Elijhah Badger, Florida: 2025 NFL Draft Profile & Scouting Report
Badger was a four-star recruit from Folsom High School in Folsom, Calif. in the class of 2020
Florida’s Elijhah Badger is one of the best Day 3 wide receivers in the 2025 NFL Draft. He flashed top 100 potential earlier in his career, but never quite hit his ceiling. Assuming the medicals check out, Badger should contend for a fourth round pick.
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Elijhah Badger, WR Florida: 2025 NFL Draft Profile
Classification: Redshirt senior receiver from Sacramento, Calif.
Background: Badger was a four-star recruit from Folsom High School in Folsom, Calif. in the class of 2020. He was the No. 141 recruit according to 247Sports, No. 132 for Rivals, and No. 120 for On3.com. ESPN ranked him 197th in the nation with an 82 grade out of 100. Badger transferred from Arizona State to Florida for the 2024 season. He amassed 183 receptions for 3,398 yards and 52 touchdowns in three high school varsity seasons. As a senior, he posted 79 receptions for 1,386 yards and 20 touchdowns. Badger caught 55 passes for 1,113 yards and 20 touchdowns as a junior. He also scored six career touchdowns on kick or punt returns and had a pick-six. In his final two seasons, Badger totaled 956 kickoff return yards and 417 punt return yards. He led Folsom to the California State Championship in the Division 1-AA bracket as well as the 2018 CIF Sac-Joaquin Section title. Badger led Folsom to the top seed in the 2019 CIF Sac-Joaquin Section playoffs in his final season.
Injuries & Off-Field: Ruled ineligible in 2020 for not meeting NCAA academic requirements, missed 2023 Arizona game with an injury suffered vs. Oregon, missed time in 2024 spring practices due to back injury suffered in 2023, missed 2024 Texas game
Awards: 2022 Honorable Mention All-Pac-12, 2023 Honorable Mention All-Pac-12
Pros: Returned kicks for Arizona State in 2023 and in high school, experience in the slot and out wide, alignment versatility, arm length, prototypical frame with good size and muscle definition, foot fire release, quick accelerator, stacks press-man corners, top speed to threaten off-man coverage and stretch the defense, stems routes outside before breaking across corner’s face, DBs bite on his shoulder and head fakes, quickly hits the breaks to separate on comebacks and curls, gets physical to drive away corners at the top of the stem, relocates between zones when play breaks down, tracks the ball well, only two drops in the past two years, extends to pluck football from the air, proven YAC threat, quality elusiveness, jump cuts and sidesteps, decelerates quickly to slip past defenders, cuts back against the action, open field vision, contact balance, toughness after the catch, drives legs through contact, willing stalk blocker who pins linebackers or slots for outside runs, attacks and displaces nickel defenders
Cons: Limited special teams versatility, needs to diversify release package to avoid contact in press, lacks quick win option vs. press, inconsistent down-to-down separator vs. press, inconsistent route precision, limited hip sink at top of stem, speed falls short of elite, speed is more built up than sudden, burst off the line takes some time to build, sometimes turns fully around and tries to body catch while backpedaling, does just enough but doesn’t go beyond as a blocker, questions about maturity and back injury
Overview: Badger enters the NFL with experience returning kicks but limited snaps across other special teams units. He spent the vast majority of his college snaps out wide as an X or Z but also took a fair number in the slot. Badger possesses the size at 6'1 3/8", 200 lbs. with 32 1/8" arms to play any receiver role on a given rep. He offers a prototypical frame with good size and muscle definition. The redshirt senior needs to diversify his release package to avoid early contact and win quicker against press coverage. He relies heavily on his foot fire release and resilience at his size, but these options aren’t enough to generate down-to-down separation against press coverage. Badger quickly accelerates and reaches a top speed that allows him to stack press-man defenders and overtake off-man coverage. This speed is more built up than instantaneous but still makes him a vertical threat capable of stretching the defense. His route definition is very inconsistent, but he showcases good leverage manipulation with his route stem when he’s dialed in. Badger uses effective head and shoulder fakes to get defensive backs to bite down before accelerating in the opposite direction. He quickly decelerates to separate on comebacks and curls but doesn’t sink his hips much. The Arizona State transfer gets physical with the corner at the top of the stem to separate. He relocates between zones when the quarterback enters scramble mode but isn’t an elite zone beater. Badger tracks the ball well and extends to pluck it out of the air, but he occasionally defaults to trying to body catch while backpedaling on deeper routes. The two-time All-Pac-12 honorable mention is a significant threat after the catch. He’s elusive, unleashing jump cuts and sidesteps and cutting back against the grain while using his vision to find small lanes to slip through. He’s a sturdy athlete with the toughness and contact balance to play through tackle attempts and finish runs falling forward. Badger does just enough as a stalk blocker to provide functional value on most plays but sometimes delivers high value pins on linebackers or dominant reps against nickels. Questions about maturity concerns from early in his college days and his previous back injury warrant answers and could lead to a draft day slide.
Overall, Badger’s on-field potential and versatility arguably exceed all other Day 3 receivers, but there are enough flags in his profile to lower his projected ceiling and floor. Badger offers terrific value on schemed touches while still possessing the speed and ball skills to threaten defenses over the top.
Role & Scheme Fit: Z receiver or dynamic slot receiver
Round Projection: Late Fourth to Early Fifth Round
Size: 6'1 3/8", 200 lbs. (NFL Combine)
Submitted: 03-24-25