The Mountain West had just two players picked in last year’s NFL draft — Colorado State DE Mohamed Kamara (fifth round) and Air Force DB Trey Taylor (seventh round) — but will have a much more fruitful showing in this year’s draft, which begins Thursday in Green Bay. The MW has one for-sure first-round draft pick, a pair of players who could go on day two (rounds 2-3) and more options on Saturday when the draft is completed with rounds 4-7.
Here is a rundown of the MW’s top prospect for this year’s draft as ranked by ESPN’s Matt Miller, who rated 600 players, and The Athletic’s Dane Brugler, who offered his annual “The Beast” draft preview as well as a top-300 prospect list.
Mountain West’s top NFL draft prospects
Boise State RB Ashton Jeanty (3rd on ESPN; 3rd on The Athletic)
Utah State WR Jalen Royals (76th on ESPN; 63rd on The Athletic)
Colorado State WR Tory Horton (77th on ESPN; 102nd on The Athletic)
UNLV WR Ricky White III (150th on ESPN; 217th on The Athletic)
Nevada S Kitan Crawford (171st on ESPN; 258th on The Athletic)
San Jose State WR Nick Nash (192nd on ESPN; 196th on The Athletic)
Boise State DE Ahmed Hassanein (193rd on ESPN; 247th on The Athletic)
UNLV LB Jackson Woodard (240th on ESPN; 266th on The Athletic)
Fresno State Dean Clark (442nd on ESPN)
Colorado State G Drew Moss (464th on ESPN)
Fresno State WR Mac Dalena (479th on ESPN)
Wyoming LB Shae Suiaunoa (524th on ESPN)
Colorado State C Jacob Gardner (544th on ESPN)
Hawaii WR Steven McBride (568th on ESPN)
Wyoming LB Connor Shay (574th on ESPN)
Air Force S Tyme Collins (580th on ESPN)
Utah State G Wyatt Bowles (584th on ESPN)
Ten of the Mountain West’s 12 teams have at least one player on ESPN’s list with the exceptions being San Diego State and New Mexico. Jeanty, the Heisman Trophy runner-up, will become Boise State’s sixth first-round draft pick and first since Leighton Vander Esch in 2018. Royals and Horton are back-to-back on ESPN’s list as day-two wideout options with The Athletic ranking Royals as the No. 7 wide receiver and Horton at No. 13 at the position. On day three, White, Crawford, Nash, Hassanein and Woodard are potential draft picks. The rest of the players on the list above are likely undrafted free agents. We’ll set the over/under total number of MW players picked this week at 5.5; there are 257 selections in this year’s draft.
For Nevada, Crawford could be the Wolf Pack’s first draftee since 2022 when Romeo Doubs and Cole Turner were selected. A transfer from Texas, Crawford ranks as The Athletic’s No. 20 safety with Brugler writing: “A one-year starter at Nevada, Crawford played free safety while rotating in the box and as a nickel in head coach Jeff Choate’s multiple coverage looks. Highly recruited out of East Texas, he made an impact on special teams for the Longhorns but struggled to break through on defense. He transferred to Nevada in 2024 for the opportunity to be an every-down safety. Crawford is a fluid, loose athlete who can unlock and play fast to the football, although he can be moved off his post and often reacts to the first look from the quarterback. There aren’t any questions about his willingness as a run defender, but his reliability finishing tackles must improve. Overall, Crawford has NFL-level speed and athleticism, but his inconsistent reads reflect his meager starting experience in the secondary. His special teams background and testing numbers will make him an appealing prospect in the later rounds.”
Also getting mentions in The Beast are Nevada’s Jaden Smith (No. 162 wideout), Spencer Lovell (No. 82 offensive guard) and Tongiaki Mateialona (No. 102 linebacker). Each took part in the Wolf Pack’s pro day and will look to sign undrafted free-agent deals. There are a number of former Nevada players also on the watch this week, including Horton (No. 13 wideout), Keleki Latu (No. 27 tight end), Jacob Gardner (No. 38 center), Grant Starck (No. 50 tackle), Avery Morrow (No. 75 running back), Melquan Stovall (No. 84 wideout), Isaiah Essissima (No. 89 cornerback), Peter Montini (No. 94 tight end), Dalevon Campbell (No. 96 wideout), Marcel Walker-Burgess (No. 123 edge), Justin Lockhart (No. 130 wideout), Joey Capra (No. 118 tackle), Maurice Wilmer (No. 188 linebacker), Dariyan Wiley (No. 306 wideout), Spencer Curtis (No. 338 wideout), Jamaal Bell (No. 374 wideout). Most of that group will seek rookie mini-camp deals post-draft.
Columnist Chris Murray provides insight on Northern Nevada sports. Contact him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter @ByChrisMurray.
