https://sportsverdict.co.uk/archives/6225

The Hokies’ list of players heading to the 2025 NFL Draft is quite large, especially considering the fact that Virginia Tech finished under .500 and went extremely below preseason expectations. The talent on the Hokies’ roster though was unlimited. Aeneas Peebles, Antwaun Powell-Ryland, Dorian Strong, Jaylin Lane, Ali Jennings, Bhayshul Tuten, and Da’Quan Felton all have a solid chance and getting drafted, and the latter has one of the most interesting draft profiles when diving deep into his film. Felton isn’t the highest rated player coming out of Virginia Tech this off-season, but he has one of the more interesting full resumés as a draft prospect.

To give some context on Felton’s career first, the wide receiver spent two years at Norfolk State, racking up 492 yards as a freshman and 573 as a sophomore. Even in his two years at Virginia Tech, Felton never had a season of 40 or more receptions, and his identity at wide receiver seemed to change every year when looking at his stat sheet. The 2024 season was by far Felton’s lowest producing season, as he only caught 32 passes for 360 yards, averaging 11.3 yards per catch, the lowest mark of his career. Besides one big catch against Stanford, Felton was seldom used in the pass game until late in the season against Clemson and Virginia.

ATHLETICISM:

In a completely different way than Jaylin Lane, Felton’s athleticism is the best part of his game. His 6-foot-5 build allows him to tower over small defensive backs and his long wingspan gives him an advantage at the line of scrimmage. Although Felton didn’t really get any balls over the top this year, which could be a concern, he had really solid release in 2023 and enough speed to outpace ACC defensive backs. Against some of the best backs in the conference, he showed the ability to control his body well while making acrobatic jumps for the ball. Virginia Tech would occasionally just throw fade balls to Da’Quan, hoping to catch defenses sleeping. With his limited production in 2024, he used every opportunity he got the ball to fight for yards. He has a low center of gravity with the ability to break runners off of him, although he’s not a very fluid runner. Admittedly, his speed could be a concern at the next level, a lot of his big plays come off of a strong release at the line with the benefit of a broken tackle at the end of the play. He’s very coordinated with his hands though, and he could catch any ball Drones threw to him, with the exception of the occasional drop. I think his build does limit his speed a little.

ROUTE-RUNNING:

This trait doesn’t set Felton apart from plenty of other receivers. Da’Quan actually does sell his routes quite well, but he doesn’t have the quick burst agility to get separation on the routes. He does have very high football IQ, and tends to find a lot of soft spots in zone on deep balls from Drones. Felton’s unexpectedly short strides in his routes limit the versatility of Felton’s game at the next level.

OVERALL:

Felton’s ability to attack different types of defenses, his 6-foot-5 build, and his understanding of the game will likely pull him up from the UDFA field into the NFL Draft. If he sharpens up his route-running, keeps his release package at the line, and gets a touch slimmer to add on some speed, he could definitely be a weapon that some team would want at the next level