NFL Analysis
10/29/24
1 min read
Tory Horton 2025 NFL Draft: Scouting Report For Colorado State Rams WR
Height: 6017 (unofficial)
Weight: 187 (unofficial)
Year: Fifth-Year Senior
Pro Comparison: Jalen Tolbert
Scouting Overview
Colorado State wide receiver Tory Horton is a dangerous vertical receiver who offers sufficient speed on the perimeter, strong ball tracking ability, and strong hands to attack the football.
Horton has been hyper-productive since transferring from Nevada after his first two seasons of college football. However, his career ended prematurely in mid-October 2024 due to a season-ending knee injury against San Jose State.
Horton tracks as a Z-receiver who can be a role-specific contributor early before hopefully expanding and developing his game to be a more versatile route runner and threat.
2025 NFL Combine Results
TBD
Positives
- Tremendous vertical-ball tracking ability
- Plucky hands and reliable through the catch point, including in contested situations
- Effective vertical speed, plus physical hand fighting to stack DBs on the perimeter
Negatives
- Release package will be tested by physical press corners at the NFL level
- Current versatility as a route runner will need expansion at risk of being a one-dimensional pass threat as a vertical player
- Physicality as a blocker in the run game is modest
Background
Tory Horton played his high school football at Washington Union HS in Fresno, CA. He garnered modest interest as a 3-star recruit (247 Sports) partly due to his lean stature as a prep player. Horton participated in The Opening Regional event in May of 2019 and officially tested with a 4.7s 40-yard time at 161 pounds — but he has since developed his body and his explosiveness to garner legitimate NFL chops.
Horton committed to and played his first two years of college football with the Nevada Wolfpack, posting nearly 1,000 yards and 10 touchdowns across the 2020 and 2021 seasons.
Horton then entered the transfer portal as a 3-star ranked transfer and enrolled at Colorado State. His production exploded across the 2022 and 2023 seasons, logging eight touchdowns per season and earning First-Team All-Mountain West honors both years.
Horton’s career came to an abrupt end at Colorado State after a knee injury midway through his fifth and final season of eligibility forced him to undergo season-ending surgery.
Tale Of The Tape
Tory Horton has been an explosive play waiting to happen for the Rams football program during the last two and a half seasons. The growth of his diversity as a player will ultimately define his ceiling and floor as an NFL talent, but there have been few wide receivers consistently winning go-balls down the sideline and outside the numbers like Horton during the past few seasons.
Horton stacks defenders well vertically, showcasing good secondary burst and slippery hands to fight over the top of contact when charged with playing vertically down the field.
But Horton isn’t an overly physical player, so opportunities to catch free releases are an important part of his puzzle. If he catches off coverage, Horton has the wiggle and quickness to win in this phase. If Horton stays a vertical plane receiver as his primary contributions deep into his NFL career, developing his release package and becoming more physical through press will be an essential development for him to maintain his impact in the same ways against more physical and elite competition.
Overall, physicality is a limitation that I don’t think it would be fair to expect much more from Horton. He’s a lean-framed player who thrives with fluidity, and you’d be better served to charge him with running off corners rather than asking him to try to block them with regularity.
His contributions to the running game are likely to be minimal, and I don’t foresee the kind of blocking prowess necessary to play him in the slot. In his three years with the program, Horton was predominantly lined up on the right side of the formation, so getting him more comfortable with flipping sides may also require some investment.
At Colorado State, more than 25 percent of his routes were go balls, with another 17 percent coming on the vertical plane and breaking into hitches. Only one other route frequency exceeded 7 percent, according to TruMedia — 13 percent of his routes were crossing patterns. In all, you’re looking at more than half of his career route volume across three routes.
Offenses that need a role player from the jump are likely to be attracted to his ability to track the football and make adjustments on the vertical plane. He flashes hands late, catches the ball well away from his body, and pairs it with good body control at the catch point.
Horton showcases good bounce and the ability to elevate to attack the ball as needed, creating a larger-than-average catch radius for him to adjust to a quarterback who trusts his timing and leverage against tight coverage. Once he’s secured the football, Horton does well to get his eyes into the field, feel space, and create added yardage to generate explosive plays.
Ideal Scheme Fit, Role
Horton is ideally a role player in an NFL receiving room early on. He will be at his best as a Z-receiver playing vertically on the perimeter. There, his ball-tracking and adjustments to the football must be respected, allowing him a chance to compete for snaps. He should be considered a developmental starter with a more favorable three-year projection than for just 2025.
Grade: 72.50/100.00, Fourth Round Value
Big Board Rank: TBD
Position Rank: TBD
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