Isaiah Bond Declares for 2025 NFL Draft; Texas Star Is No. 6 Ranked WR by B/R Scouts
Joseph Zucker@@JosephZucker
Featured Columnist IVJanuary 14, 2025
Texas wide receiver Isaiah Bond declared for the 2025 NFL draft following the Longhorns' elimination from the College Football Playoff.
"I'm very appreciative of my time at Texas," he said to ESPN's Pete Thamel. "I told Coach [Steve Sarkisian], 'I appreciate the opportunity for him giving me a chance to play on his football team at this great university. I'm grateful and deeply appreciative he took me in as one of his own."
Bond is the No. 52 overall player and sixth-best wideout on Bleacher Report's 2025 big board.
The junior transferred in to Texas after spending his first two college seasons at Alabama. In 14 appearances for the Longhorns, he caught 34 passes for 540 yards and five touchdowns.
Bond battled an ankle injury that limited his effectiveness toward the end of the campaign. He had just two receptions and 30 yards across Texas' final five games.
Despite the fact his on-field production doesn't jump off the page, Bond could be a Day 2 pick or maybe even move into the first round thanks in large part to his physical tools. ESPN's Matt Miller reported in September that one NFL scout believes he might be faster than former Texas star Xavier Worthy, who ran a record-setting 4.21-second 40-yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine.
"Bond makes plays from anywhere on the field because of a combination of elite speed and explosiveness," B/R's Dame Parson wrote in the big board. "He is a game-breaker who can outrun pursuit angles with relative ease. Route-running is an underrated part of his game, though. Bond is a good off the stems and moves with twitch, explosiveness and suddenness to defeat single coverage. He's a Day 2 prospect and weapon for NFL offenses to covet."
Last year, Worthy's performance at the combine helped catapult him into the first round, where the Kansas City Chiefs picked him 28th overall.
Bond is the kind of prospect who thrives at showcases such as the combine and Texas' pro day, and he could climb draft boards in the same way Worthy did.
