quarterback when you're talking about the tools and the traits. But I think he can be that developmental guy. 

Nystrom: Over those seven years, not only did he play at three different schools, he played in three vastly different kinds of offenses. And they were all in the Power 5. He starts at Oregon and rips the Pac-12 and has been all over the place. He can run a system, for sure. Certainly QB11 is way too low. 

My underrated quarterback is Kyle McCord of Syracuse, QB7 on the consensus board. I think people are sleeping on Kyle McCord, who last year finished third in the nation in wins above replacement. 

He was number one in big-time throws and turnover-worthy plays. He had to play a little bit of hero ball, but his attacking nature within the pocket is what I like. That guy sees the field well. He has a lot of gumption, and he will attack you. 

He was at Ohio State and was famously pushed out so they could sign Will Howard. At Syracuse his offensive line wasn't very good and he didn't have the same level of talent. He had a couple of decent receiving options at Syracuse, and they were getting into a lot of shootouts. 

I think he's accurate. I think he's tough. He sees the field well. I struggled with the comp here because I have two guys — do I want to go with the high one or the sort of medium one? Because he gets his optimal developmental outcome, I think Kyle McCord is going to be the pointing Spider Man gif of Kirk Cousins.

Running Backs

Garvin: I'm looking at some of the advanced numbers on Damien Martinez, and I'm like wait a minute. Let me hit you with some data:

  • EPA per rush attempt: .29 / Ashton Jeanty .22, Cam Skattebo .16
  • Success rate: 63.7% / Jeanty 55.2%

Three straight years of over 6.0 yards per rush attempt, but only 159 carries. Maybe you can explain to me why Miami didn't run the ball more with Martinez. With minimal usage he still went over 1,000 yards rushing and 200 receiving. He's 6-foot and over 200 pounds. He is a top-10 running back in this class. 

Remember a couple years ago when we heard the buzz coming out of Houston that Damien Pierce might start? He was a fourth-rounder and had a very successful rookie season. I think Damien Martinez can not only do that, but truly solidify himself as that team's priority running back — RB16 is out of this world. Martinez needs to be much, much higher than this. 

Nystrom: I think people misunderstand Martinez because he was listed at 241 at Oregon State, and then he was listed at 235 or something like that at Miami. 

He was one of the funnest guys I talked to in Mobile. I asked him about that and he started laughing. He goes, “Dude, I've never played a game over 230 pounds.” And I was like, “You've never been listed under 230 pounds.” And he just smiled at me, like yea the schools exaggerate that stuff. 

But he gives you the inside-the-tackle work. Everybody thought he was a 240-pound hammer because of how well he does between the tackles. But the thing that people don't get about him is how good his feet are. He can change the angle on someone right before they launch off their feet. He can make people miss with the violent one-cut. 

I really like how fluid he is — now you see me, now you don't. And he can also just go right at you and run you over. So he provides a little bit of a puzzle, because sometimes defenders coming down on him think it's going to be a battering-ram type of a contest. Then Martinez will switch things up and do some footwork and he runs right through him. 

I'm a big fan of Damien Martinez, and I think he'd be getting more hype if they had used them more last year. To your point, they were very pass-happy with Cam Ward. And then they also had a deeper running back rotation. You and I are in lockstep on Damien Martinez. 

Here's my most underrated running back but it's not by a ton: Caleb Johnson. I see a lot of Larry Johnson in him. You also see disparate elements of other people's games, too, the wide zone stuff and outside zone. 

He looks a bit like Le'Veon Bell. Caleb Johnson is in the exact same physical package as Le'Veon Bell. He has that yeoman's patience when he is picking down the line, but then he also can punch the gas, and he just shoots out. He has that acceleration. 

So he has very good feel for it. He also does a really good job of manipulating the linebackers. It's something Ashton Jeanty does. Caleb Johnson forces the linebackers to declare their gaps first, and then he just gets them stuck. The speed is crazy underrated there. 

When he runs, he is extremely angular. It's like a sprinter. He's totally upright. And then he barely moves his arms, and the legs are very close together, so it doesn't look like much movement. He outruns defensive backs consistently to the end zone. He also erased angles. 

And not only that, Iowa's GPS had him at 22 miles per hour. That is flying, especially for a big back. Caleb Johnson is going to run in the 4.4s. He's going to blow people's socks off with how well he runs. I love the feel here. I like the power element with him. It's very difficult to tackle him. 

Wide Receivers

Garvin: LaJohntay Wester, wide receiver out of Colorado. He is WR46 on the media consensus board. 

When you're talking about slot wide receivers in this class, he played 90.8% of his snaps from the slot. Luther Burden was 80%, Xavier Restrepo 88%, and then Tez Johnson 72%. And Wester's EPA per pass attempt was higher than all of them. 

Wester had a 60% catch rate over expected. Did he do more than the Colorado offense gave him the opportunity to do? You're talking about a player who has quick-twitch ability and ability to work after the catch. I don't want to speak too crazy here, but I think there's a real-world shot where this guy is a team's third or fourth wide receiver out the gate. 

Nystrom: My underrated wide receiver is Jaylin Noel. I couldn't stop talking about him when we were down in Mobile. 

This is a potential top-10 wide receiver in this class. He is slot confined, and that's why he's a little bit underrated. I think people are still sleeping on him. Nobody could stay with him in Mobile in the one-on-ones. They had all kinds of issues with that. 

He was one of the big winners that we had this year at the Senior Bowl, and I think he's going to start for a long, long time in the NFL. I think you're looking at a Day 2 guy. 

It's reminiscent of Khalil Shakir not going on Day 2, and there are similarities in the game. Roman Wilson last year at the Senior Bowl — I saw some similarities between guys like that.

Tight Ends

Garvin: Elijah Arroyo is 6-foot-4 and a half, and if you were to just walk into the stadium in Mobile, Alabama and saw the one-on-ones, you would have thought number 80 played wide receiver. 

He's 250 pounds with breakaway speed. He's been clocked at close to 22 miles per hour. The Miami list of tight ends goes on and on. Is Arroyo going to crush the combine or crush us?

Nystrom: He was moving around so well. The question I had about him coming was why he wasn't used as much in a prolific passing offense. You saw on the film how well he moves. 

So I needed to see him dominate those one-on-ones, and in the team drills he absolutely obliged. The short stuff, the intermediate stuff, was consistently getting separation and then completing the plays, and then he was Mossing people downfield over and over again. 

If you were to ballpark where Elijah Arroyo goes in April, what sort of range do you see? 

Garvin: I think he's going to be a top-50 pick. I think when it's all said and done, I do not believe a tight end of that caliber, that fluidity in the pedigree that Miami has, I don't think he leaves Round 2. I think he is going to be a top-50 pick — late Round 2, at the absolute latest.

Nystrom: I'm in on Arroyo, too. He played some in-line — almost 40% of snaps last year. He's going to be a big slot at the next level, but he is a big kid.

Elijah Arroyo can win downfield all day, right? I mean, he's got the athleticism to get there. He can get off the line, and he's got great ball skills. 

So Elijah Arroyo's stock is way up, and it's going to continue to go way up starting next week at the NFL Combine, where we both expect him to go absolutely ballistic.