Three Biggest Priorities for Deion Sanders, Colorado After the NFL Draft

Following the 2026 NFL Draft, the Colorado Buffaloes look ahead to next season with the hope of finding a significant improvement from the 2025 season.

With the 2026 season in mind, there are three priorities for Colorado coach Deion Sanders and the Buffaloes moving into the fall.

Deion Sanders Three Biggest Priorities For Colorado After NFL Draft Second Cornerback Tackle Combination Safety Rotation — Sep 21, 2024; Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels wide receiver Kobe Paysour (8) with the ball as James Madison Dukes cornerback Justin Eaglin (30) defends in the first quarter at Kenan Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images | Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

1. Second Starting Cornerback

Former Colorado cornerback Preston Hodge was signed by Jacksonville as an undrafted free agent and will begin his NFL career with the Jaguars. As such, the Buffaloes will have to find his replacement for next season.

Throughout the spring, it has been a fierce competition to earn reps at the cornerback position. With his performance, it seems that Notre Dame transfer Cree Thomas should be starting at one of the cornerback slots after getting multiple interceptions and being a force throughout the entirety of spring practice.

The other outside corner position is less certain. Players who will be competing for that spot include James Madison transfer Justin Eaglin, RJ Johnson and Makari Vickers, who return from the Buffaloes 2025 roster, Boo Carter who transfers from Tennessee, Paul Omodia transferring from Lamar, Emory Floyd transferring from Appalachian State, and Utah transfer Jason Stokes Jr.

If Colorado is going to have a much-improved defense, the cornerback room will have to play a significant role in that. New defensive coordinator Chris Marve and Coach Sanders have a lot of work to do to figure out who is the best player to step up in the secondary.

Whoever does step up will have a major role in how Colorado’s pass defense performs in 2026 and where the Buffaloes finish in the Big 12.

2. Offensive Tackle Combination

On the offensive side of the ball, one of the more important things is finding the best offensive line combination to protect Colorado’s quarterbacks properly and create lanes for the running backs on the ground.

Throughout Coach Prime's time with the Buffaloes, the offensive line has been one of the weak points, which is why Coach Sanders went out and added several players at the tackle position in particular.

This offseason, Sanders added Bo Hughley from Georgia, Leon Bell from Cal, Taj White from Rutgers, and Jayven Richardson from Missouri. Returning from the 2025 roster at tackle is Larry Johnson III, who got some experience last season but is still looking to improve to secure a starting spot.

Hughley, Bell, White, Richardson, and Johnson all have great experience in blocking great competition in a variety of conferences, including the SEC, ACC, Big Ten, and the Big 12. The experience that these players should prove beneficial throughout the course of the season and help Colorado to have a major improvement up front.

Colorado also brought in Brennan Marion to be the new offensive coordinator in hopes of significantly improving the play calling on offense. Marion’s system needs a great offensive line to establish a rushing attack and give the quarterback enough time to make the right reads.

Regardless of who Colorado selects to be the starting tackles, both players will serve a vital role next season for Marion’s offense, and the success in the trenches could translate into having one of the more consistent offenses in the Big 12 and in the country.

3. The Safety Rotation

Throughout the spring, three players in particular had great performances for the Buffaloes at the safety position. That included Vanderbilt transfer Randon Fontenette, Naeten Mitchell transferring from New Mexico State, and Indiana transfer Jah Jah Boyd.

All three of these safeties can support the front seven in the run game and can make plays on the ball in coverage. The hardest part is figuring out what the rotation will be with such great talent in the back end.

With Coach Marve’s emphasis on physicality and violence, all three of these safeties have an opportunity to make a significant impact on the field. However, getting all three of them on the field at the same time could prove to be very difficult.

The simple answer could be two of them line up at safety and one lined up in the slot at nickel corner. However, this is something that Sanders and Marve have to figure out so they can use fall camp to create chemistry and develop them into one of the more dominant safety units in the conference.

However, Sanders and Marve decide to use this trio of safeties, Fontenette, Mitchell, and Boyd, who will be very valuable for the Buffaloes to support as defenders in the run game and make players on the ball in the past game.

If these three can perform to their potential during 2026, this defense has the opportunity to not just be one of the best in the conference, but could be a major factor in why Colorado becomes one of the more well-rounded defenses in the nation.

Sign up to our free newsletter and follow us on Facebook for the latest news.

Add us as a preferred source on Google