Colorado junior wide receiver K.D. Nixon has announced that he will forego his final season of eligibility and declare for the 2020 NFL Draft.
Nixon was presented with CU’s Eddie Crowder Award at Sunday’s end of season banquet for outstanding team leadership and finishes his career in the top 25 in CU history in receptions and receiving yards, mostly amassed in his sophomore and junior seasons.
“K.D. Nixon has been a tremendous, productive and versatile Colorado Buffalo,” CU coach Mel Tucker said. “He’s a solid contributor that we’d love to have back for his final year, but I’m excited about his professional football future. We’re thankful for his hard-working attitude, his leadership on and off the field and how he’s embraced our relentless culture. I look forward to seeing him excel as an NFL player. Once a Buff, always a Buff.”
Nixon played in 35 career games and started 20 and ends his CU career with 90 receptions for 1,118 yards and seven touchdowns. He ranks 25th in CU history in both receptions and receiving yards. He also had 16 rushes for 30 yards and one touchdown, 43 kickoff returns for 770 yards and three punt returns for nine yards. In all, he amassed 1,148 yards from scrimmage, 1,927 all-purpose yards and nine touchdowns. He completed his only career passing attempt, a 38-yard touchdown to Dimitri Stanley. As a freshman, he also amassed 22 special teams points, second-most on the team and led the team with seven forced fair catches and seven times was first downfield.
He was a game captain for the UCLA game as a junior and named the NFF Colorado Chapter Player of the Week after the Nebraska game in which he caught six passes for 148 yards, including a 96-yard flea-flicker from Steven Montez. That play is the longest play from scrimmage in CU history and believed to be the longest flea-flicker in college or pro football history.
“This University has molded me into a man and helped me both mentally and physically,” Nixon said. “I will cherish the relationships I made here no matter what and always be very proud to be part of this family. Football has opened many doors and blessings in my life. I want to give thanks to everybody who played a part in my journey. After much prayer and discussion with my family, I have decided to forego my senior year and enter the NFL Draft. I’m looking forward to contributing on the next level. Rock out Buff Nation!”
Nixon will finish the semester academically and begin combine training in January. Some future dates of importance are the NFL Combine, which will be held Feb. 23-March 2 in Indianapolis, CU’s pro day in mid-March and the NFL Draft, which will take place April 23-25 in Las Vegas.
Nixon joins Laviska Shenault Jr. as the 10th and 11th Colorado players to declare early for the NFL Draft; the nine previous Buffs were all juniors as well and were all selected, including two in the first round (defensive tackle Leonard Renfro by Philadelphia in the ’93 draft and running back Rashaan Salaam by Chicago in ’95). Two others were second-round selections, the last two to declare: receiver Paul Richardson (by Seattle in 2014) and Isaiah Oliver (by Atlanta in ’18).
This is just the second time more than one player has declared for the NFL draft early; in 1995, defensive tackle Shannon Clavelle joined Salaam in coming out early. He was selected by Buffalo in the sixth round.
