A hometown Iowa lineman who turned a seventh-round grade into a starting job for a 49ers offense that reached the playoffs.
Connor Colby stayed close to home at Iowa, starting 50 games for the Hawkeyes before San Francisco took a late flier on him in the 2025 draft. He answered by winning a starting guard job as a rookie, quickly looking like one of the steals of his draft class.
Path to the league
Colby was a four-star prospect out of Kennedy High School in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, who stayed home to play for the Hawkeyes. The San Francisco 49ers selected him in the seventh round of the 2025 NFL Draft with the 249th overall pick.
Career highlights
Colby earned Freshman All-America recognition from the FWAA and Maxwell Football Club after starting 11 games as a true freshman. He appeared in 51 career games with 50 starts at Iowa, moving between right guard, left guard and right tackle, and capped his career with first-team All-Big Ten honors in 2024 while helping Iowa post its best rushing numbers since 2015.
2025 season recap
Colby made San Francisco's initial 53-man roster and was starting at left guard by Week 2 due to injuries ahead of him on the depth chart. He appeared in 13 games with six starts as a rookie, logging 447 offensive snaps and adding two playoff appearances.
Sources
- 49ers.com: 49ers Select OL Connor Colby with the No. 249 Pick in the 2025 NFL Draft
- Hawk Central: San Francisco 49ers pick Iowa OL Connor Colby in NFL draft 7th round
Player Profile
Background
- Position
- Guard
- Group
- offense
- College
- Iowa
- Hometown
- Cedar Rapids, IA, USA
- Age
- 23
- Status
- active
