Pro Football Focus tabs Stanford WR as player Lions should watch for 2025 draft

The Detroit Lions are happy with the wide receivers they have right now, barring something unforeseen before the season starts. But that could change, either during the season before the trade deadline or more likely as the 2025 draft gets nearer.

Wide receiver could be on the radar for the Lions early in next April's draft, independent of what Jameson Williams does this season. A trio of Amon-Ra St. Brown, Williams and (insert well-regarded 2025 draft wide receiver draft prospect taken in the first couple rounds) would look pretty nice if the Lions end up going that way.

Trevor Sikkema of Pro Football Focus is out with a list of college offensive players to watch, more specifically one each team should watch.

For the Lions, Sikkema lauded Stanford wide receiver Elic Ayomanor as a nice fit.

 "I am calling my shot here: I love this player-team fit. The 6-foot-2, 210-pound Ayomanor tore his ACL, MCL and meniscus before Week 1 of his true freshman season, rehabbed during all of 2022, and came back in 2023 to showcase an all-around skill set that featured track background speed, nuanced releases and routes, and above-average blocking strength and mentality.

"Get him in a group with  Amon-Ra St. Brown and  Jameson Williams, and Detroit's offense will continue to cook.:

Sikkema has Ayomanor as his No. 4 wide receiver in the 2025 draft class.

Lions 2025 NFL Draft prospect: Who is Elic Ayomanor?

Ayomanor is from Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada, but he moved to the U.S. for high school. He was also a track athlete at Deerfield Academy in Massachussets. A three-star recruit, he chose Stanford over several other offers (Notre Dame, Penn State, Duke, Tennessee, Ole Miss, Cal, Kentucky, Virginia)

As Sikkema noted, Ayomanor suffered a major knee injury just before his true freshman season, and spent that 2022 season rehabbing. Last year was his healthy breakthrough, with 62 catches for 1,013 yards (16.3 yards per catch; seventh in the Pac-12) and six touchdowns. Against Colorado last October, he set a school record with 294 receiving yards as he also had three touchdowns.

Ayomanor gets props from evaluators for his competitiveness, strong hands and all-around skill set (deep threat, YAC guy), as well as being a willing and able blocker. That description screams "future Lion". Some of the knocks on him are technique-rooted, which can be considered a product of playing one college season coming off a major knee injury.

We know Lions' general manager Brad Holmes is not afraid of players who have injury history, as long as they fit what the team is looking for otherwise. Ayomanor looks like a player who fits their intangible template, let alone what he brings to the table as a talent, so Sikkema's endorsement of the player-team fit here is well-founded. Even in July, when the draft isn't until April.