Colorado Buffaloes Surprise on NFL Draft Prospect Rankings

When looking ahead to the 2027 NFL Draft, college football writer Phil Steele constructed his top draft-eligible prospects ranking them by position, and 11 Colorado Buffaloes players made the cut on both offense and defense.

Has Colorado coach Deion Sanders and the Buffs coaching staff successfully turned the program around?

Multiple Colorado Buffaloes Make Intriguing List 2027 Draft Eligible Players Coach Deion Sanders Transfer Portal Big 12 — Sep 27, 2025; Stanford, California, USA; San Jose State Spartans wide receiver Danny Scudero (10) catches the ball for a touchdown during the fourth quarter against the Stanford Cardinal at Stanford Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Stan Szeto-Imagn Images | Stan Szeto-Imagn Images

Offensive Draft Eligible Players

On the offensive side of the ball, Steele included wide receivers Danny Scudero (No.22 overall) and DeAndre Moore Jr. (No. 45 overall), center Demetrius Hunter (No. 39 overall), and offensive tackle Leon Bell (No. 57 overall).

The fact that Steele has included four Buffaloes on his list says a lot about Colorado's transfer portal class and how much talent arrived in Boulder.

Specifically on the perimeter, the Buffaloes’ ability to land both Scudero and Moore could be a major step in improving an offense that struggled to be consistent and generate explosive plays for the 2025 season. In 2025, Scudero was one of the most consistent receivers in the nation as he led the nation in receiving, totaling 1,247 receiving yards, while Moore put his explosive speed to use as he averaged 14 yards per catch.

Heading into next season with a new offensive coordinator in Brennan Marion and a young quarterback with redshirt freshman Julian Lewis expected to start, Scudero and Moore could end up being two of Colorado's biggest additions with their ability to impact the game on the perimeter.

Up front on the offensive line, coach Deion Sanders has struggled to find a solid unit in his first three seasons as the coach of the Buffaloes, but this transfer portal class could be different with players like Hunter and Bell coming in.

Hunter could be very helpful to Lewis with his experience in the Big 12, previously playing for Houston, and having an understanding of what kind of blitzes and stunts opposing defenses like to run. Hunter should also be a solid force on the interior of Colorado’s offensive line that Lewis can trust, which should give him the confidence he needs in the early part of the season.

At tackle, Bell could also be a great confidence boost to Lewis if he does end up starting at tackle. Bell stands at 6-8 and 330 pounds, and with previous ACC experience, he should be able to provide solid protection for Lewis as well as reset the line of scrimmage and give Colorado a chance to be much more successful on the ground running the ball.

Defensive Draft Eligible Players

As far as Colorado’s defense goes, Steele had several players as well, including defensive ends Santana Hopper (No. 35 overall) and Toby Anene (No. 73 overall), defensive tackle Ezra Christensen (No. 65 overall), linebackers Liona Lefau (No. 37 overall) and Gideon Lampron (No. 52 overall), in addition to cornerbacks Boo Carter (No. 19 overall) and Naeten Mitchell (No. 60 overall).

When looking at the defensive players on this list, it becomes very clear that Coach Prime and the Buffaloes wanted to make significant improvements across the board, but specifically in the front seven.

Last season, Colorado ranked 135th in the nation against the run, allowing 222.5 rush yard per game while also struggling to get after the quarterback as the Buffaloes totaled 13 sacks in 2025, ranking 129th in the country.

The additions of Hopper, Anene, Christensen, Lefau, and Lampron should help to significantly improve the rush defense, as these transfers combined for 50.5 tackles for loss. With that kind of production, in addition to the other transfers the Buffaloes added, this defense under new defensive coordinator Chris Marve, has a great opportunity to generate negative plays and put opposing offenses in very tough situations.

In terms of sacks, Hopper, Christensen, and Anene were very productive as well, with the trio totaling 17.5 sacks, which was more than Colorado had as a team last year. That is without mentioning several other pass rushers that the Buffaloes added. Based on the production of Hopper, Christensen, and Anene, in addition to Colorado’s other transfers, this pass rush should be much better and potentially could be one of the most disruptive in the Big 12.

In the secondary, Carter and Mitchell are also players who could become very impactful. During the 2025 season, both Carter and Mitchell were quite productive and showcased their versatility to play multiple positions.

Last season, Carter recorded 25 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, one sack, three pass breakups, and three forced fumbles. Mitchell was just as effective in 2025 as he tallied 93 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, three interceptions (one returned for a touchdown), six pass breakups, and four forced fumbles.

With the production that Carter and Mitchell have put on display, it is evident that they can be great contributors to Colorado and could be critical components of Marve’s defense. At this point, it does seem that Carter will play in the slot at nickel corner, while Mitchell is projected to be one of the Buffaloes’ starting safeties.

However, with the versatility that Carter and Mitchell have, Marve may have the ability to move each of them around in the secondary to confuse opposing quarterbacks and force mistakes that could give Colorado opportunities to win key games in 2026.

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