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CU at the NFL Draft
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Travis Hunter, Shedeur Sanders … and then who?
Will any other Buffs be taken in the NFL Draft other than Travis Hunter and Shedeur Sanders? Most of the full seven-round mock drafts say “no”.
The Athletic has a breakdown of all draft-eligible players. How The Athletic NFL Draft Guide has the following ratings for the 16 Buffs who participated in CU’s Pro Day …
- Travis Hunter … No. 1 cornerback; No. 1 overall … 1st round
- Shedeur Sanders … No. 2 quarterback; No. 34 overall … 1st-2nd round
- Jimmy Horn, Jr. … No. 32 wide receiver … 6th-7th round
- Mark Vassett … No. 10 punter … free agent
- LaJohntay Wester … No. 35 wide receiver … free agent
- Shilo Sanders … No. 43 safety … free agent
- BJ Green II … No. 46 edge rusher … free agent
- Will Sheppard … No. 47 wide receiver … free agent
- Justin Mayers … No. 71 guard … free agent
- Cam’Ron Silmon-Craig … No. 86 safety … free agent
- Chidozie Nwankwo … No. 97 defensive tackle … free agent
- Shane Cokes … No. 104 defensive tackle … free agent
- LaVonta Bentley … No. 113 linebacker … free agent
- Kardell Thomas … No. 115 guard … free agent
- Herman Smith III … No. 237 safety … free agent
- Travis Jay … No. 254 safety … free agent
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Looking Back … No Buffs taken in 2024 NFL Draft
Last April, for the 3rd year in a row, no players from the University of Colorado were selected in the NFL Draft. It’s the first time in NFL draft history (dating back to 1936) that CU had gone 3 consecutive years without a player being selected.
CU 2024 seniors who signed NFL free agent contracts:
- LB Derrick McLendon … Carolina Panthers
- DL Leonard Payne … Miami Dolphins
- WR Xavier Weaver … Arizona Cardinals
- DL Jalen Sami … Miami Dolphins (mini-camp)
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Trivia Time … Who was the last Buff taken in the NFL Draft?
So … If no Buffs have been taken in the last three drafts, who was the last Buff to hear his name called at the NFL Draft?
The answer, it turns out, depends on how you look at it.
There were no CU players taken in the 2024 NFL Draft, but one was taken in the 2023 NFL Draft, and two were taken in the 2022 NFL Draft … sort of.
If you check out the CUBuffs.com official CU record book, you will find three “Buffs” listed as being taken in the last two NFL Drafts:
2023
- 225. Brenden Rice, WR, LA Chargers (7)
2022
- 17. Christian Gonzalez, CB, New England (1)
- 102. Mekhi Blackmon, CB., Minnesota (3)
Yeah, but … Christian Gonzalez played his final collegiate season at Oregon, while Mekhi Blackmon and Brenden Rice finished their careers as USC Trojans.
So, if you aren’t going to take the CU record book at face value, then the answer to the trivia question is …
- 157. Will Sherman, OT, New England (6) … with Sherman being drafted as part of the 2021 NFL Draft four years ago.
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Colorado at No. 28 on the all-time list of NFL draftees
From DraftHistory.com … Colorado was a regular in the Top 25 of all-time NFL Draft picks until the recent drought pushed the Buffs out of the list. Just three years ago, CU was at No. 23 in all-time draftees, with 276, but with Colorado stuck on that number, the Buffs have fallen behind Florida State (now at 288), Minnesota (now at 281), Arkansas (now at 281), and Stanford (now at 279). Last year, Clemson (280) also passed CU, with Iowa now tied with the Buffs at 276.
The list (heading into the 2025 NFL Draft) …
- No. 22 … Purdue … 294
- No. 23 … Florida State … 288
- No. 24T … Arkansas … 281
- No. 24T … Minnesota … 281
- No. 26 … Clemson … 280
- No. 27 … Stanford … 279
- No. 28T … Colorado … 276
- No. 28T … Iowa … 276
- No. 30 … Mississippi … 261
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Big-12 Draft Picks (Overall FBS Rank) …
- 1. Colorado (28T) … 276
- 2. Arizona State (33) … 255
- 3. Baylor (35) … 249
- 4. TCU (43) … 215
- 5. West Virginia (47) …199
- 6. Houston (48) …188
- 7. Arizona (50) …187
- 8. Utah (52) …177
- 9. Oklahoma State (57) … 172
- 10. Kansas (57) …172
- 11. Texas Tech (59) …171
- 12. BYU (64T) …153
- 13. Kansas State (64T) …153
- 14. Cincinnati (69) …134
- 15. Iowa State (71) …128
- 16. Central Florida (115) … 50
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All Time First Round NFL Draft picks (CU could move into the Top 25 again after the 2025 Draft) …
- 1. Ohio State … 91
- 2. USC … 86
- 3. Alabama … 82
- 4. Notre Dame … 71
- 5. Miami … 67
- 6. Florida … 59
- 7. Michigan …52
- 8. LSU … 52
- 9. Oklahoma … 51
- 10. Georgia … 49
- 11. Texas … 48
- 12T. Tennessee …47
- 12T. Florida State …47
- 14. Penn State … 42
- 15. Clemson … 40
- 16. UCLA …37
- 17T. Michigan State …36
- 17T. Texas A&M …36
- 19. Nebraska …34
- 20. Auburn … 32
- 21. Washington … 31
- 22. Wisconsin … 30
- 23T. California … 27
- 23T. Pittsburgh … 27
- 25T. Arizona State … 26
- 25T. Iowa … 26
- 25T. North Carolina … 26
- 28. Stanford … 25
- 29. Colorado (2nd/Big 12) … 24
- 30. Arkansas … 23
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Quirky CU Draft Facts
— On two occasions, CU Buffs have been “Mr. Irrelevant”, the last choice in the NFL Draft. In 1977, the Minnesota Vikings selected fullback Jim Kelleher, while in 1984 the Los Angeles Raiders selected quarterback Randy Essington. CU was the only school with two players earning this distinction until South Carolina had the final players of the 2009 and 2013 drafts;
— Eleven times in Colorado history, an undergraduate has declared for the NFL Draft, two of the most recent being Isaiah Oliver in the 2018 Draft and Laviska Shenault in the 2020 Draft. All eleven players were drafted, with offensive lineman Will Sherman keeping the streak alive in 2021, going to New England in the sixth round;
— CU has never had the No. 1 overall draft pick, but has had the No. 2 overall pick, with fullback Bo Matthews going No. 2 to San Diego in the 1974 NFL Draft.
Colorado has had 24 first-round draft picks in NFL history. Listed below are the six Buffs who were were selected in the Top Ten of the first round:
- # 2 (1974) Bo Matthews, FB, San Diego
- # 4 (1938) Byron White, HB, Pittsburgh
- # 4 (1995) Michael Westbrook, WR, Washington
- # 7 (1974) J. V. Cain, TE, St. Louis
- # 8 (1980) Mark Haynes, CB, N.Y. Giants
- #10 (1997) Chris Naeole, OG, New Orleans
— In the 1977 draft, five Buffs were selected in the second round, with all five taken within 18 picks of each other;
— In the 1996 draft, CU had only seven seniors available, with five of those players being drafted (and a sixth player signing as a free agent). The five players drafted were: OG Heath Irwin (4th round; New England); DE Daryl Price (4th round; San Francisco); C Bryan Stoltenberg (6th round; San Diego); CB T.J. Cunningham (6th round; Seattle); and DT Kerry Hicks (7th round; Carolina);
— In the decade between 1991 and 2000, Colorado had 58 players drafted, second in the nation. In the most recent decade, 2010 to 2019, Colorado had … 15.
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CU NFL Draftees – It’s been pretty quiet decade-plus for Buffs
In the past 15 drafts, there have been 12 Aprils with fewer than three Buffs taken. In only 2011, 2017, and 2020 did CU have at least three former players selected.
The past decade-plus of CU players selected in the NFL draft:
2010 (0)
2011 (4)
17. Nate Solder, OT, New England (1)
27. Jimmy Smith, CB, Baltimore (1)
118. Jalil Brown, CB, Kansas City (4)
227. Scotty McKnight, WR, N.Y. Jets (7)
2012 (2)
160. Ryan Miller, OG, Cleveland (5)
231. Tony Clemons, WR, Pittsburgh (7)
2013 (2)
109. David Bakhtiari, OT, Green Bay (4)
172. Nick Kasa, TE, Oakland (6)
2014 (1)
45. Paul Richardson, WR, Seattle (2)
2015 (0)
2016 (0)
2017 (4)
60. Chidobe Awuzie, CB, Dallas (2)
66. Ahkello Witherspoon, CB, San Francisco (3)
111. Tedric Thompson, SS, Seattle (4)
246. Jordan Carrell, DT, Dallas (7)
2018 (1)
58. Isaiah Oliver, CB, Atlanta (2)
2019 (1)
187. Juwann Winfree, WR, Denver (6)
2020 (3)
42. Laviska Shenault, WR, Jacksonville (2)
103. Davion Taylor, LB, Philadelphia (3)
226. Arlington Hambright, OL, Chicago (7)
2021 (1)
197. Will Sherman, OL, New England (6)
2022 (2)
17. Christian Gonzalez, CB, New England (1)*
102. Mekhi Blackmon, CB, Minnesota (3)*
2023 (0)
2024 (1)
225. Brenden Rice, WR, LA Chargers (7)*
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*Didn’t play final season at CU
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One Reply to “CU at the NFL Draft”
I always counted Gonzalez and Blackmon as Buffs draftees. Why the heck not? None of the old rules apply any longer.