Cam Skattebo NFL Draft stock: 5 teams that would love to select Arizona State star RB

We hate that it is over, but are we not so glad it happened? Arizona State was picked to finish dead last in the recently expanded 16-team Big 12. They went 10-2 (7-2) during the regular season and blew Iowa State to smithereens in the Big 12 Championship. Despite being a double-digit underdog to heavily favored Texas, the Sun Devils took the Longhorns to double overtime in the Peach Bowl.

After watching this game in person, I can say for certain that Arizona State running back Cam Skattebo's measurables at the NFL Scouting Combine do not matter. Whatever NFL team takes a chance on him will be rewarded for doing so. He is a punishing runner, a fearless competitor and one of the most versatile running backs I have ever covered. Skattebo put Arizona State back on the map.

So when it comes to figuring out when he is going to be drafted, I think his senior season in Tempe was more than enough to merit him being a top-100 pick. He is like the running back version of my beloved Georgia Bulldogs' Ladd McConkey. The guy is a football player, one whose game is going to translate at the next level. College football was better having in a vibrant of it. He exits it as a legend.

Here are five teams I would expect to be chomping at the bit to take him in the second or third round.

5. Cincinnati Bengals

There are definitely bigger needs for the Cincinnati Bengals beyond running back. Lou Anarumo's defense has been shredded all year and the team needs reinforcements on that side of the ball to achieve anything meaningful. You're wasting Joe Burrow and Ja'Marr Chase! Running back shouldn't be at the top of their priority list when they're on the clock in the 2025 draft.

However, if there is one thing I have learned in my decade-plus writing career when it comes to the Bengals is you never tell them what to do. They move to the beat of their own drum, but one that is often without a drumstick. Cincinnati does not move up or down the draft board, nor do the Bengals trade draft picks. That being said, if Skattebo is still on the board when they pick, they might take him.

Culturally and philosophically, Skattebo fits into the Bengals' football program like a hand in glove,

4. San Francisco 49ers

The San Francisco 49ers need to get back to the basics in the 2025 NFL Draft. The Super Bowl hangover kicked their ass about as bad as Skattebo kicked Iowa State's ass in the Big 12 Championship. This team needs to get more physical in the running game and along the offensive line. It is why I would target an offensive tackle in the first two rounds then go pursue Skattebo later.

Given the fact that Texas is 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan's alma mater, I bet he is well aware of who Skattebo is and what he is about now. He is one of those ultra-fun players that has made fullback Kyle Juszczyk a perennial Pro Bowler and tight end George Kittle a likely Pro Football Hall of Famer. If Skattebo were to come back to his native Northern California, it just might be football destiny for him.

My only concern about Skattebo going to the 49ers is the Shanahan scheme does not reach on guys.

3. Pittsburgh Steelers

Oh, this would be something... Just imagine Cam Skattebo playing in Arthur Smith's ground-centric offense for the Pittsburgh Steelers. He is the ideal long-term replacement for Najee Harris should the Steelers part ways with him this upcoming offseason. For Pittsburgh to sustain excellence in the second half of this decade, they have to continue to win with ball control and tenacious defense.

Given that the Steelers have done a good job in recent years of drafting, developing and maintaining a strong offensive line, this would help Skattebo get the most out of his not-so-obvious NFL talent. Plus, he kind of fits the overall ethos of Pittsburgh. Tough guys, who often get overlooked. He would be the biggest hit for them in the backfield since Jerome Bettis, possibly even since Franco Harris.

Again, this is all going to come down to how much of a draft market Skattebo manifest this spring.

2. Tennessee Titans

Assuming the Tennessee Titans end up having a top-two pick, I would hope they would go quarterback in the first round and then get him some weapons in the middle part of the 2025 NFL Draft. Whether it is Miami's Cam Ward, Colorado's Shedeur Sanders or potentially somebody else entirely, I am sure any of those quarterbacks would love to work with Skattebo over in Nashville.

To say he will be the next Derrick Henry or Eddie George for the Titans would be putting too much pressure on the game. Then again, I think he is kind of built for it. Tennessee is a team that lacks an identity under first-year head coach Brian Callahan and newish general manager Ran Carthon. If the Titans used one of their first three picks on Skattebo, I would be very much in favor of the selection.

The best way for Callahan to keep his job is to recreate the Cincinnati Bengals, and Skattebo helps.

1. Dallas Cowboys

There is no way around it. The Dallas Cowboys need to target a running back in the 2025 NFL Draft. While they could be a serious player for Ashton Jeanty in the first round, they need other positions more. Have you seen how banged-up star wide receiver CeeDee Lamb has become? I would probably go with a wide receiver like Tetairoa McMillan out of rival Arizona with the Cowboys' first pick.

But for as much as the national landscape loves to see Dallas wallow in its own perpetual quagmire of mid, I think a blue-collar player like Skattebo does the impossible. He makes the Cowboys easier to root for. Rather than rolling our eyes over the Cowboys allotted the maximum amount of primetime games annually, we all can get behind seeing how far Skattebo can take this football dream in Big D.

Besides, he already had the greatest game of his college football career in the house that Jerry built.