Meet Melquan Stovall, the most underrated prospect in the 2025 NFL Draft

There are some very interesting prospects in this year’s draft.

All signs point to the Cowboys going after a wide receiver in this year’s draft, with a growing sense that Arizona’s Tetairoa McMillan could be the target in the first round, provided he’s still available at pick 12.

If he’s not, though, it won’t be game over for the Cowboys. There are a lot of receiver prospects in this draft that will go on to become productive players at the next level, though the odds of finding one declines the farther you get into the draft.

However, one such player is perhaps the most underrated prospect in this entire draft class. Meet Melquan Stovall.

Stovall is a unique case, as he has six years of college football to his name but with major asterisks on each individual season. You can see his statistical breakdowns, and the three different programs he played for, below. That explains why Stovall isn’t getting much attention in the draft.

Standing at 5’9” and 190 pounds, Stovall is a slender but speedy receiver who almost exclusively worked out of the slot. As a mid-three-star prospect out of California, Stovall committed to Nevada out of high school. He saw limited work as a true freshman and sophomore before becoming the Wolfpack’s starting slot receiver in 2021.

After that season, though, Nevada head coach Jay Norvell left for the Colorado State job, and Stovall transferred to follow his head coach. However, he opted to sit out after a couple of games and use his redshirt for reasons that were never publicly stated.

Once the season ended, Stovall entered the transfer portal again and landed at Arizona State, joining newly-hired head coach Kenny Dillingham. Stovall quickly became the starting slot receiver for the Sun Devils, though the 2023 season – which saw the team win just three games – was marred by quarterback issues; six different players attempted passes in multiple games, including running back Cam Skattebo and tight end Jalin Conyers.

The 2024 season saw a huge turnaround for the Sun Devils, as they won the Big 12 and took Texas to two overtimes in the College Football Playoff. Stovall’s production improved too, though he was still impacted by a run-heavy offense built around Skattebo.

Now that we’ve explained all the asterisks (read: why Stovall is hoping for a sixth- or seventh-round selection), what makes him so special?

Simply put, Stovall is everything you want in a slot receiver. He’s speedy, having run a 4.4 40-yard dash at the Big 12’s combined pro day (Stovall wasn’t invited to the NFL Combine). He’s also quick and explosive, with one of the better athletic profiles among receivers in this draft class:

That often translated to the field, as was evidenced with his touchdown run in the earlier video. Stovall averaged just under seven yards after the catch (YAC) per reception in his two seasons at Arizona State. For context, KaVontae Turpin led all Cowboys receivers in YAC/reception last year with 8.4; no other receiver even topped 5.5 YAC/reception.

Not only is Stovall a great athlete, but he’s reliable too. He had a career 4.8% drop rate across his six seasons, with his sophomore season being the only year he was charged with multiple drops in a year.

Perhaps the best showcase of Stovall’s sure hands was the controversial non-targeting call in the Peach Bowl this past year, when Stovall was drilled in the head by a Texas safety but no penalty was called, even after review. Regardless of the ruling, though, Stovall held on through a vicious hit late in the fourth quarter of the biggest game he’d ever played in.

Of course, there are very real issues with Stovall’s player profile. HIs size effectively limits him to a slot role, and his lack of elite production regardless of asterisks is going to scare teams away. That’s why Stovall is likely headed for undrafted free agency, though some savvy team may take a late flyer on him in the sixth or seventh round.

No matter where Stovall ends up going, though, some team is going to get very lucky. He has a rare combination of experience, athleticism, and untapped potential that isn’t entirely dissimilar from other once-overlooked receiver prospects like Stefon Diggs or Puka Nacua. Given where they can acquire Stovall, the Cowboys would be wise to give him a serious look.