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Vegas already thinks highly of Hunter and Sanders

BetMGM has released its early NFL Rookie of the Year odds following the 2025 Draft, and two Buffaloes are firmly within the mix.

Headlining all rookies is former Colorado WR/CB Travis Hunter, who’s an early favorite to win Rookie of the Year (RotK), on both the offensive and defensive side of the ball. The 2024 Heisman Trophy winner shined as both a pass catcher and in pass coverage for the Buffs, making this revelation anything but surprising.

At the time of writing this, Hunter’s odds of winning Offensive RotY sit at +550, good for the third-best odds within the category. The two players ranked ahead of him are former Boise State and current Las Vegas Raiders running back Ashton Jeanty (+250) and former Miami and current Tennessee Titans quarterback Cam Ward (+250). Hunter is the highest-ranked wide receiver in that list by a significant margin, as the player with the fourth-highest odds is Panthers receiver Tetairoa McMillan, with odds of +1300.

As for Defensive RotY, Hunter has the second-highest odds of winning the award, with odds of +750. The only player with better odds than Hunter is former Penn State and current Giants edge rusher Abdul Carter, with odds of +250. Although Hunter was selected one pick ahead of Carter, sportsbooks are predicting that Carter is 3x more likely to win Defensive RotY than the former CU cornerback. Two edge rushers, the Falcons’ Jaylon Walker (+900) and 49ers’ Mykel Williams (+1000), sit just behind Hunter, good for ranks three and four.

The reason for the disparity in odds between Carter and Hunter is fairly self-explanatory and non-controversial. Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Liam Coen said publicly on Day 1 of the NFL Draft that the team views Hunter as a wide receiver first and foremost, and a cornerback second. While Coen said that Hunter will get every opportunity to play cornerback in practice, his role on the defensive side of the football for his rookie season is a bit foggy, explaining his lower odds.

Hunter ranks highly in two separate RotY categories for early betting, but the story for former CU quarterback Shedeur Sanders is quite a bit different.

Sanders was the subject of perhaps the most drastic slide in NFL history, as the projected top ten draft pick managed to fall to the fifth round, being selected 144th overall by the Cleveland Browns. Despite falling so far, BetMGM has given Sanders odds of +2500 to win Offensive RotY.

With Sanders’ +2500 odds, sportsbooks believe he’s the 12th most likely player to win the award, despite sliding all the way to the third day of the NFL Draft. Sanders has the third-highest odds between QBs in the category, ranked only below Ward (+250) and New Orleans' Tyler Shough (+2000), and tied with the Giants’ Jaxson Dart (+2500).

Even though six quarterbacks were selected above Sanders, he’ll still get every opportunity to start during this season. Cleveland's quarterback situation is extremely volatile, with Joe Flacco, Kenny Pickett, Dillon Gabriel and Sanders being brought in to battle for the right to replace Deshaun Watson, whose time in Cleveland hasn’t panned out. Sanders has the talent to win the starting job, but he’ll have to properly showcase it during training camp and the preseason.

Whatever way you slice it, Vegas is relatively high on both Sanders and Hunter, which is hopefully a good omen of things to come in the 2025-26 season.

by RylandScholes
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The son of Colorado’s new DL coach is headed to Boulder.

Domata Peko Jr., son of Colorado defensive line coach Domata Peko Sr., has committed to play for the Buffaloes, as announced by Peko Jr. on Twitter/X on Monday afternoon.

See you in December Boulder #Committed #skobuffs @GeorgeHelow @DeionSanders @DomataPeko @theyoungcoach @CoachMoose @GregBiggins @LJ_Reyna pic.NOPE/uamwxVJhTW

— Domata Peko Jr (@domatapeko_jr) April 28, 2025​

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Peko Jr. comes to Boulder from Ventura College in California. After initially committing to play for the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors of the Mountain West Conference in 2023, Peko Jr. opted to decommit and go with the JUCO route, spending time at both College of the Canyons in California, as well as Ventura College.

Colorado offered Peko Jr. and his younger brother, ATH Joseph Peko, in late February. After multiple months of deliberation, Peko Jr. has decided to become a Buffalo. As of the time of writing this, Colorado is Peko Jr.’s only Division I offer.

Peko Jr. will play the 2025 season at Ventura College and join the team in Boulder in December of this year. He will have two years remaining eligibility, counting for the 2026 and 2027 seasons.

by RylandScholes
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Torricelli Simpkins III leads the undrafted honorable mentions.

It’s a few days late, but it’s here. Ralphie Report is proud to announce the best names in the 2025 NFL Draft. The usual rule is that we only include players selected in the draft, but there is the Habakkuk Baldonado Exception in which a UDFA can be chosen if their name is cool enough.

QB - Jaxson Dart, Ole Miss​

Whether or not he should’ve been drafted over Shedeur Sanders is one thing, but for this article Jaxson has both a cool ‘x’ in his first name and a last name apt for a pocket passer.

RB - Quinshon Judkins, Ohio State; Bhayshul Tuten, Virginia Tech​

Quinshon Judkins fits the Kayvon Thibodeaux phenomenon of a name that’s been known for so long that we no longer consider how crazy it is. Bhayshul Tuten, welcome.

WR - Konata Mumpfield, Pitt; LaJohntay Wester, Colorado​

Konata could be a normal enough West African name, but it’s combination with the podunk-sounding Mumpfield that turns this into a banger.

TE - Oronde Gadsden II, Syracuse; Rivaldo Fairweather, Auburn​

Rivaldo was not drafted, but it’s so, so, so good.

OL - Aireontae Ersery, Minnesota; Ozzy Trapilo, Boston College; Ajani Cornelius, Oregon; Torricelli Simpkins III, South Carolina​

Usually it’s five offensive linemen, but there weren’t any standouts besides these. Aireontae Ersery is a banger. Ozzy and Ajani are solid. And then there’s TORRICELLI SIMPKINS III, the undrafted Gamecock whose father and grandfather were possibly named after the inventor of the barometer.

DL — Aeneas Peebles, Virginia Tech; Tonka Hemingway, South Carolina; Zeek Biggers, Georgia Tech​

Them big boys eatin’ good. Aeneas could be named after the Greek hero, but more likely the 2001 Pro Bowler Aeneas Williams. Tonka is a childhood nickname for Terrell, pairing beautifully with the American classic Hemingway. Zeek Biggers — hell yeah.

Edge — Fadil Diggs, Syracuse; Barryn Sorrell, Texas​

Not great, but good names. Fadil Diggs is just cool. Barryn Sorrell leans hard into southern state suburbia.

LB — Smael Mondon Jr., Georgia; Chris Paul Jr., Ole Miss​

There is not just one Smael Mondon in the world, but two. And no, Chris Paul Jr.’s dad is not who you’re thinking of.

CB — Shavon Ravel Jr., East Carolina; Upton Stout, Western Kentucky; Mac McWilliams, UCF​

The DBs are usually better than this.

CB (UDFAs) — Frentrell Cyprus III, Florida State; O’Donnell Fortune, South Carolina; Isas Waxter, Villanova​

Ahhh, that’s better.

S — Trikweze Bridges, Florida; Rayuan Lane III, Navy; Lathan Ransom, Ohio State​

It’s been a long time since D’Brickashaw Ferguson retired, but we might have our spiritual successor in Trikweze Bridges.

Honorable Mentions: Isaac TeSlaa, Teddye Buchanan, Jacory Croskey-Merritt, Alijah Huzzie, Yahya Black, LeQuint Allen, Ulysses Bentley IV (UDFA), Jahvaree Ritzie (UDFA)​

by Sam Metivier
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Mayers will take a crack at making the roster in Denver

Colorado offensive lineman Justin Mayers has accepted an invite to the Denver Broncos’ Rookie Mini-Camp, announced by the CU Football program on Twitter/X on Sunday.

Mayers started his college career at the University of Texas at El Paso. In his four seasons with UTEP, he became one of the best offensive linemen in Conference USA, starting 35 games with the Miners and developing as an elite run blocker. After his time in Southwestern Texas, Mayers decided to come to Colorado as a graduate transfer in 2024.

During his sole season in Boulder, Mayers made an impact with the Buffaloes. Although initially seeing scarce playing time at the beginning of the season, Mayers was worked into CU’s constantly changing rotation within the offensive line, establishing himself as one of the Buffs’ premier secondary options.

Mayers declared for the NFL Draft after exhausting his college eligibility following the 2024 season. After Day 3 of festivities in Green Bay last weekend, Mayers did not hear his name called, going undrafted.

Although going undrafted, that doesn’t mean that Mayers won’t get his opportunity to play at the highest level. Around 24 hours after the conclusion of the draft, Mayers received interest from the hometown Denver Broncos when the organization extended an invitation to their Rookie Mini-Camp in the coming weeks.

Mayers will be fighting an uphill battle to make Denver’s 53-man roster, but he’s shown incredible determination and plenty of talent during his time as a Buffalo. If any of Colorado’s offensive linemen who were draft-eligible from last season can make a roster, Mayers would be at the top of that list.

Good luck, Justin! We are rooting for you!

by RylandScholes
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Guest article from CU at the Gamer Gus R. Michaels III, Esq. ... Intangibles used by the NFL to grade quarterbacks ... Why the Josh Rosen experience may have worked against Shedeur ... Shedeur taking the Drew Brees path to success ...

Stuart
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