Connor Colby NFL Draft 2025: Scouting Report for Iowa IOL

HEIGHT: 6'6"

WEIGHT: 309

HAND: 10"

ARM: 32"

WINGSPAN: 77⅛"

40-YARD DASH: 5.11

3-CONE: 7.78

SHUTTLE: 4.63

VERTICAL: 28'5"

BROAD: 9'2"

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POSITIVES

— Tall, lean and well-rounded build with good athletic ability.

— Proficient zone run-blocker with good quickness to cover up his target on combination blocks, cut-offs and climbs at the second level.

— Excels on the move using his size and quickness to line up targets, run his feet and stay attached to create rush lanes.

— Flashes of bracing with low, tight hands to anchor quickly and set a firm pocket.

— Shows good competitive toughness, effort and strain to finish blocks.

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NEGATIVES

— Upright playing style with shaky contact balance leaves him overextended vs. push-pull shed attempts.

— Erratic strike timing exacerbates middling arm length, giving up first meaningful contact to expose his chest and delay his anchor.

— Will open early and cross over against widely aligned rushers, which creates two-way gos and clean losses across his face.

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NOTES

— Born Jan. 16, 2003

— 4-star recruit from the 2021 class, per 247Sports

— 50 career starts at right guard (42) and right tackle (six)

— 2024: AP First-Team All-Big Ten

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OVERALL

Connor Colby is a four-year starter primarily at right guard, including 13 starts in 2024 inside Iowa's run-heavy (66-34 run-pass split) zone-based scheme with gap principles (counter) mixed in. Colby has a tall, lean and well-rounded build with good athletic ability and adequate play strength.

Colby wins as a run-blocker using his size, athletic ability and good feel on zone concepts to cover up his target on combination blocks, cut-offs and climbs at the second level. He closes space quickly on the move on climbs, screens and pulls to intersect targets with quick, active feet to widen out his targets and create lanes off of his backside.

Colby also brings good strain and effort to stick on blocks through the whistle even after giving up his edge. However, his upright playing style will sap his power on angle-drive and base blocks to halt movement and clog rush lanes while leaving him overextended against movement across his face.

In pass protection, Colby is largely shielded from being exposed on an island due to operating in such a run-heavy scheme. He has good initial quickness out of his stance on jump sets and has flashes of striking tight and inside of the bull rush to brace and anchor quickly. When isolated against wider alignments, he has a shaky anchor to his upright style, erratic strike timing and a bad habit of opening early when threatened with speed. That saps his anchor, creates two-way gos for rushers and leaves him vulnerable to losing clean across his face.

Overall, Colby brings plenty of experience with good athletic ability, competitive toughness and run-blocking skills to compete for a backup role at guard in a zone-based run scheme. However, he'll need time to iron out his shaky, unrefined pass protection ability and sustain skills before he's ready to enter an NFL lineup.

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GRADE: 6.1 (Developmental Prospect — Round 5)

OVERALL RANK: 211

POSITION RANK: IOL22

PRO COMPARISON: Nick Zakelj

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Written by B/R NFL Scout Brandon Thorn