Oregon Ducks wide receiver Traeshon Holden was not taken in the 2025 NFL Draft, but the 6-3, 220-pound is headed to the Dallas Cowboys as an undrafted free agent.
Holden will be reunited with his former Oregon coach, now Cowboys receiver coach Junior Adams and Ducks teammate Ajani Cornelius, who Dallas added with the No. 204 overall selection of the 2025 NFL Draft.
Holden is a great fit for the Cowboys to catch passes from quarterback Dak Prescott. He joins a Cowboys receiver room that is highlighted by star CeeDee Lamb, followed by KaVontae Turpin and Jalen Tolbert.
His solid size, route running, plus reliable hands to go along with his body control is what catches the eyes of scouts and general managers. Holden shows comparisons to San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Juan Jennings thanks to his ability to contest for for catches and track deep thrown balls going downfield.
At the NFL Draft Combine, Holden ran a 4.57 40-yard dash, a 1.54 10-yard spilt, and had a broad jump of 10 feet, three inches as well as a vertical jump of 32 inches.
After transferring to Eugene from the Alabama Crimson Tide, Holden saw his overall production increase a multi-role receiver. He played some major parts in big moments throughout his career with the Ducks, including the 38-17 win at the Michigan Wolverines in 2024 and the 45-6 win over the Liberty Flames in the 2023 Fiesta Bowl. That should pay dividends when he makes the transition to professional football.
Throughout his two seasons under Oregon coach Dan Lanning, Holden finished with 1,170 receiving yards and 11 touchdowns on 82 receptions. He was named Honorable Mention All-Big Ten Conference in 2024. Lanning found him helpful as run blocker which has NFL coaches drooling of other ways to maximize his full skill set.
If he can work on dealing with press coverage and his overall speed after the catch, Holden has the potential to be a Pro Bowl caliber type of receiver.
Holden has had issues both off the field and on it, which is concerning if he will be able to focus completely on football. Most recently, Holden spit on Ohio State Buckeyes cornerback Davison Igbinosun which had him ejected during the 32-31 monumental victory back in October. In February of 2023, he was arrested on allegations of felony unlawful use of a weapon, but the charges were later dropped.
"One, extremely disappointed with his actions within the game, you know, there's absolutely zero place for that in our program, zero place for that in football. I reached out to coach (Ryan) Day, you know, expressed my frustration in that situation. I know Traeshon's extremely apologetic. He's embarrassed. He realizes how wrong he was in that moment. And we will handle some things internally. There is some discipline that exists there, but I'm going to leave that for us internally to handle and communicate."
- Dan Lanning on Traeshon Holden
Holden released an apology for the incident, and it appeared as though he was suspending for the Ducks' following game against Purdue.
Oregon's record-breaking 10 draft picks was split with five on the offensive end, the other being defensive specialties.
Defensive tackle Derrick Harmon - No. 21 (Round 1): Pittsburgh Steelers
Offensive tackle Josh Conerly Jr. - No. 29 (Round 1): Washington Commanders
Tight end Terrance Ferguson - No. 46 (Round 2): Los Angeles Rams
EDGE Jordan Burch - No. 78 (Round 3): Arizona Cardinals
Defensive tackle Jamaree Caldwell - No. 86 (Round 3): Los Angeles Chargers
Quarterback Dillon Gabriel - No. 94 (Round 3): Cleveland Browns
Running back Jordan James - No. 147 (Round 5): San Francisco 49ers
Linebacker Jeffrey Bassa - No. 156 (Round 5): Kansas City Chiefs
Offensive tackle Ajani Cornelius - No. 204 (Round 6): Dallas Cowboys
Wide receiver Tez Johnson - No. 235 (Round 7): Tampa Bay Buccaneers
