Tory Horton Scouting Report
By: Michael Higgins
(Image courtesy of Michael Madrid/USA Today Sports)
School: Colorado State
Class: Senior
Position: WR
HT: 6’2
WT: 196 lbs
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Background: Tory Horton was a lightly recruited wide receiver out of high school. Tory’s brother, Tyler, was an all-conference cornerback for Boise State. Horton is from Fresno, California, where he attended Washington Union High School. Horton was a 3-star athlete and barely a top 200 player in the state of California for the class of 2020. He was a league MVP as a senior. Out of high school, Tory Horton committed to play for Nevada over Northern Colorado and Montana.
College: Tory spent two seasons at Nevada, totaling 995 yards and 10 touchdowns across 21 games. Horton then transferred to Colorado State after two promising seasons with the Wolfpack. Horton immediately became the primary weapon for Colorado State’s offense. He went for 71 catches, 1,131 yards and 8 touchdowns as a junior in 2022. These efforts were good enough to get Horton named to the all-conference first team. Horton had another dominant season in 2023, recording 96 receptions for 1,136 yards and 8 touchdowns. He was once again named First Team All-Mountain West. Horton was due for another prolific year as a swan song, but got hurt midway through 2024, causing him to miss the remainder of the year.
Strengths: Tory Horton is a deep threat with the ability to be a real asset in the red zone. He is a prototypical X receiver with strong hands to go up and make a play at the catch point. He high points the football well and is aggressive in his efforts to go up and get it. Even in traffic, Horton’s strength shines through to fight through the contact. He tracks the ball well over his shoulder and shows late hands on those deep receptions. Horton has deceptive straight-line speed. He can win by creating separation with short area quickness, but the speed in the deep areas is dangerous. Horton has excellent body control to turn himself and make a play on the ball. While he is an exceptional deep threat, he is just as dangerous with the ball in his hands. Offenses can take advantage of his speed and elusiveness by giving him scripted touches in open space. Horton is a threat at every area of the field.
Weaknesses: The number one issue with Tory Horton is that he is coming off of a knee injury that he sustained at the beginning of the 2024 season and ended his campaign. In terms of his product on the field, Horton is slow off the line. He does not have a quick release to challenge press coverage. Horton needs to beef up if he wants to be a traditional X receiver in the NFL. He feasted on Mountain West cornerbacks for the entirety of his career but the cornerbacks in the NFL will have no issues combatting his physicality at his current size.
Conclusion: Tory Horton has slid down draft boards due to his injury in 2024 and the question of if he will fully recover remains. However, if he does fully recover, the team that takes him is getting one of the better X receivers in the country.
Scheme Fit: Scheme Versatile
Ideal Role: Z Receiver
Best Team Fits: DEN, PIT, LAC
Player Comparison: Will Fuller
Player Grade: Round 4 (69.8)
