Tag: Connor Colby

Versatile offensive linemen Packers could target in 2025 NFL Draft

The Packers love versatile offensive linemen. Who could Brian Gutekunst target in the 2025 draft?

The Green Bay Packers selected three offensive linemen during the 2024 NFL Draft, a year after taking none during the 2023 draft. Since taking over as general manager in 2018, Brian Gutekunst has drafted 14 offensive linemen and has selected at least one in every draft except for the 2023 class.

Gutekunst’s draft history suggests that he’ll draft at least one offensive lineman in the 2025 draft and it’s a safe bet the prospect will offer position versatility.

Here are some potential targets in the 2025 draft class:

Xavier Truss, OL, Georgia

Georgia’s starting right tackle has started games at left tackle and both guard spots during his time in Athens. Truss has logged 1,022 snaps at right tackle, 854 at left guard, 334 at right guard and 204 snaps at left tackle. Truss paves the way as a run blocker and has good range.

Grey Zabel, OL, North Dakota State University

Zabel has started 11 games at left tackle for the Bison this season. Prior to this season, the South Dakota native started 17 games at right tackle, four at left guard and three at right guard. Zabel is agile out in space and hits his landmarks. Zabel has taken snaps at all five positions along the offensive line during his time in Fargo and he could showcase his skill set at all five positions during Senior Bowl week.

Jonah Monheim, OL, USC

Monheim has started 10 games at center for the Trojans this season. Before kicking inside, Monheim started 18 games at right tackle, 12 at left tackle, and four at right guard. Monheim has heightened awareness in protection. According to Pro Football Focus, Monheim has given up zero sacks this season.

Marcus Wehr, OL, Montana State

Wehr started his collegiate career at Bozeman as a defensive lineman before making the switch to the offensive line in 2022. During his first season on the offensive side of the ball, Wehr started seven games at left tackle. The following season he started 11 games at right tackle and one game at right guard. This season he’s started all 11 games at right guard. Since making the move to the offensive line in 2022, Wehr has given up zero sacks and just eight pressures.

Easton Kilty, OL, Kansas State

A North Dakota transfer, Kilty has started 10 games at left tackle during his first season at Kansas State. During his time at North Dakota, Kilty started games at left tackle, right guard and right tackle. Kilty is quick-footed and has given up one sack and five pressures this season.

Marcus Mbow, OL, Purdue

Mbow has 16 starts at right tackle and 14 at right guard under his belt. The Purdue product has quick feet and the lateral quickness to protect the corner. With his athleticism, Mbow has good range as a run blocker.

Connor Colby, OL, Iowa

Colby has started 23 straight games at right guard for the Hawkeyes. Before that stretch, Colby started seven games at left guard, six at right tackle and 11 at right guard. With 45 career starts under his belt, Colby is one of the most seasoned offensive linemen in the 2025 draft class. Colby is agile in space and rarely misses his marks.

Joshua Gray, OL, Oregon State

Gray is Oregon State’s all-time leader in starts (54). Gray started 44 games at left tackle before kicking inside to left guard this season. Gray plays with good knee bend and has a well-put-together frame.

Iowa’s Logan Jones, Connor Colby included among Lindy’s top centers, guards

Lindy’s recognized both Logan Jones and Connor Colby as two of the best nationally at their respective positions.

Fans of the Iowa Hawkeyes are hoping this is the year it all clicks up front offensively.

Understandably, the amount of experience that Iowa returns defensively has garnered plenty of attention nationally. The Hawkeyes return 192 career starts to a defense that ranked fourth nationally in scoring defense (14.8 points per game) and seventh in total defense (282.5 yards per game).

Don’t lose sight of the amount of experience and starts that Iowa also brings back up front offensively. The Hawkeye offensive line returns 147 career starts, including 58 from last season.

That includes Iowa starting center Logan Jones and starting right tackle Connor Colby. Jones, a 6-foot-3, 290 pound senior, and Colby, a 6-foot-6, 311 pound senior, have started 26 and 36 career games, respectively. Colby started 12 last season, while Jones started 13.

In its annual preseason college football preview magazine, Lindy’s gave both some proper due. Jones was ranked as Lindy’s No. 6 center nationally, while Colby was ranked as Lindy’s No. 5 guard heading into the 2024 college football season.

For an Iowa offense looking to transform its production under new offensive coordinator Tim Lester, having Jones and Colby both back in the fold for his first campaign in Iowa City is massive.

In its breakdown of Iowa, here’s some of what Lindy’s had to say about Iowa’s offense as a whole:

Iowa’s offense became a national running joke last season, with websites, podcasts and—well, just about anybody who was paying attention—poking fun at the Hawkeyes and their offensive soap opera, which averaged just 234.6 yards a game, dead last in the country.

Yet they still won the Big Ten West.

In comes new offensive coordinator Tim Lester to replace the embattled Brian Ferentz, who has been replaced by a former head coach who has shown he can build a solid offense. After Lester was let go as head coach at Western Michigan (37-32 in six years), he spent last season as an offensive analyst for the Green Bay Packers.

Good news for the rebuild: Quarterback Cade McNamara is healthy after missing more than half of last season with a torn ACL. Protecting the former Michigan transfer will be especially important, and after the line also battled injuries last year, that unit starts fresh with veterans at every position led by center Logan Jones and guard Connor Colby. – Lindy’s.

Iowa also brings back its top four running backs in Leshon Williams, Kaleb Johnson, Jaziun Patterson and Kamari Moulton.

Two of the Hawkeyes’ top pass-catchers at receiver are back in junior wide outs Seth Anderson and Kaleb Brown. Talented senior tight end Luke Lachey is back for Iowa as well.

In order for Iowa to complete the offensive transformation it’s working for, it’s no secret that Iowa needs to perform better up front, though. Jones and Colby join offensive tackles Gennings Dunker and Mason Richman, left guard Beau Stephens and Nick DeJong as offensive linemen that have started during their Hawkeye careers entering the 2024 season.

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Iowa football counting on offensive line continuity helping group turn corner

Iowa football is hoping continuity can help its offensive line turn the corner under new OC Tim Lester.

The Iowa Hawkeyes bring back an experienced-laden roster across the board.  According to ESPN’s returning production ranks, Iowa checks in at No. 10 nationally.

That is led by Iowa’s defense, which ranks No. 2 nationally. The Hawkeye offense ranks No. 33 in returning production, though.

New offensive coordinator Tim Lester inherits an offense that brings back its starting quarterback in Cade McNamara, standout tight end Luke Lachey, its top running backs in Leshon Williams, Kaleb Johnson and Jaziun Patterson and two of its top receivers in juniors Seth Anderson and Kaleb Brown.

Equally important is what Iowa brings back along its offensive line, though. Iowa returns starting offensive tackles Mason Richman and Gennings Dunker, starting guard Connor Colby and starting center Logan Jones.

Nick DeJong and Beau Stephens have each started games for the Hawkeyes over their Iowa careers as well.

Collectively, Iowa returns 58 offensive line starts from last season and a group that boasts 147 career starts.

As Iowa undergoes summer workouts, Colby shed light on what it looks like under new OC Tim Lester.

“I mean, there’s a few different things technique wise that he wants us doing, but ultimately the schemes and stuff that we’re running have kind of stayed the same. It’s just more with the wide receivers and stuff,” Colby said.

Richman hopes that continuity can help this offensive line group turn the corner.

“Very important. I think it definitely makes things a lot easier for transitions in terms of who our top dogs are gonna be, who are guys we’ve still got to push a little bit more and gives those younger guys a lot of time to keep getting better I think in that sense.

“Bringing back this many guys allows for younger guys to develop more behind us, but also for the older guys, get another year under your belt and another offseason and stuff like that is super important,” Richman said.

Richman said the key to this offensive line group making a serious jump in 2024 is to get the most out of every day.

“Yeah, I think it’s just every day everybody working their tails off as much as they can. Sometimes—and it’s in the most miniscule ways—guys might go through the motions in different ways. I think just the more we can push ourselves on the field and then in the weight room and stuff like that, the more prepared we’ll be for training camp and then for the season coming after that,” Richman said.

Colby echoed that sentiment.

“I think it’s just what we do on a daily basis from the reps we get together. I know that’s definitely a big thing, making sure all five are playing as one. Sometimes in the past couple years, we’ve had guys rotating in and out. I think now, all the guys coming back, we can finally gel together and hopefully take that next step,” Colby said.

One of the pieces of this offense that sounds like it’s changing is pre-snap motion. Colby joked that it isn’t changing a lot for he and the group up front.

“Yeah, I’m not going in motion any time soon. It’s just the cadence really. Got that down all spring, so we have a lot of reps under our belt with the new cadences. As long as we’re dialed in with that aspect, no false starts will be happening,” Colby said.

One of the common gripes with Iowa’s offensive woes over the past several seasons has been inconsistency up front. If Lester and Iowa offensive line coach George Barnett can get that group to finally gel, then McNamara and the Hawkeyes could be in for a surprisingly resurgent offensive season.

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Iowa Hawkeyes boast two of Pro Football Focus’ top-10 returning Big Ten OL

It starts up front.

It all starts up front for the Iowa Hawkeyes. Win in the trenches and you can win a lot of ball games controlling the line of scrimmage against your opponent. That strategy works especially well for the Iowa Hawkeyes who rely on ball control and good defense.

To win that way, it starts with top talent on the offensive line. Iowa has had a history of producing NFL-caliber talent and stars across the front and this year could see two more Hawkeyes leading the way.

Connor Colby and Cade Borud headline Iowa as the only team with multiple players on Pro Football Focus’ top-10 returning Big Ten offensive lineman. Borud is the fifth-highest graded lineman while Colby is the seventh-highest graded.

Cade Borud is a transfer from North Dakota who was a second-team freshman All-American as a center. He has three years of eligibility left. Connor Colby is entering his fourth year with the Iowa Hawkeyes and brings a ton of experience up front. He has started 37 games in his career up to this point.

Iowa needs these two to anchor an offensive line that has not been up to the Kirk Ferentz standard as of lately. Last year, the Hawkeyes ran for just 3.3 yards per carry, a tally much lower than the expectation is in Iowa City.

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Saints busy scouting 2024 draft prospects at Iowa-Iowa State matchup

The New Orleans Saints were busy scouting Saturday’s Iowa-Iowa State matchup, getting a good look at several early-round prospects in the 2024 NFL draft:

The Daily Iowan’s Matthew McGowan reports that the New Orleans Saints were among teams with scouts on hand for Iowa State’s rivalry game with the University of Iowa — a game with more early-round prospects for the 2024 NFL draft than you might first expect. Iowa has been a factory of pro-quality athletes at tight end, linebacker, and along the offensive line, and Iowa State shouldn’t be overlooked either.

Iowa Hawkeyes defensive back Cooper DeJean and offensive lineman Connor Colby (their starting right guard, with hundreds of snaps played at left guard and right tackle in his career) were the highest-rated prospects in the game. Iowa State Cyclones cornerback T.J. Tampa and wide receiver Jaylin Noel are also on the NFL’s radar.

It’s too soon to say which positions the Saints could seek to address in the 2024 draft, but several players stood out on Saturday who could be good fits in New Orleans. McGowan adds that the Miami Dolphins, Atlanta Falcons, Arizona Cardinals, and Chicago Bears were among nine other teams also represented at Jack Trice Stadium.

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Connor Colby recounts initial helping hand from Tyler Linderbaum

Now a key cog in Iowa’s offensive line, Connor Colby recounted how Tyler Linderbaum extended a helping hand early in his Hawkeye career.

Connor Colby was thrown into the fire for the Iowa Hawkeyes as a true freshman.

The talented lineman from Cedar Rapids was pressed into duty as a freshman at right guard after Justin Britt started the first three games there before an injury derailed his season. Colby wound up making 11 consecutive starts at right guard for the Hawkeyes to close that freshman campaign in 2021.

While it isn’t altogether surprising, Colby recounted with Pro Football Focus‘ Max Chadwick how he really didn’t totally understand everything he was being asked to do that season.

“This is going to sound pretty bad. I knew play calls and stuff like that. But sometimes when I was out there, I’d struggle with who to block. So I just looked at (Linderbaum) before every play and he’d just point at the guy I had to block. We just went from there,” Colby told Chadwick and PFF.

It puts into perspective just how difficult it is for young players, especially offensive linemen, to understand every aspect of what they’re being required to do.

Now, after starting all 13 games last season for the Hawkeyes, Colby is a chiseled vet. That makes 24 starts over the course of his career.

The other good news for Colby is that Iowa has figured out where he’s best positioned. The Hawkeyes experimented with Colby at right tackle for the first seven games of last season and it just wasn’t the right fit.

By comparison, his PFF pass-blocking grade was 62.8 points higher across his final six starts of last season at left guard. Though he returns to the right side of the Hawkeyes’ offensive line, he’s at a position he’s found more success with in right guard.

“I love playing guard. I just like being physical. It’s like a fight in the phone booth every time I’m out there. It’s fun,” Colby said.

Speaking at his weekly press conference, Iowa head football coach Kirk Ferentz was vocal that the staff erred in trying to play Colby at tackle.

“Connor could go left or right but we’re going to keep him at guard. We’re not going back to that experiment. I took ownership for that. We’ll keep him at guard, and he can go left or right. That’s not a big deal,” Ferentz said.

Colby was a preseason All-Big Ten selection by PFF. The 6-foot-6, 311 pound guard’s experience and presence is one of the big reasons why the Hawkeye coaching staff is once again optimistic that its offensive line will return to the type of play up front that they and Iowa fans can be proud of.

In a parting shot with PFF, Colby shared his vision for 2023.

“Win the West, win in Indy, win whatever’s next,” Colby said.

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9 Hawkeyes highlight Pro Football Focus’ preseason All-Big Ten team

Nine Iowa Hawkeyes made Pro Football Focus’ preseason All-Big Ten team, including five first-team selections.

Pro Football Focus released their preseason All-Big Ten teams, and judging from the results, it looks to be a big year for Iowa!

Last year, nine Hawkeyes received All-Big Ten honors. Despite five of those honorees moving on to the next level, Iowa once again has nine All-Big Ten preseason members for the 2023 season. Five players headline the group as first-team selections. Only two of those five are returning first-teamers from last year.

In all, Iowa has six players looking to make their debut on an All-Big Ten team in 2023. There are also a couple of notable omissions, players who weren’t featured but play a crucial role for this Iowa team. A little spoiler, there are two players we feature who absolutely should have made an All-Big Ten team, including someone who actually has made one before!

Here’s a look at the Hawkeyes featured on PFF’s preseason All-Big Ten team and where they ended up.

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Early list of the top 2024 NFL draft prospects to watch at key positions

Wer’e taking an early look at the top 2024 NFL draft prospects for the Philadelphia Eagles to watch at key positions

The Eagles are just 22 days from the start of training camp, but it is never too early to look at the 2024 NFL draft.

Next spring will see guaranteed locks like Heisman Trophy Winner Caleb Williams (USC), Marvin Harrison Jr. (Ohio State), Drake Maye (UNC), Joe Alt (Notre Dame), Brock Bowers (UGA), and Olumuviwa Fashanu (Penn State) all battle to round out the top five.

With teams around the league praying to be on the clock, here’s an early of the top 2024 prospects at critical positions.

Full list of Eagles’ 2024 NFL draft picks with projected compensatory selections

We’re looking at the Philadelphia Eagles’ complete order of 2024 NFL draft picks with compensatory projections.

The Eagles made several critical signings during the 2023 NFL free agency process, with all of the additions being one-year deals.

Philadelphia GM Howie Roseman watched ten contributors leave on the open market.

Thanks to his shrewd maneuvering and roster building, the Eagles are in line for four valuable compensatory picks in 2024, according to NFL.com draft expert, Lance Zierlein.

The Eagles played the compensatory pick game perfectly. They knew they would have a large number of players depart in free agency, and they didn’t add any projected qualifying free agents to the team. Philadelphia should receive the maximum number of picks, including a third-rounder for Hargrave.

The Birds were slated to have six picks in the 2024 NFL draft, but thanks to the compensatory formula, they’ll have 10.

Here’s an early look at the Eagles’ 2024 NFL draft picks.

Eagles stick to the motto of reloading the trenches in early 2024 NFL mock drafts

Philadelphia will likely reload in the trenches, while some experts have the Eagles targeting other critical positions in early 2024 NFL mock drafts

The 2023 NFL draft is complete, and as teams add undrafted free agents, the experts are looking ahead to the 2024 selection process.

Next spring will see guaranteed locks like Heisman Trophy Winner Caleb Williams (USC), Marvin Harrison Jr. (Ohio State), Drake Maye (UNC), Joe Alt (Notre Dame), Brock Bowers (UGA), and Olumuviwa Fashanu (Penn State) all battle to round out the top five.

With teams around the league praying to be on the clock, here’s an early 2024 NFL mock draft roundup.