Boise State’s Weaver enters NFL Draft. Analysts project him as a first-round pick.
One of the top pass rushers in Boise State football history will skip his senior season and enter the NFL Draft.
Redshirt junior STUD Curtis Weaver declared for the draft on Saturday, joining left tackle Ezra Cleveland, who announced his decision to leave a year early on Tuesday.
“I came here as a fat boy and I’m leaving as a young man,” Weaver wrote. “I poured my heart and soul into Boise State football every time I set foot onto the field. I am forever grateful and honored to be a Bronco.”
Like Cleveland, Weaver has signed with sports agent Ron Slavin, who also represents former Boise State linebacker Leighton Vander Esch. Weaver and Cleveland will travel to Dallas, Texas, in the coming days to train at EXOS for the NFL Combine.
Weaver leads Boise State and the Mountain West this season with 13.5 sacks, which ranked No. 5 in the country behind Ohio State’s Chase Young (16.5) and three players who were tied with 14 when the Broncos’ season ended.
This fall, Weaver tied a single-game record at Boise State with four sacks against Portland State and passed former Bronco Chris Wing to move into No. 2 all-time in program history with 34 in his career.
Analysts rank Weaver among the top five edge rushers in the draft. He’s generally listed behind Young and Iowa’s A.J. Epenesa and on the same tier as Notre Dame’s Julian Okwara, Penn State’s Yetur Gross-Matos and LSU’s K’Lavon Chaisson.
Many mock drafts have Weaver being selected in the latter half of the first round. ESPN’s Todd McShay has him going No. 20 overall to the Miami Dolphins, while The Draft Network has the Buffalo Bills taking him at No. 23. Scott Wright of draftcountdown.com has the Baltimore Ravens selecting him with the 31st pick in the first round.
Boise State has had an early entrant drafted each of the past six years: running back Alexander Mattison (third round, 2019), linebacker Leighton Vander Esch (first round, 2018), running back Jeremy McNichols (fifth round, 2017), defensive end Kamalei Correa (second round, 2016), running back Jay Ajayi (fifth round, 2015) and defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence (second round, 2014). The Broncos also had early entrants in 2008, when offensive tackle Ryan Clady was taken in the first round and cornerback Orlando Scandrick in the fifth, and 2009, when wide receiver Jeremy Childs went undrafted.
This story was originally published December 28, 2019 at 11:59 AM.
