A pair of the Treasure State’s favorite sons were among the three players drafted out of the Big Sky Conference on Saturday.
Tommy Mellott, last season’s Walter Payton Award winner as the FCS national Offensive Player of the Year at Montana State, went in the sixth round, 213th overall, to the Las Vegas Raiders. The Butte native was a four-year starter at Montana State, leading the Bobcats to two Big Sky championships and two appearances in the FCS national title game.
Junior Bergen, the most electrifying punt returner the league or FCS has ever seen, had his name called in the 7th round. The Billings native went No. 252 overall to the San Francisco 49ers. Bergen returned eight punts for touchdowns in his illustrious career, including five in the FCS playoffs, helping Montana on a run to the 2023 national title game.
Jackson Slater, a three-time All-Big Sky selection at Sacramento State, was the first Big Sky player drafted. He went No. 167 overall in the fifth round to the Tennessee Titans.
Mellott became the 32nd native Montanan to be drafted in the first seven rounds of the draft and the 63rd overall. Bergen then joined him as the 33rd and 64th, respectively.
“On his pro day, he was in the 4.3s (in the 40-yard dash). He’s an athlete,” said NFL Draft guru Mel Kiper after Mellott was drafted. “He’s like Julian Edelman, the former Kent State quarterback. The Raiders think they can do the same thing with Tommy Mellott.”
The Butte High graduate is the first former Bobcat to get drafted to the NFL since 2022, when linebacker Troy Andersen (a Dillon native) went in the second round to the Atlanta Falcons and defensive end Daniel Hardy went in the seventh to the Los Angeles Rams. Andersen is coming off a knee injury that required surgery heading into his fourth season in the NFL. Hardy is currently on the active roster for the Chicago Bears.
Other former Bobcats in the NFL includes linebacker Alex Singleton, who’s slated to be the starting middle linebacker for the Denver Broncos if he can come back strong from a knee injury that ended the 2024 season; and Ty Okada, who is in his second season bouncing between the practice squad and the active roster for the Seattle Seahawks.
The 49ers announced Bergen was picked as a receiver but GM John Lynch mentioned his ability as a returner. The 49ers have a few ties to the University of Montana. Former Griz All-American Colt Anderson is the assistant special teams coach for the 49ers. And 49ers special teams coordinator Brant Boyer has a son – current Griz kicker Brayton Boyer – playing at UM.
“This guy’s kind of become this sensation,” Lynch said in a press conference. “Brant (Boyer) and Colt Anderson, kept talking about this kid from Montana and really selling him to us and they did a really good job. Ultimately, at the end, it’s like, OK, are we going to have a chance at free agency if we don’t draft him? Is someone else going to draft him right at the end?
“Ultimately, I do think and believe that there’s added value in returners with the adjustment to the kickoff and the touchbacks coming all the way out to the 35. Probably people are going to be less inclined to just kick it through the end zone; more return opportunities.”
Bergen is the first Griz to be drafted since 2016, when defensive end Tyrone Holmes was selected by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the sixth round.
Former Griz offensive lineman Dylan Cook, a Butte native, is currently on the active roster for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Kalispell product Patrick O’Connell is like Okada, an undrafted free agent who’s spent the last few seasons bouncing back and forth between the Seahawks’ active roster and practice squad. Samori Toure played at Montana from 2016 until 2019 before transferring to Nebraska. He was a 7th round pick by the Green Bay Packers and now plays for the Chicago Bears.
Marcus Harris, a cornerback who was first-team All-Big Sky in 2023 at Idaho before playing last season at Cal, was a sixth-round pick by the Tennessee Titans.
Other former Big Sky Conference standouts who are getting shots in the NFL include:
- Cal Poly edge Elijah Ponder, New England Patriots, UDFA
- Eastern Washington WR Efton Chism III, New England Patriots, UDFA
- Idaho DB Tommy McCormick, New York Giants
- Montana DE Hayden Harris, Buffalo Bills, UDFA
- UC Davis RB Lan Larison, New England Patriots UDFA
- Montana State DE Brody Grebe, Minnesota Vikings, Mini Camp invite
- Montana State P Brendan Hall, Green Bay Packers, Mini camp invite
- UC Davis DL Zach Kennedy, Denver Broncos, Mini-camp invite
- Montana OL Brandon Casey, Seattle Seahawks, mini-camp invite
- Montana State OL Marcus Wehr, Seattle Seahawks, mini-camp invite
Former Big Sky Conference players who finished their careers outside the league:
- Idaho/Cal DB Marcus Harris, Tennessee Titans, fifth round, pick No. 183
- Montana State/California OL Rush Reimer, Buffalo Bills, UDFA
- Montana State/Washington DT Sebastian Valdez, Washington Commanders, UDFA
