The UCLA Bruins’ football program saw five players selected in the 2025 NFL draft. With the exception of second round selections Carson Schwesinger and Oluwafemi Oladejo, the rest of the Bruins were drafted late, but each and every selection has a good chance of making the 53-man roster.

There’s still over a month of training camp ahead of Week 1 of the NFL season, but all five former Bruins have pathways to an active roster. The two second round picks, Schwesinger and Oladejo, are all but locks to make the roster as long as they stay healthy. Teams don’t punt on second-round picks this early in their career. The remaining trio of Kain Medrano, Jay Toia and Moliki Matavao all have a possibility to stick on their current teams.

Kain Medrano: Linebacker, Washington Commanders

Medrano was a sixth round selection for Washington but has already established himself in the Commanders’ second string defense as their strongside linebacker. 

Making the roster for a Super Bowl contender

Dean Jones of Riggo’s Rag listed Medrano as one of the five Washington players “stealing the show” in training camp.

“The UCLA product is making encouraging strides. Medrano’s physical attributes are absolutely off the charts, and the Commanders are trying to find the best way to maximize them. This involves the first-year pro spending time at the defensive second level and also as a safety in specific situations,” Jones wrote. It’s brought a positive response from Medrano, and he’s proving he belongs so far. Predicting anything other than a key special-teams role in Year 1 of his professional career would be foolish, but a bright future awaits if his early development is the start of something greater.”

Jay Toia: Defensive Tackle, Dallas Cowboys

Toia would have been selected earlier if not for such a talented class of defensive tackles in the draft this season, but he landed in a good spot, joining Dallas, which doesn’t have an especially strong interior defensive line room. 

Cowboys’ roster lacks depth

Toia is a 342-pound behemoth who certainly looks the part of an NFL defensive tackle. While Mazi Smith and Osa Odighizuwa are the Cowboys’ starters, Toia joins the small group of tackles fighting to make the team as their backups. Toia can take advantage of Dallas’s lack of run stuffers inside.

Moliki Matavao: Tight End, New Orleans Saints

The Saints’ starter Juwan Johnson returned to practice this week for New Orleans, but the spots behind Johnson on the Saints’ active roster will be up for grabs with Foster Moreau and Taysom Hill both battling injuries early in training camp. That opens the door for Matavao.

Jack Stoll, Seth Green and Michael Jacobson will join the seventh round pick Matavo in the competition to back up Johnson in New Orleans.