This receiver's impressive college production and clutch playmaking could make him a dynamic weapon for America's Team.
Indiana Hoosiers receiver Elijah Sarratt has been well-traveled, playing at three schools during his collegiate career. But he has been successful at every stop and has led those teams to new heights.
Sarratt began his football journey as a freshman at St. Francis, an FCS school. There, he helped the Red Flash to a 9-3 record and a Northeast Conference championship. Sarratt caught 42 passes for 700 yards and 13 touchdowns. For his efforts, Sarratt earned FCS Freshman All-American honors.
Sarratt transferred to James Madison in 2023 to play for Curt Cignetti. For the Dukes, Sarratt caught 82 passes for 1,191 yards and eight touchdowns. Sarratt was named first-team All-Sun Belt as the Dukes posted an 11-2 record and Cignetti won conference coach of the year.
Cignetti got the job as coach at Indiana, and Sarratt followed. In 2024, Sarratt led the Hoosiers with 53 catches for 957 yards and eight touchdowns. He averaged 18 yards per catch. As a result, Sarratt earned third-team All-Big Ten honors.
Now Sarratt and the Hoosiers will play for a national title tonight in Miami. As a prime target for Heisman-winning quarterback Fernando Mendoza, Sarratt has caught 62 passes for 802 yards and a team-leading 15 touchdowns. He was named second-team All-Big Ten this past season.
Sarratt has had a distinguished collegiate career with 239 catches, 3,650 yards and 44 touchdowns in four seasons. He has one more task to accomplish: win a national championship. Truly, Sarratt’s journey is a real American success story. Not bad for a young man who was an unknown with a star rating of zero coming out of high school.
Sarratt projects as a second-round pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. One of the teams that could benefit from a playmaking receiver like Sarratt is the Dallas Cowboys.
Dallas already has CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens, with Ryan Flournoy as the breakout WR3.
But there is a lot to like about Sarratt as a fit.
Sarratt is considered a “key contributor” at the next level, but we project him as being even is better than that. Another key trait is his ability to come up clutch in key game situations to win football games. Below are two examples.
With the game tied 13-13 on the road at Iowa, Sarratt broke free for a 49-yard touchdown catch with 1:28 remaining to give the Hoosiers the 20-13 victory.
Against Oregon, also on the road, Sarratt caught an 8-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter to give the Hoosiers a lead they would not relinquish and later added a field goal for good measure in a 10-point win.
Assuming the Cowboys can acquire a second-round pick, the Cowboys can use it in a "BPA'' (best player available) scenario to select Sarratt. It would also give quarterback Dak Prescott another talented receiver to throw to.
Does Dallas "need'' a receiver? No. But ... Stranger things have happened at the NFL Draft. Sarratt could parlay his successful football journey into a passing game success story for the Cowboys in 2026.