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SALT LAKE CITY — In an NFL draft class more concerned with slides (Shedeur Sanders was drafted in the fifth round by the Cleveland Browns) than surprises (the Giants traded back into the first round to grab Kaysville native Jaxson Dart), former Utah high school and college football players were lightly represented during the three-day event in Green Bay, Wisconsin.
Dart was the second first-round pick by the Giants on Thursday night, joining former Penn State edge rusher and No. 3 overall pick Abdul Carter. But he was the only player with direct ties to the Beehive State selected in the first 48 hours of the draft.
"One of the biggest things that stands out every game you watch of Jaxson is his toughness, his physicality, and his competitiveness," Giants general manager Joe Schoen told ESPN during Saturday's late rounds. "The physical tools are all there. ... But getting to know him, the on-field stuff was outstanding and the personality really fit with what we were looking for in the quarterback position."
Dart was joined by Jalen Royals, the former Utah State wide receiver who went to Kansas City in Saturday's fourth round — one round before the Chiefs selected former Kearns High standout and converted safety Jeffrey Bassa. The Bills added former Highland High tight end Jackson Hawes, who played collegiately at Yale and Georgia Tech, in the fifth round.
The Utes were trending toward their first draft without a pick in half a decade until former Wasatch Academy and BYU basketball standout Caleb Lohner — who played one season of football at tight end with Utah — went to the Denver Broncos in the middle of the seventh round.
The 6-foot-7, 250-pound converted power forward is the third former BYU basketball player to be selected in the NFL draft, as first noted by BYUtv's Jarom Jordan.
Jordan Cameron was selected by the Cleveland Browns in the fourth round of the 2011 draft after transferring to USC to play football, and former BYU basketball walk-on Bronson Kaufusi was drafted in the third round by the Baltimore Ravens in 2016.
BYU, which finished the season ranked No. 13 nationally by the Associated Press, went without a draft pick for the first time since 2021, and the third time in 10 years.
Attention now turns to the hundreds of college football players who will try to make a roster as undrafted free agents or through training camp invitations. Here's a look at where other new Locals in the NFL landed after the 2025 NFL draft.
BYU
- Tyler Batty, DE (via Payson High) —> Signed as a UDFA deal with the Minnesota Vikings that includes $259,000 guaranteed in a $25,000 signing bonus, per KPRC's Aaron Wilson
- Jakob Robinson, CB (via Orem High and Utah State) —> Signed as a UDFA with the San Francisco 49ers
- Caleb Etienne, OT —> Signed as a UDFA with the Cincinnati Bengals
- Darius Lassiter, WR —> Invited to rookie mini-camp by Philadelphia Eagles, but signed as undrafted free agent by Jacksonville Jaguars
- Brayden Keim, OT (via Alta High) —> Invited to rookie mini-camp by Kansas City Chiefs and Chicago Bears
- Blake Mangelson, DT (via Juab High) —> Invited to rookie mini-camp by Minnesota Vikings, then signed a UDFA deal with Pittsburgh Steelers, per his agent
- Connor Pay, OC (via Lone Peak High) —> Invited to rookie mini-camp by Las Vegas Raiders
- Marque Collins, CB (via Weber State) —> Signed as a free agent with Winnipeg Blue Bombers (CFL)
Utah
- Caleb Lohner, TE (via BYU basketball and Wasatch Academy) —> Seventh-round pick by Denver Broncos
- Karene Reid, LB (via Timpview High) —> Signed with Denver Broncos, per Broncos reporter Amir Farrell
- Micah Bernard, RB —> Signed with Tennessee Titans, per Titans reporter Blaine Kellar
- Connor O'Toole, DE —> Signed with Seattle Seahawks, per NFL reporter Aaron Wilson
- Zemaiah Vaughn, CB —> Signed with Minnesota Vikings
- Junior Tafuna, DT —> Signed with Houston Texans
- Dorian Singer, WR —> Invited to rookie mini-camp with Las Vegas Raiders, but signed as undrafted free agent by Jacksonville Jaguars
Utah State
- Jalen Royals, WR —> Fourth-round pick by Kansas City Chiefs
- Wyatt Bowles, OL (via Syracuse High) —> Signed as an undrafted free agent by Los Angeles Rams
- Jacob Garcia, LS —> Invited to rookie mini-camp by Miami Dolphins
- Spencer Petras, QB —> Invited to rookie mini-camps by Los Angeles Chargers and Kansas City Chiefs
- Kyrese White, WR (via Utah/Roy High) —> Invited to rookie mini-camp by Denver Broncos
Utah high schools and others
- Jaxson Dart, QB, Corner Canyon/Roy (via Ole Miss) —> First-round pick by New York Giants
- Jeffrey Bassa, LB, Kearns (via Oregon) —> Fifth-round pick by Kansas City Chiefs
- Jackson Hawes, TE, Highland (via Georgia Tech/Yale) —> Fifth-round pick by Buffalo Bills
- Xavier Carlton, DE, Juan Diego (via Utah and California) —> Signed as an undrafted free agent by Chicago Bears
- Ja'Quinden Jackson, RB (via Utah, Arkansas and Texas) —> Signed as an undrafted free agent by Jacksonville Jaguars
- Austin Riggs, LS (via BYU and Rutgers) —> Invited to rookie mini-camp by Minnesota Vikings
- Bentley Hanshaw, TE (via BYU and Liberty) —> Invited to rookie mini-camp by San Francisco 49ers, per NFL reporter Aaron Wilson
