Inside The Huskies

More Proof There Is Football Talent in Montlake

PFF singled out three Huskies in its pre-NFL Draft assessment for next April.
Dan Raley|
Denzel Boston is shown during last year's game at Oregon.
Denzel Boston is shown during last year's game at Oregon. | Skylar Lin Visuals

The University of Washington football team had just a handful of players last season receive All-Big Ten recognition, none higher than third team.

Only one Husky was selected through seven rounds of the NFL Draft last month, and he went in the seventh round.

Just half as many scouts came through Montlake as the year before, if that.

It's clear to say the UW talent level experienced a notable dip following the departure of several older players responsible following a 2024 national championship game appearance, a coaching change and players caught up in development.

It now appears that momentary blip is about to end, in particular with wide receiver Denzel Boston, cornerback Tacario Davis and running back Jonah Coleman continuing to show up in mock drafts and/or lists, and young players such as second-year quarterback Demond Williams Jr., tight end Decker DeGraaf and Rahshawn Clark each establishing themselves.

Pro Football Focus, in fact, listed a top 80 players in anticipation of next year's NFL draft that you can access here -- and Boston, Davis and Coleman were singled out.

Always numbers oriented and insightful in their projections that know no geographical bounds, PFF particularly was enamored with Boston as a top 10 receiver draft candidate, offering the following assessment of his pass-catching skills:

"The first thing you notice about Boston is his elite size at 6-foot-4 and 209 pounds. The second thing you notice is how fluid a mover he is, despite his bigger stature. The rising junior reached nearly 22 mph this past season, according to PFF's player tracking data.

"Boston has a large catch radius and strong hands, catching 12 of 22 contested targets in 2024. Think of him as the Tetairoa McMillan of this year’s class. And like McMillan, Boston has the upside of becoming a first-round pick."

Coleman similarly has drawn a lot of attention from PFF going back during his past two seasons at Arizona and Washington.

Yet while these analysts tend to look at past trends in drawing their conclusions, Coleman has remade his body and increased his speed in the five months since last season ended and he could be even better than PFF thinks.

Here's their breakdown of the senior back, who seems highly motivated approaching his final college season, with PFF crunching a lot of numbers:

"Coleman has been one of college football's most efficient runners since he arrived on the scene three years ago. Across his two seasons at Arizona and one with the Huskies, Coleman has posted a 95.4 career PFF rushing grade — tied for fifth among FBS running backs in that span. He’s a human bowling ball at 5-foot-9 and 229 pounds, with quicker feet than you’d expect for a back of his size.

"The rising senior’s average of 4.6 yards after contact per attempt since 2023 ranks third among all FBS running backs, while his 35 percent forced missed tackle rate in that span is tied for second among Power Four running backs."

A newcomer to the UW, Davis joins the Huskies with a sizable reputation that seemed to experience some fall-off last season at Arizona, with PFF explaining why.

Yet that hasn't kept the towering cornerback from drawing positive forecasts for the future, especially with him being reunited with Ephesians Prysock, his fellow Arizona starter in 2023. PFF's assessment of this guy:

"Davis was a projected first-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft last summer thanks to his elite length (6-foot-4) and fantastic sophomore season (85.9 coverage grade in 2023). That all came crashing down to earth this past season as he posted just a 61.7 coverage grade, looking far less comfortable in man coverage than he did the year prior. 

"Still, there’s a chance he returns to his sophomore form after transferring to Washington from Arizona, where he’ll be reunited with head coach Jedd Fisch."

It should be noted that Boston and Davis had limited involvement in UW spring football as a precautionary move while coming off minor injuries, but they each should be poised for big seasons.

Coleman wasn't injured at all, but still was given spring time off off because he's so physical and takes such a pounding when everything counts.

The big news reconfirmed here is there is, indeed, individual talent in Montlake again after a lean year for all of the reasons previously mentioned.

IN CASED YOU MISSED IT:

Where Coleman/Williams Rank as Big Ten Backfield Tandem

An Early Projection for UW Football That's Worth Debating

Husky Roster Review: Beierly Went Through Rigorous QB Initiation

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Dan Raley
DAN RALEY

Dan Raley has worked for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, as well as for MSN.com and Boeing, the latter as a global aerospace writer. His sportswriting career spans four decades and he's covered University of Washington football and basketball during much of that time. In a working capacity, he's been to the Super Bowl, the NBA Finals, the MLB playoffs, the Masters, the U.S. Open, the PGA Championship and countless Final Fours and bowl games.

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