After the NFL Draft, the Roto Street Wolf and I planted our flags on our favorite rookie breakout candidates and “sleepers” from this past 2025 NFL Draft. Regarding my personal favorite out of the rookies I had previously hand-picked, Elic Ayomanor is a prospect I’ve had my eye on for quite some time.
Before the draft, I personally had Elic Ayomanor as high as my WR4 behind Travis Hunter, Luther Burden III, and Tetaroia McMillan. With talks of the rookie surging in the Tennessee Titans’ wide receiver room, Ayomanor is looking like a steal in comparison to where he was selected. Obviously things change post-draft (such as rankings), but my confidence in Ayomanor does not.
PROSPECT PROFILE
After redshirting his entire freshman year in 2022, Elic Ayomanor broke out in his first official collegiate season as a sophomore – recording 1,022 receiving yards on 63 receptions (16.2 yards per reception) with 6 caught touchdowns, while running more than 85 percent of his routes out wide and earning over 26 percent of his teams’ targets. Amongst the 124 P-5 wide receivers with 50+ targets in 2023, Ayomanor ranked 30th in yards per route run and 36th in receiving grade. He also tied for 3rd in contested catches with 14 – which was just behind Tetaroia McMillan (16) and ahead of Marvin Harrison Jr. (13), Luther Burden III (13), and Keon Coleman (10).
On the road versus Colorado in his sixth career collegiate contest , Ayomanor was able to hang video game numbers despite the defensive presence of Travis Hunter. Elic caught 13 passes on 18 targets for 294 receiving yards and 3 caught touchdowns, averaging an absurd 5.55 yards per route run. In overtime, Ayomanor was able to put his best receiving skills on display when he went up and ‘Mossed’ Travis Hunter while pulling him into the endzone with him for a touchdown.
Two weeks later, he caught 10 balls on 13 targets for 159 yards (3.13 yards per route run) and a touchdown versus the eventual CFP Championship game runner-ups, the Washington Huskies.
This past season Stanford’s offense experienced some regressions, but Ayomanor still managed to put up 831 receiving yards and 6 touchdowns in the exact same number of receptions he got in 2023 (63). He again ranked within the top-ten (amongst P-5 WRs with 50+ targets) for contested catches as well, catching 14 and falling just short of McMillan with 18 contested catches.
Although his box score numbers may not pop off the page like other prospects in this class do, Ayomanor does have the metrics to support the idea that he can be a starting “X” in the NFL. He posted an 83rd percentile college dominator rating, accounting for over 40 percent of his teams’ receiving yards and touchdowns, which was top-five in this receiver class. Not only that, he garnered a 30.3 percent college target share, ranking in the 90th percentile of wide receiver prospects.
Ayomanor had 2.31 receiving yards per team pass attempt in his collegiate career, which ranked fifth in this class – ahead of Burden, Hunter, Egbuka, Higgins, and Golden. Ayomanor’s career 36.22 percent receiving yards market share was 1st amongst all Power-5 wide receivers in this 2025 rookie class, with McMillan ranking 2nd despite having nearly a five percent lower (31.68 percent) market share.
Amongst the entire 2025 rookie wide receiver class, no pass catcher had more career receiving yards when on the field then Elic Ayomanor – who accounted for 41 percent of his teams’ receiving yards when on the field. My personal top-three receivers in the class follow behind him – with Luther Burden at 36 percent, Travis Hunter at 34 percent, and Tetairoa McMillan at 33 percent.
Elic Ayomanor was able to accomplish two seasons with 45 percent of his teams’ receiving touchdowns when on the field. For reference, neither Travis Hunter or Tetaroia McMillan posted a single season with more than 45 percent of their teams’ receiving yards when on the field. Ayomanor accounted for 46 percent of his teams receiving touchdowns when on the field this past season after recording an even more absurd rate of 60 percent (T-4th highest single-season rate) in 2023 as a true sophomore — in what was his very first collegiate season.
While hogging the rock in the end-zone, Ayomanor also posted two single-season rates with more than 40 percent of his teams’ receiving yards when on the field. Besides one of my favorite prospects in this class in Luther Burden III, Elic Ayomanor is the only pass catcher (WR or TE) to accomplish two seasons with at least 40 percent of his teams’ receiving yards when on the field. Ayomanor and Burden cover four out of the top-ten for single-seasons rates of their teams’ receiving yards when on the field amongst this 2025 NFL class. To put this statistic into perspective: none of this years’ first round wide receivers (excluding our beloved McMillan) — Emeka Egbuka, Travis Hunter, or Matthew Golden, posted a single collegiate season with more than 35 percent of their teams’ receiving yards when on the field.
Ayomanor also happens to be one of just four early-declare power-conference wide receiver prospects since the 2015 draft class to post a season average of 80-plus receiving yards per game with higher than a 0.90 EPA in their first two years. Those four wideouts include:
- 2013 Stefon Diggs
- 2018 CeeDee Lamb
- 2020 Drake London
- 2023 Elic Ayomanor
Oddly enough, all of Diggs, Lamb, and London made this list in their second seasons. Ayomanor is the only WR amongst this bunch to accomplish the feat in his very first collegiate season. Elic also averaged more receiving yards per game (84.4) than all of them in each of their respective seasons.
ATHLETIC TRAITS & MECHANICS
At six-foot-two, 206 pounds, Elic Ayomanor is quite athletic for his size – boasting a 9.71 relative athletic score, ranking 111th amongst 3,816 wide receivers to come through the draft process since 1987. Part of that is due to his 4.44 second 40-yard dash (82nd percentile) at his size, which earned him an 89th percentile speed score. To complement his quickness as a vertical weapon, he has 84th percentile burst – allowing him to be a master of changing his tempo and gearing up to top-speed.
Ayomanor displays high-level spatial awareness and body control, particularly on off-target throws. His ability to create separation late in his routes will add value to a Titans offense looking to get second-chance opportunities when the play breaks down. His effectiveness in scramble drills and catches over the shoulder make him a true fit for the number one overall pick, Cam Ward, who thrives off of his playmaking abilities at the quarterback position.
I believe the Tennessee Titans’ new rookie wide receiver could be a legitimate deep threat and target hog at the NFL level – combining high-end speed and natural ball-tracking ability to consistently stack defenders on vertical routes. Ayomanor looks like a veteran when it comes to finding soft spots and exploiting leverages routinely. He uses his 6’2, 205-plus frame to box out defenders and come down with contested catches, while also being a threat over the middle as a refined route runner. Even Cam Ward is aware of the potential impact Ayomanor can have.
ELIC AYOMANOR’S OUTLOOK
Like I mentioned earlier, I had Ayomanor as high as my WR4 before the 2025 NFL Draft kicked off, just behind Travis Hunter at WR3 and ahead of Emeka Egbuka at WR5. Post-draft I’d move Ayomanor no further than two WR rankings down and put him in the same tier as Jayden Higgins. I would not be surprised if Ayomanor has a better season or career than both of those players. I used mid-to-late second-round picks on him in dynasty rookie drafts myself and would absolutely stash him in redraft leagues if you have the open bench spot.
For the most part, Elic Ayomanor is not on anyone’s radar within the NFL community. In my personal opinion, Ayomanor’s production profile was better than most receivers in this class – If I had to take a guess as to why he fell in the draft, it would be because of his injury history. As a freshman in college, Ayomanor unfortunately tore his meniscus, ACL, and MCL at practice just before the season kicked off – in which he responded with 1,844 receiving yards on 125 receptions and 12 touchdowns over his next two seasons.
I have no issue betting on the talent that is Elic Ayomanor, especially considering the state of the Titans wide receiver room. There will be a ton of opportunity up for grabs with the new signal caller and Tennessee showed their desire for a young pass catcher by going WR (Chimere Dike) — TE (Gunnar Helm) — WR (Elic Ayomanor) in three consecutive rounds this past NFL Draft. The rookie out of Stanford seems to be the favorite thus far.
A new head coaching regime was hired before this past season, but Brian Callahan and his pass-heavy schemes should be eager to bounce back after a campaign in which they tied for the worst record in the league and earned the number one overall pick. Coach Callahan himself said Ayomanor will likely start out wide as their “X”, as he is also listed as the WR2 for Week 1 ahead of both Tyler Lockett and Van Jefferson.
Considering that’s been mostly Calvin Ridley’s spot, it makes you wonder what the offense might look like with Ayomanor out wide. One aspect of his new landing spot the receiver out of Stanford can be optimistic about is the decline of Ridley. He will be entering his eighth season in the NFL and turns 31 in December – therefore he is not getting any better or younger. In fact, he showed some signs of regression in 2024 (ranked out of 156 WRs with 10+ targets):
- 37th in yards per route run
- 41st in receiving grade
- 42nd in missed tackles forced
- 44th in offensive grade
- 46th in yards after the catch
- 48th in receiving touchdowns
- 87th in yards after the catch per reception
- Bottom-20 in drop grade, T-8th in drops (8)
If I were an NFL GM, I would’ve taken Elic Ayomanor no later than round two and you can call me crazy, but I would have had zero issue with a team using a late first-round pick on him. The Titans are getting a steal in Ayomanor, and I’m hoping the change at quarterback turns the culture around slightly in Tennessee.
If I were a GM, I would’ve taken Elic Ayomanor no later than round two and you can call me crazy, but I would have had zero issue with a team using a late first-round pick on him. The Titans are getting a steal in Ayomanor, and I’m hoping the change at quarterback turns the culture around slightly in Tennessee.
Personally, draft capital means very little to me in the grand scheme of things – there seems to be a massive overreaction to both Ayomanor’s landing spot and draft capital, as he was taken in round four behind both fellow Titans’ rookies Chimere Dike and Gunnar Helm. There are a few players I see immense value in that were taken outside of the first three rounds — Elic Ayomanor is at the top of my list.
