With the 127th pick of the 2025 NFL Draft, Jalen Travis ’24 was selected by the Indianapolis Colts in an early Day Three selection. Travis becomes the highest-drafted player in program history, marking a huge achievement for the program.
At Princeton, Travis played on the offensive line as an offensive tackle. During his four years with the Tigers, he earned second-team All-Ivy honors in 2022 and 2023. He started all games in 2021 and 2022 before missing his final four with the Tigers in 2023 due to an injury. Off the field, he was one of just six recipients of the 2024 Coach Wooden Citizenship Cup and won a Truman Scholarship — a scholarship given to athletes to pursue graduate school and professional development in public service fields.
NFL scouts began watching Jalen Travis as early as his junior year at Princeton, drawn by physicality. At 6-foot-7 and 339 pounds, Travis projects as a formidable presence on the offensive line, with the tools to thrive in both pass protection and run-blocking schemes.
By his senior year at Princeton, the NFL Draft was becoming a real possibility for Travis; he was selected to the 2024 Senior Bowl Watchlist and was considered a late-round prospect in the 2024 NFL Draft.
Instead of declaring for the draft, Travis opted to use his fifth year of eligibility, taking his talents outside of the Ivy League and to the Big 12 Conference as an Iowa State Cyclone. Unlike many other schools across the nation, the Ivy League does not allow athletes to use their fifth year of eligibility outside of their four years of undergraduate studies.
At Iowa State, Travis’ abilities and draft stock only grew. Coming off an injury, he played in the final 12 games of the season, making 11 starts at left tackle and dominating on the O-line.
“Each institution, respectively, is viewed by these teams as being a tremendous addition or having tremendous influence,” Travis said to The Daily Princetonian about the role NFL teams’ perceptions of Princeton and Iowa State play in terms of his draft prospects. “The reason that they evaluated me and that the Colts, for example, ended up selecting me so high [is because] in Princeton, there is something that is completely well respected across the league.”
After his final collegiate season ended in a 42–41 win over Cam Ward’s Miami in the Pop-Tarts Bowl back in December 2024, Travis’ sights were firmly set on the draft.
The first big test for Travis came during the Senior Bowl, held in Mobile, Alabama on Feb 2, 2025. This mock game allows scouts to see players compete altogether as well as complete drills against one another to see how they stack up against the field. Travis, for his part, performed very well, already garnering attention for his athleticism.
His draft stock rose most abruptly after scoring a 9.09 out of a possible 10.00 in his Relative Athletic Score (RAS) in early March. RAS measures key physical metrics such as size, speed, and strength across several fields — Travis’ score placed him 137th out of all 1501 offensive tackles from 1987 to 2025.
“It was incredible. Every day presented a new challenge that you necessarily couldn’t prepare for in its entirety,” Travis said to the ‘Prince’ about the pre-draft process. “As someone who grew up watching guys compete on the [NFL] Combine stage, and to be there and be able to compete myself — and perform pretty well — that was super humbling.”
After the NFL Combine wrapped on March 2, 2025, Jalen Travis felt confident about his draft prospects as he continued interviewing with teams across the league. While his fourth-round selection may have caught some observers off guard, Travis and his camp expected it based on the strong interest he received throughout the process.
“We knew that [with] some of the feedback from the teams that I was projected to be more of a mid-round pick, anywhere between round three to the end of round five,” Travis said.
Nevertheless, the information given by teams to Travis was only a projection. Despite confidence within his camp, he knew that on draft day anything can happen.
“The funny thing about the draft is that it's a giant game of poker,” Travis explained to the ‘Prince.’ “Despite what you may hear from teams in the pre-draft process, the draft is so variable that you never really know how it's going to shake out.”
After being selected by the Colts, expect Travis to be a solid backup on the offensive line for his rookie season. Many predict him to slot in at right tackle, behind Braden Smith, although there is still a long offseason ahead. Being a rookie, the Colts will be hoping to develop the Minnesota native and get him learning the playbook quickly.
Indianapolis finished the 2024 season in disappointing fashion, with a 8–9 record and a second-place finish in the AFC South — not enough to earn them a playoff spot. In doing so, they extended their playoff drought to four seasons, something which Travis and the entire organization is working to avoid in 2025.
“I think they have a great culture coaching staff, and they recruit the right type of people,” Travis said of the Colts. “In a lot of ways it’s a continuance from what I had at Iowa State.”
“I also think there’s a tremendous opportunity within the team to one, compete to play, but also help this team return back to playoff level football, with the goal of winning a Super Bowl, which I do believe ... we have what it takes. I’m just eager to get in the room and start competing towards that goal,” Travis continued.
Head coach Shane Steichen is going into his third season with the team and will continue to call plays on offense next year. With other exciting draft additions such as top-rated tight end Tyler Warren out of Penn State in the first round and edge rusher JT Tuimoloau out of Ohio State in the third round, the Colts’ fan base has a lot to look forward to next season.
The new draft class — given an ‘A’ rating — combined with free agency additions safety Camryn Bynum, cornerback Charvarius Ward, and quarterback Daniel Jones help give the team a rehaul. Travis will look to find his place amongst this exciting roster as the summer begins.
“It’s been one of the biggest physical and mental challenges that I’ve been through, but one that I would for sure do again if I could,” Travis said to the ‘Prince’ of the last few months.
Travis becomes the first player drafted from Princeton since Andrei Iosivas ’23 who was selected 206th overall by the Cincinnati Bengals in the 2023 Draft and has since cemented himself as the 3rd-string wide receiver on the team — behind the likes of superstars Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins.
The Colts’ first games will be in early September and Travis should have no problems making the 53-man roster. Should he be included and see game time, he will become the 38th-ever Princetonian to reach the highest echelons of the football world.
Alex Beverton-Smith is a head Sports editor for the ‘Prince.’
Please send any corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com
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