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I was watching the 2025 NFL draft and in the first round frequently found myself thinking "yep, saw him play live."
With the nature of my job, the college football teams I see play live are usually Colorado State and whoever the Rams are facing. So, I began to realize that over the past few seasons the Rams faced a lot of players who turned into 2025 NFL first-round picks.
I looked into it and sure enough, nine of the first 23 selections and six of the top 10 played against CSU in their careers. That includes the No. 1 and 2 overall picks.
Here are the 2025 NFL draft first-round picks CSU played during their college career and how they fared in those games (as you would expect, many of them showed why they would go on to be top NFL selections):
A small side story, first: CSU played Cam Ward early in his Washington State career (before he went to Miami, where he was drafted out of) after he transferred up from the FCS at Incarnate Word. Ward had a great game and I remember some indignant fan replying to me on social media with disgust over the Rams losing to “an FCS QB.” Not going to lie, I didn’t think Ward was going to become the No. 1 pick at the time, but I was also quite sure that Ward was a very, very high level player and one of the best quarterbacks CSU would face. Indeed.
CSU had the misfortune of facing Ward twice while he was at Washington State. Ward’s 2022 line in a 38-7 home win over CSU: 24-34 (71%), 299 yards, four touchdowns, one interception. CSU safety Jack Howell had the pick. Nice memento for Howell, not many guys have a pick of a No. 1 overall selection!
Ward’s 2023 line in a 50-24 road win at CSU: 37-49 (76%), 451 yards, three passing touchdowns, one rushing touchdown.
In total, that’s 61-83 (73%), 750 yards and eight total touchdowns for Ward against CSU.
CSU also faced the 2024 Heisman Trophy winner twice in his two seasons at Colorado.
In 2023, CU won 43-35 in double-overtime but Hunter had minimal impact as the Rams nearly pulled the mega-upset. He had two catches for 21 yards two tackles before leaving the game injured.
Hunter’s 2024 game against the Rams was much different. CU won 28-9 in Fort Collins and Hunter had 13 catches for 100 yards and two touchdowns on offense. Defensively, he had five tackles, a pass breakup and a leaping interception that he returned for 38 yards.
The future Cleveland pick was just a freshman when the Rams played at top-10 Michigan to open the 2022 season (a 51-7 Michigan win), but Graham still made an impact. Playing as a backup, Graham had two tackles and a half-sack.
CSU didn’t face Boise State and Jeanty in his Heisman-worthy 2024, but the Rams did see him twice earlier in his career. Those two meetings had vastly different results for Jeanty and the teams.
Curiously, Jeanty’s big game against CSU came in a historic win for the Rams. Jeanty ran 31 times for 212 yards and three touchdowns against CSU in 2023. His last score made it 30-10 for Boise State with 6 minutes left in the game. Miraculously, the Rams rallied for a 31-30 win.
Jeanty had just nine carries for 37 yards and a touchdown in 2022 as Boise State won 49-10 on The Blue.
In total, that’s 40 carries for 249 yards (6.2 yards per carry) and four touchdowns in two games for Jeanty against CSU.
There aren’t necessarily great stats to quantify an offensive lineman’s performance, but Banks started on the offensive line for then-No. 4 Texas in a 52-0 win over CSU to open the 2024 season. Texas had 545 yards of offense.
Like Graham, Loveland was just a freshman in the 2022 game and playing as a backup. He caught two passes for 18 yards against the Rams.
Another of the excellent Michigan class, Grant was a freshman as well for the 2022 games and played in a reserve role. He had one tackle against CSU.
The future Denver Bronco made his impact known in the win to begin the 2024 season. CSU only threw the ball 24 times in the game, but Barron had an interception off Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi and returned it 30 yards.
Texas quarterbacks had 355 passing yards in a 52-0 win over CSU to open the 2024 season and Golden was right in the middle of it. He caught two second-quarter touchdown passes from Quinn Ewers to turn the game into a blowout. Golden finished with three catches for 50 yards and those two touchdowns.
Follow sports reporter Kevin Lytle on X and Instagram @Kevin_Lytle.
This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: How Colorado State football fared against 2025 NFL draft first-round picks
Continue reading...
With the nature of my job, the college football teams I see play live are usually Colorado State and whoever the Rams are facing. So, I began to realize that over the past few seasons the Rams faced a lot of players who turned into 2025 NFL first-round picks.
I looked into it and sure enough, nine of the first 23 selections and six of the top 10 played against CSU in their careers. That includes the No. 1 and 2 overall picks.
Here are the 2025 NFL draft first-round picks CSU played during their college career and how they fared in those games (as you would expect, many of them showed why they would go on to be top NFL selections):
No. 1 pick: Quarterback Cam Ward, Washington State
A small side story, first: CSU played Cam Ward early in his Washington State career (before he went to Miami, where he was drafted out of) after he transferred up from the FCS at Incarnate Word. Ward had a great game and I remember some indignant fan replying to me on social media with disgust over the Rams losing to “an FCS QB.” Not going to lie, I didn’t think Ward was going to become the No. 1 pick at the time, but I was also quite sure that Ward was a very, very high level player and one of the best quarterbacks CSU would face. Indeed.
CSU had the misfortune of facing Ward twice while he was at Washington State. Ward’s 2022 line in a 38-7 home win over CSU: 24-34 (71%), 299 yards, four touchdowns, one interception. CSU safety Jack Howell had the pick. Nice memento for Howell, not many guys have a pick of a No. 1 overall selection!
️@Jackhowell1205 picks off his second of the season#Stalwart x #RamGrit pic.twitter.com/tPFjxIeDCl
— Colorado State Football (@CSUFootball) September 17, 2022
Ward’s 2023 line in a 50-24 road win at CSU: 37-49 (76%), 451 yards, three passing touchdowns, one rushing touchdown.
In total, that’s 61-83 (73%), 750 yards and eight total touchdowns for Ward against CSU.
No. 2 pick: Receiver/defensive back Travis Hunter, Colorado
CSU also faced the 2024 Heisman Trophy winner twice in his two seasons at Colorado.
In 2023, CU won 43-35 in double-overtime but Hunter had minimal impact as the Rams nearly pulled the mega-upset. He had two catches for 21 yards two tackles before leaving the game injured.
Hunter’s 2024 game against the Rams was much different. CU won 28-9 in Fort Collins and Hunter had 13 catches for 100 yards and two touchdowns on offense. Defensively, he had five tackles, a pass breakup and a leaping interception that he returned for 38 yards.
No. 5 pick: Defensive tackle Mason Graham, Michigan
The future Cleveland pick was just a freshman when the Rams played at top-10 Michigan to open the 2022 season (a 51-7 Michigan win), but Graham still made an impact. Playing as a backup, Graham had two tackles and a half-sack.
No. 6 pick: Running back Ashton Jeanty, Boise State
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CSU didn’t face Boise State and Jeanty in his Heisman-worthy 2024, but the Rams did see him twice earlier in his career. Those two meetings had vastly different results for Jeanty and the teams.
Curiously, Jeanty’s big game against CSU came in a historic win for the Rams. Jeanty ran 31 times for 212 yards and three touchdowns against CSU in 2023. His last score made it 30-10 for Boise State with 6 minutes left in the game. Miraculously, the Rams rallied for a 31-30 win.
Jeanty had just nine carries for 37 yards and a touchdown in 2022 as Boise State won 49-10 on The Blue.
In total, that’s 40 carries for 249 yards (6.2 yards per carry) and four touchdowns in two games for Jeanty against CSU.
No. 9 pick: Offensive tackle Kelvin Banks Jr., Texas
There aren’t necessarily great stats to quantify an offensive lineman’s performance, but Banks started on the offensive line for then-No. 4 Texas in a 52-0 win over CSU to open the 2024 season. Texas had 545 yards of offense.
No. 10 pick: Tight end Colston Loveland, Michigan
Like Graham, Loveland was just a freshman in the 2022 game and playing as a backup. He caught two passes for 18 yards against the Rams.
No. 13 pick: Defensive tackle Kenneth Grant, Michigan
Another of the excellent Michigan class, Grant was a freshman as well for the 2022 games and played in a reserve role. He had one tackle against CSU.
No. 20 pick: Cornerback Jahdae Barron, Texas
The future Denver Bronco made his impact known in the win to begin the 2024 season. CSU only threw the ball 24 times in the game, but Barron had an interception off Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi and returned it 30 yards.
No. 23 pick: Receiver Matthew Golden, Texas
Texas quarterbacks had 355 passing yards in a 52-0 win over CSU to open the 2024 season and Golden was right in the middle of it. He caught two second-quarter touchdown passes from Quinn Ewers to turn the game into a blowout. Golden finished with three catches for 50 yards and those two touchdowns.
Follow sports reporter Kevin Lytle on X and Instagram @Kevin_Lytle.
This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: How Colorado State football fared against 2025 NFL draft first-round picks
Continue reading...
