Pro scouts are filing evaluation reports on Colorado tackle Xavier Payne and edge rusher Domata Peko Jr., marking the first time since Deion Sanders arrived in Boulder that multiple underclassmen have entered the NFL pre-draft intelligence cycle before their junior seasons.
Payne, a 6'5" tackle who enrolled in January 2025, and Peko Jr., son of 13-year NFL veteran Domata Peko, are appearing in regional scout rotations typically reserved for upperclassmen with multi-year tape. Three NFC personnel executives confirmed they've received preliminary character and athleticism reports on both players, standard protocol when a program signals it can produce consecutive draft classes.
The attention matters because Sanders has one former Colorado player drafted under his tenure—two-way star Travis Hunter, selected fifth overall in 2025. That's the entire output. USC, by comparison, placed seven players in the same draft. Programs that want Nike treatment, Under Armour bidding wars, and ESPN's full scheduling cooperation need predictable draft throughput, not one-year spikes. Hunter was exceptional. Payne and Peko Jr. test whether Boulder can produce the ordinary first-weekend pick.
Peko Jr. carries the cleaner projection. His father played 184 NFL games across Detroit, Cincinnati, Denver, Baltimore, and Arizona, giving the younger Peko access to film study habits and contract-year conditioning regimens most college rushers learn as rookies. One AFC West scout noted Peko Jr.'s hand placement in spring practice film resembled his father's 2012 tape, the season Domata Peko recorded 52 tackles and 3.5 sacks as a rotational tackle. Scouts value inherited technique because it eliminates one teaching variable.
Payne presents the riskier evaluation. He has eight games of Power Four tape, all from 2025, and played behind an offensive line that allowed 38 sacks, third-worst in the Big 12. Scouts typically want 24-30 games before filing confident projections on tackles, whose errors compound in obvious patterns over time. Payne's inclusion in early reports suggests his athletic testing—likely sub-5.2 forty-yard dash at his size—has triggered the measurements-first evaluation path that bypasses the tape-volume requirement.
Sanders' recruiting pitch has always centered on NFL placement speed. He told prospects he would "get them to the league" faster than traditional programs, leveraging his Hall of Fame credibility and personal relationships with 31 of 32 current general managers. The problem: that promise requires actual draft results, not just Hunter's singular excellence. Programs like Georgia and Alabama sustain their recruiting classes because they place 8-12 players per draft cycle, creating roster churn that opens scholarships for the next class. Colorado needs to prove it can replicate that production rhythm.
The Buffaloes face a structural disadvantage. Sanders inherited a 1-11 roster in 2023 and rebuilt through the transfer portal, not high school recruiting. That strategy produces immediate competitiveness—Colorado went 4-8 in Sanders' first season and 9-4 in his second—but leaves the program thin on underclassmen development. Payne and Peko Jr. are exceptions, traditional recruits who arrived young enough to accumulate the multi-year tape scouts prefer.
Two factors complicate their projections. First, Colorado's strength and conditioning program remains under scrutiny after 14 players entered the transfer portal citing workload concerns in January 2025. NFL teams want evidence a prospect can handle an 18-week season plus playoffs; programs with conditioning controversies raise questions about whether a player's college durability will translate. Second, the Big 12's transition to a 16-team conference in 2024 has diluted its competitive credibility. Scouts discount stats from leagues where half the opponents field losing records.
Watch for two milestones. Payne needs 600+ snaps in 2026 at left tackle, Colorado's most vulnerable position after losing its starter to graduation. If he logs that volume without allowing more than 4 sacks, he enters the 2027 draft conversation as a possible second-day pick. Peko Jr. needs 8+ sacks this fall to justify the early evaluation attention; edge rushers with famous last names who underperform get labeled busts faster than anonymous prospects.
Sanders' next recruiting class, signing in February 2026, will reveal whether these early scout reports translate into leverage. Programs use draft buzz to close five-star recruits in December, when teenagers see upperclassmen getting timed at pro days and assume the same conveyor belt awaits them. If Payne and Peko Jr. maintain their evaluation momentum through fall camp, Sanders can point to a multi-year pipeline, not just Hunter's outlier season.
The Buffaloes open their 2026 schedule against North Dakota State on August 30, a week earlier than most Power Four programs. That extra game matters for underclassmen tape; scouts prefer 13 games over 12 when filing pre-draft reports. Payne starts at left tackle. Peko Jr. is listed as a rotational edge, with a path to 40+ snaps per game if he wins the two-deep competition in August.