Headed West: San Francisco Selects CJ West in Fourth Round
4/26/2025 1:00:00 PM | Football
GREEN BAY, Wis. – The San Francisco 49ers selected Indiana football defensive tackle CJ West with the 113th overall pick in the fourth round of the 2025 NFL Draft. His selection on day three of the draft marks the highest pick for a Hoosier since tight end Ian Thomas in 2018.
In terms of IU defensive selections in the NFL Draft, his selection is the highest since Tracy Porter was taken by the New Orleans Saints in second round of the 2008 event. He is the seventh Hoosier defensive tackle drafted in the common draft era (1967-present) and first since Nolan Harrison was selected by the Los Angeles Raiders in 1991.
At the 113th pick in the draft, West joins Carl Barzilauskas as the only IU defensive tackles selected in the top four rounds of the common draft. Barzilauskas was the No. 6 overall selection by the New York Jets in the 1974 draft. He is tied for the second-highest drafted defensive lineman in IU history with Victor Adeyanju, who was picked with the exact same pick by the St. Louis Rams in 2006. Nathan Davis is the highest selected defensive lineman as the No. 32 pick for the Atlanta Falcons.
His lone season in the cream and crimson featured a career-high-tying 40 tackles to go along with 7.5 tackles for loss and 2.0 sacks. He was the No. 9 graded defensive interior (83.9) in the Power 4 in 2024 and rated as the No. 6 run stopper in the Power 4 among interior linemen (88.1) according to Pro Football Focus.
In 52 career games at Indiana and Kent State, West totaled 150 tackles (68 solo) with 27.0 tackles for loss and 9.0 sacks. He added two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries, including one in the 66-0 defeat of Purdue to bring the Old Oaken Bucket back to Bloomington last season.
West enjoyed one of his best outings against Notre Dame in the College Football Playoff with six total tackles that included 1.5 tackles for loss. The Chicago, Illinois, native chipped in nine stops with one tackle for loss against Michigan and followed that up with three tackles and one stop behind the line at Ohio State.
In terms of IU defensive selections in the NFL Draft, his selection is the highest since Tracy Porter was taken by the New Orleans Saints in second round of the 2008 event. He is the seventh Hoosier defensive tackle drafted in the common draft era (1967-present) and first since Nolan Harrison was selected by the Los Angeles Raiders in 1991.
At the 113th pick in the draft, West joins Carl Barzilauskas as the only IU defensive tackles selected in the top four rounds of the common draft. Barzilauskas was the No. 6 overall selection by the New York Jets in the 1974 draft. He is tied for the second-highest drafted defensive lineman in IU history with Victor Adeyanju, who was picked with the exact same pick by the St. Louis Rams in 2006. Nathan Davis is the highest selected defensive lineman as the No. 32 pick for the Atlanta Falcons.
His lone season in the cream and crimson featured a career-high-tying 40 tackles to go along with 7.5 tackles for loss and 2.0 sacks. He was the No. 9 graded defensive interior (83.9) in the Power 4 in 2024 and rated as the No. 6 run stopper in the Power 4 among interior linemen (88.1) according to Pro Football Focus.
In 52 career games at Indiana and Kent State, West totaled 150 tackles (68 solo) with 27.0 tackles for loss and 9.0 sacks. He added two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries, including one in the 66-0 defeat of Purdue to bring the Old Oaken Bucket back to Bloomington last season.
West enjoyed one of his best outings against Notre Dame in the College Football Playoff with six total tackles that included 1.5 tackles for loss. The Chicago, Illinois, native chipped in nine stops with one tackle for loss against Michigan and followed that up with three tackles and one stop behind the line at Ohio State.
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