Flowing the conclusion of the 2025 NFL draft, numerous USC players have signed with teams as undrafted free agents. Earlier this week, linebacker Easton Mascarenas-Arnold became the latest Trojan to do so when he inked a deal with the Cleveland Browns.
Easton Mascarenas-Arnold was always going to have a tough time getting drafted because of his lack of top-end speed. When evaluating NFL players as physical specimen, having at least one quality which pops off the film is important. Mascarenas-Arnold has a tremendous work ethic and was involved in a lot of plays for USC. He is a smart player who has a knack for being around the ball, and it is widely accepted that coach Matt Entz did a great job with the linebacker room last season before he took over the head coaching job at Fresno State and earned a promotion within the industry.
However, as well as Mascarenas-Arnold was coached last year at USC, and as hard as he works, the NFL is a vicious, cutthroat business. NFL draft prospects need to be the very best athletic performers with supreme physical profiles. Mascarenas-Arnold doesn’t check enough of those boxes. His intangibles are through the roof, but intangibles can only do so much. Let’s see if EMA can max out enough to get a special teams or backup linebacker job in the pros.
This article originally appeared on Trojans Wire: USC football’s Easton Macarena’s-Arnold inks UDFA deal with Browns
Flowing the conclusion of the 2025 NFL draft, numerous USC players have signed with teams as undrafted free agents. Earlier this week, linebacker Easton Mascarenas-Arnold became the latest Trojan to do so when he inked a deal with the Cleveland Browns.
Easton Mascarenas-Arnold was always going to have a tough time getting drafted because of his lack of top-end speed. When evaluating NFL players as physical specimen, having at least one quality which pops off the film is important. Mascarenas-Arnold has a tremendous work ethic and was involved in a lot of plays for USC. He is a smart player who has a knack for being around the ball, and it is widely accepted that coach Matt Entz did a great job with the linebacker room last season before he took over the head coaching job at Fresno State and earned a promotion within the industry.
However, as well as Mascarenas-Arnold was coached last year at USC, and as hard as he works, the NFL is a vicious, cutthroat business. NFL draft prospects need to be the very best athletic performers with supreme physical profiles. Mascarenas-Arnold doesn’t check enough of those boxes. His intangibles are through the roof, but intangibles can only do so much. Let’s see if EMA can max out enough to get a special teams or backup linebacker job in the pros.
This article originally appeared on Trojans Wire: USC football’s Easton Macarena’s-Arnold inks UDFA deal with Browns
