It was not a banner NFL draft for the Mountain West, but it also wasn’t a banner draft for Group of 5 schools.
The MW had only two players selected in this year’s draft, a fifth-rounder (Mohamed Kamara) and a seventh-rounder (Air Force’s Trey Taylor). That was tied for the fewest picks of any FBS conference with the MAC. But Conference-USA (three picks), the American Athletic (five picks) and the Sun Belt (six picks) weren’t much better. The transfer portal and immediate eligibility appears to be thinning the draft selections out of non-power conferences. The MW had five NFL draft picks in 2023 and 11 in 2022, so things are trending in the wrong direction.
The MW has had a few players who began and built their careers in the conference before transferring out during their senior seasons only to be drafted out of power conferences. This year’s examples include Fresno State’s Evan Williams, a fourth-round pick out of Oregon; SDSU’s Patrick McMorris, a sixth-round pick out of Cal; and Wyoming’s Solomon Byrd, a seventh-round pick out of USC. The year prior, Daiyan Henley was a third-round pick out of Washington State after spending the first five years of his college career at Nevada.
Despite this annual Group of 5 talent drain, the MW should have a more prosperous 2025 NFL draft. Here are the top-10 draft candidates in the league entering this season.
1. RB Ashton Jeanty, Jr., Boise State: The Broncos’ streak of 14 straight drafts with a selection ended this year, butJeanty should start a new streak in 2025. Last year, he totaled 1,916 yards and 19 scores while splitting carries with George Holani.
2. WR Ricky White III, Sr., UNLV: The former Michigan State receiver has had back-to-back strong seasons at UNLV and last year caught 88 balls for 1,483 yards and eight scores. If he does that again in 2024, he’s going to be selected.
3. WR Tory Horton, Sr., Colorado State: Horton, an ex-Nevada player, has an excellent length/speed combo. He’s caught 167 passes for 2,267 yards and 16 touchdowns in the last two years and can return punts. He’s a Romeo Doubs clone.
4. S Jack Howell, Sr., Colorado State: Howell is an instinctive safety coming off back-to-back 100-tackle seasons and has shown ball skills (five interceptions). He’s got good bloodlines, too. His father, John, won a Super Bowl with Tampa Bay.
5. DE Ahmed Hassanein, Sr., Boise State: A native ofCairo, Egypt, Hassanein ranked sixth in the FBS in sacks last year with 12.5, adding 16.5 tackles for loss and two forced fumbles. That was his first productive year, so teams will look for a repeat.
6. S Ike Larsen, Jr., Utah State: Larsen has been an honorable mentionAll-American in his two full seasons, compiling 137 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss and eight interceptions. He’s undersized (5-10/170) but you can’t knock the productivity.
7. OL Tiger Shanks, Sr., UNLV: Only one of the MW’s last 21 draft picks dating back to 2021 has been an offensive lineman. A 6-foot-5, 325-pound tackle, Shanks could change that. The 2023 All-MW first-teamer is entering his fourth year as a starter.
8. WR Jalen Royals, Sr., Utah State: The former JuCo product (Georgia Military College) had a huge 2023 season, catching 71 passes for 1,080 yards and a school-record 15 touchdowns. He’s got speed — an FBS-high seven TDs of 50-plus yards.
9. CB Cameron Oliver, Sr., UNLV: Despite not being a passing league of late, the MW has developed a lot of next-level defensive backs. Oliver is the MW’s top cover corner with 10 career interceptions, including two returned for touchdowns.
10. WR Steven McBride, Sr., Hawaii: The fourth wideout on our list, McBride is aKansas transfer who blew up for Hawaii last season (63 catches for 1,024 yards and nine TDs). His cousin, Tramon Williams, played 14 seasons in the NFL.
Columnist Chris Murray provides insight on Northern Nevada sports. Contact him at crmurray@sbgtv.com or follow him on Twitter @ByChrisMurray.
