Which Cowboy Will Have the Best NFL Rookie Season?

Oklahoma State’s 2025 NFL Draft class already made history tying the program’s largest group of draft selections in decades.

This fall those four players could cement their historic status even further with productive rookie seasons. This group feels capable of producing at least one or two immediate contributors.

The biggest question is which former Cowboy will make the biggest splash in year one?

The case for Nick Martin…

Look no further than the man who drafted Nick Martin as to why he could be the most impactful rookie from OSU (and the fact that he was drafted ahead of the others).

San Francisco 49ers GM John Lynch took Martin ahead of where most had projected him to go before raving about the style of player he is.

“Nick Martin, he’s the linebacker, he’s a run-and-hit player,” Lynch said. “He fits our style of physicality and playing the game the right way. Two-time captain at Oklahoma State. Just had our type of player all over it.

“Swarms to the football, and you feel him on the field. Not the biggest guy but has long arms. It kind of mimics Dre (Greenlaw) in a lot of ways. That’s high praise, and he’s got a long way to go to show that he can be like that, but that was a guy that was reminiscent of that.”

That comparison to Dre Greenlaw is extra relevant, as Greenlaw’s six-year stint in San Fran just came to an end. He signed a three-year, $35 million deal with the Denver Broncos this offseason. He started 56 of the 64 games he played in with the 49ers.  So, there is opportunity for Martin to step in and fill a role alongside four-time All-Pro Fred Warner.

Martin is a good football player (duh), fits the 49ers system and steps into a room that just lost one of its key pieces — sounds like an outstanding opportunity.

The case for Collin Oliver…

Given his day two selection in the NFL Draft, Martin probably enters the season with the largest role. It’s hard to argue that Collin Oliver will be able to match Martin’s consistency, but he could play his way into a more impactful role.

Oliver wasted no time breaking out at the collegiate level finishing his freshman year with an 11.5-sack season.

When OSU coaches decided to build the 2024 defense around his ability to affect opposing quarterbacks, Oliver seemed on the verge of a truly historic finish. In less than six quarters of action the senior hit, hurried or sacked the quarterback 14 times on only 46 pass-rushing snaps, according to Pro Football Focus. That rate would have fallen off over an entire season, but that demonstrates Oliver’s top-end potential.

And it’s not a coincidence that Oliver forced an interception which resulted in a game-changing Oklahoma State pick-six in his final collegiate snap.

Throughout his career, Oliver proved capable of wrecking opposing offenses and making high-leverage plays. Now he has to do the same thing against bigger, stronger, faster offensive linemen. However, it sounds like the Packers know what they’re getting in Oliver, describing him as a “designated pass rusher.” No offense to OSU all-time sack leader Leslie O’Neal, but Oliver probably would have left school with that record if he played his entire senior season.

If Oliver’s primary, and perhaps only, responsibility is finding a way to get to the quarterback in 2025 then I can’t envision a world where he doesn’t come through for the Packers at least a handful of times, and he only needs five to finish second on the team based on 2024 stats.