Although his journey at Illinois has been rocky, quarterback Luke Altmyer is poised for a strong 2025 campaign, which could greatly improve his NFL Draft stock.
The Illini have not had a quarterback drafted to the NFL since 2002 when Kurt Kittner was taken in the 5th round by the Atlanta Falcons. But Altmyer could, and should, have his expectations set higher than that.
Looking to build off of a season in which he threw for 2,717 yards with 22 touchdowns to just six interceptions, taking that next step in his progression would likely see him rise into a day-two pick.
This is seemingly possible given the quarterback talent that is speculated to be in the draft and the opportunity he has this season to showcase his skills as a game leader.
While the first round of the draft is littered with prime quarterback candidates, especially near the top, this opens up quarterback-needy teams without high picks to find their future pigskin slinger in the middle rounds.
At 23 years of age, and having started 3 seasons at Illinois, teams may be enticed by Altmyer's experience. This positions him nicely to go in that 3rd to 4th round range for a team wanting a somewhat proven commodity.
However, in order to truly make up ground in the draft rankings, Altmyer needs to prove to scouts that he can be more than an above-average game manager. He struggled heavily in his first season at Illinois and had the strong support of offensive weapons and a stout defense to help guide him past any struggles last season.
Showing that he can put together game-winning drives where he is the sole focal point would help put Altmyer on NFL teams' radars. If Illinois can continue to win and Altmyer is the face of all that winning, it creates a positive association in the minds of NFL executives and general managers.
Altmyer has the skillset to play on Sundays and must take this season as an opportunity to prove that he can.