Arizona Players Make Impressive NFL Draft Watch List

Arizona football saw several players make the East-West Shrine Bowl list for the players to watch in the 2026 NFL Draft.

Jan 30, 2025; Arlington, TX, USA; East running back Jacory Croskey-Merritt of Arizona (31) is presented with the offensive MVP trophy after the East defeats the West in the East-West Shrine Bowl at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

The expectations for Arizona football coming into the 2024 season were high. The team started the year ranked No. 21 in the Preseason AP Poll with a good number of returning players and stars Fifita and Tetairoa McMillan leading the way.

But, things didn’t go that way for Arizona and new head coach Brent Brennan as the team struggled on both sides of the ball and couldn’t get any consistent play going throughout the year.

The Wildcats finished 4-8 on the year and ended the season on a two-game losing streak and lost seven of the last eight games.

Brennan made it clear during media day that he understood some of the issues that faced Arizona and how the team fell far below the expectations of the season.

“I think it's night and day. I really think as I'm looking at it, one of the challenges when we first got there was the portal created by Jedd's departure. So you have a 30 day portal there. Then you're getting ready for spring practice, then you got another portal at the end of spring practice, he said. 

“I felt like we spent the first six months on the job kissing everyone's ass, asking them to stay. It was just a horrible foundation for what we're trying to get done there. This second year, we just feel much more stable in it. I think because of that, like a lot of the players chosen to stay, our retention has been high. And then the acquisition of new talent has been really positive. So we're in a great spot.”

In order to get things back in the right direction, Brennan changed things up on his coaching staff and added talent through the transfer portal and incoming freshmen class.

Oct 19, 2024; Tucson, Arizona, USA; Arizona Wildcats defensive lineman Tre Smith (3) against the Colorado Buffalos at Arizona Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

With the season getting closer, preseason awards and honors have been going around and on Monday, the East-West Shrine Bowl announced its top 1,000 NFL Draft eligible players list from across the country with 13 Wildcats making the list.

The 13 Arizona players to make the list are offensive lineman, Ka’ena Decambra, quarterback Noah Fifita, receiver Kris Hutson, safety Dalton Johnson, running back Ismail Mahdi, defensive tackle Deshawn McKnight, edge rusher Tre Smith, defensive back Genesis Smith, defensive back Treydan Stukes, receiver Javin Whatley and receiver Luke Wysong.

We are a long way from the NFL Draft but these players are on the NFL radar and over the last couple of years, Arizona has been able to put in seven players into the league through the draft.

Arizona is trying to get back on track after a difficult 2024 season and having 13 players on the NFL radar is a good way to start getting things back where they need to be with the talent on the roster.

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