More often than not it’s the first-round selections in the NFL Draft who become the real difference-makers for their franchises.
However, every year there are players taken on the second or third day of the draft who surprise us and exceed expectations, just like Bucky Irving did in 2024 after being selected with the 125th pick by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Irving finished his rookie season with 1,122 rushing yards, which ranked 10th among all running backs.
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On the latest episode of “The Athletic Football Show,” Robert Mays was joined by The Athletic’s Dane Brugler and NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah to discuss the potential mid-round gems in the 2025 NFL Draft. They broke down why Colorado State’s Tory Horton, who seems to be going under the radar, could be the wide receiver to keep an eye on outside of the consensus top 75. Watch the discussion below.
A partial transcript has been edited for clarity and length. The full episode is available on YouTube below or in “The Athletic Football Show” feed on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
Robert: Let’s get to the receivers here. DJ. Who is your first receiver outside of your top 75 — or the general consensus top 75 that you have an eye on — that you’ve liked in this process?
Daniel: This one is going to be right on the edge. Tory Horton to me, especially after 2023 (a season where he had 96 catches for 1,136 yards) … I just think his game translates really well in the NFL. He’s got size at 6-foot-2-and-a-half, he’s almost 200 pounds, and he ran well coming off that injury. He’s also such a smooth, easy mover. He gets separation, and he’s elusive with the ball in his hands.
One of the simple things is we just don’t see many of these guys that understand how to work back. He can work back downhill — it doesn’t just have to be on the move. On top of that, he’s got a big catch radius. It’s not going to be off of what you saw this year because of the injuries, but if you go back to 2023, I’m a big Horton guy.
Robert: Dane, how do you feel about Horton, considering he was also the first guy you wanted to mention here (laughs)?
Daniel: Is he really (laughs)?
Dane: I wondered how many positions we’d get through before we would double up like this. With Horton, I go back to not just this past year, but the year before. You look at that Colorado versus Colorado State thriller and how big of an impact he made in that game (16 catches for 133 yards and a touchdown). I don’t know if he’s being a little bit underrated because of the right knee injury he had (in 2024) where he missed the second half of the season.
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Colorado State has had a nice run here of producing pass catchers. You look at Michael Gallup, Rashard Higgins, and you could throw Trey McBride in there as well. Horton is just the latest one. He’s a little skinnier than you would want, but he can fly. If you get him on some of those verticals or some of the crossers where he can stretch out that gliding stride that he has, he’s going to create problems for defenses. There are times when I think physical defensive backs will disrupt the catch point and give him a little bit of trouble, so the overall play strength is a little bit of a concern.
The speed, fluidity, natural tracking skills, and all of the things that DJ was saying match up. He was also a big-time punt returner in college. He had three punt return touchdowns. So, he’s a punt returner immediately and a guy that you could potentially grow into a starting ‘Z’ receiver in the NFL. And the asking price is probably going to be a mid- to late third-round pick, so he’s being underrated.
Daniel: Do you know how many times in talking to teams, general managers, coaches and coordinators, his name has come up through this entire process? Zero. It’s funny because my antennas are always up when somebody’s always being talked about, but then my antennas are also up when nobody wants to talk about a guy. I haven’t heard Horton’s name once. And I’m like, “His tape’s really good, but never once has anybody brought it up.” I think everybody’s trying to pull a little rope-a-dope on that one.
Robert: These guys who have a ton of juice and maybe struggle with physicality, DJ. This world that we’re living in now where teams are so good at creating separation for these guys — using motion, stacks, and all of that. Does it change the way that you think about a player who has that sort of verticality, but may struggle with some of those issues with physical defensive backs in a way that maybe you look at them a little differently than you would have four or five years ago?
Daniel: I have a simple philosophy. If you’re stiff and can’t get off press with strength, you’re screwed. That’s when I have my issues. When you are a loose, fluid athlete, and you’re getting hung up every now and then, I’m like, “OK, he’s got quick feet, he’s loose and he’s fluid. We can work with that. We can get him better in this area, and we can help him early on in his career.” I do think that is something that you can improve on. But if you’re stiff, and you’re just going to expose your chest — and you might just be a big engine guy who is straight line stiff and fast, but you can’t get off press — if that’s the case, then you’re in trouble.
You can listen to full episodes of “The Athletic Football Show” for free on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, and watch on YouTube.
(Photo of Tory Horton: Soobum Im/Getty Images)
