2025 NFL Draft Scouting Report: Elijah Arroyo

Last Updated: 03/20/2025

Career Stats 

Summary  

It has been a long road for Elijah Arroyo. He arrived in Miami as a four-star prospect and the fourth-ranked tight end in his class but failed to top 100 yards in any of his first three years, mainly due to a significant knee injury that caused him to miss a majority of the 2022 and 2023 seasons. Finally healthy as a senior, he exploded onto the scene as a key piece of the passing attack for the Hurricanes. His 590 receiving yards were fourth on the team, while his seven receiving touchdowns were third. 

Arroyo stands on an ideal NFL frame, measuring 6-foot-5, 250 pounds, and marries this with plus athleticism throughout his game. He has alignment versatility, showcasing inline, slot and perimeter skills. We also saw Miami take advantage of his quickness and speed by motioning him across the formation to get a running start on defenders. This versatility helped create mismatches despite not running an expansive route tree. It consisted mostly of curls, go routes and screens, with a majority of his routes testing the vertical plane. He weaponizes his tempo within his routes to set up less athletic defenders before blowing by them. For a more rigid mover, there were times that he executed some more complex routes well.  

At the catch point, he is a natural, attacking the ball in the air with soft hands. We rarely see him let the ball get into his body before he has it secured. His lengthy frame also gives him a significant catch radius, and he displays the ability to catch within and outside his frame. Once he has the ball, he excels. His upright running is not ideal, but he is pretty fluid transitioning from receiver to runner. Despite being larger in stature, he can get his pad level down at the point of contact, allowing him to create some missed tackles. His quickness allows him to eat up yards quickly in open space and create big plays. Arroyo lacks elusiveness, so if you expect him to make a defender miss in space, you will be disappointed. 

When asked to block, Arroyo can hold his own, but he needs to refine his skills. His attack point is a touch high due to his frame and he lacks the strength to overcome this. The lack of strength is also clear when he is asked to push bigger defenders in the run game. He makes up for this as a sealer. His footwork and athleticism allow him to move with defenders while using their momentum to push them out of position. His movement blocking is strong as a wham or lead-style blocker in run concepts. 

Strengths 

• Speed 
• Athleticism 
• Hands

Weaknesses 

• Elusiveness 
• Stiff 
• Power blocking 
• Injury history 

Honors and Awards

•  Second Team All ACC (2024)

 Athletic Testing 

• 40-yard dash: TBD
• Vertical: TBD
• Broad Jump: TBD
• Three-cone: TBD
• Shuttle: TBD
• Bench: TBD

NFL Role Prediction

• Developmental starter

Fantasy Outlook 

Arroyo checks plenty of boxes for us in the fantasy realm. His speed and soft hands are already NFL caliber, but he needs to refine his routes to reach his ceiling. There is also a concern that his lack of elusiveness could limit him some as a yards-after-catch producer at the next level. Like most tight ends, landing spots will be critical – I think he can develop into a true starter, but he may need a creative-minded offensive coordinator early in his career to be relevant. 

Player Comparisons 

• Noah Fant 
• Theo Johnson 
• David Njoku