Here are the 54 players from Utah who made initial 53-man NFL rosters

AROUND THE SHIELD — Simply being drafted in the NFL is the moment of a lifetime, but not all of the 257 picks in the annual NFL draft every April have made it, either.

For some, the challenge has just begun.

That could certainly be viewed the case for former BYU tight end Carsen Ryan and Utah's Dallen Bentley, two seventh-round picks by the Cleveland Browns and Denver Broncos, respectively, whose challenge from the day after the draft was making it past the cuts, waivers and roster simulations to an initial 53-man list after cut-down day.

Ryan, who played high school football at Timpview and American Fork before spending time collegiately at UCLA, Utah and BYU, had to fend off a pack of tight ends to earn a spot on the roster and battled through a foot injury in the final days of preseason to overcome his odds.

But the 6-foot-3, 255-pound pass catcher caught both of his targets in the Browns' 37-13 preseason win over the Patriots last Thursday two days after leaving practice early with a foot injury, and the rookie found himself on the right side of the bubble three days after that.

Ryan was one of three tight ends selected by Cleveland, a group that includes second-year pro Harold Fannin Jr.

Bentley, likewise, survived long odds to earn a spot among four tight ends in the Mile High City.

The Taylorsville High alum started his career at Snow College before starting 12 of his 13 appearances last season with the Utes en route to All-Big 12 third-team honors was selected with the No. 256 overall pick of the draft — the penultimate selection, just ahead of fellow Broncos pick Red Murdock. But Bentley survived a crowded room to beat out rookie tight end Justin Joly, a fifth-round pick, in the process.

Former Utah tight end and basketball player Caleb Lohner also made it through the Broncos selections, but was designated as reserve/injured and designated to return no earlier than Week 5.

"He has all the traits: the size, he can run, he has great ball skills being a basketball player," Broncos coach Sean Payton said of Lohner, per the team website. "This would have been a really important preseason and training camp for him. He just needs reps. We're still excited about him. He's here every day working, but we won't see him until late October or so."

In all, 54 of the 88 players from Utah high schools and colleges who started the NFL preseason made it to a roster, with the rest being waived, released or waived via injured reserve. The next step for the other 34 will involve finding a new team, clearing waivers, or earning a spot on one of the league's practice squads.

The University of Utah leads the way with 23 alums on a roster, followed by 12 from BYU, four from Utah State and Weber State,, three from Snow College and two from Southern Utah. Twenty-nine of the 54 players also played high school football in the Beehive State.

Here's a look at the list of initial roster additions:

Arizona Cardinals

• Tyler Allgeier, RB, BYU
• Simi Fehoko, WR, Brighton High (via Stanford)

Baltimore Ravens

• Tyler Huntley, QB, Utah

Buffalo Bills

• Cole Bishop, S, Utah
• Dalton Kincaid, TE, Utah
• Jackson Hawes, TE, Highland High (via Georgia Tech)

Carolina Panthers

• Brady Christensen, OG, BYU/Bountiful High
• Devin Lloyd, LB, Utah

Chicago Bears

• Jaylon Johnson, CB, Utah
• Clark Phillips III, CB, Utah
• Braxton Jones, OT, Southern Utah/Murray High

Cincinnati Bengals

• Ryan Rehkow, P, BYU
• Jalen Davis, CB, Utah State

Cleveland Browns

• Carsen Ryan, TE, BYU/American Fork High
• Spencer Fano, OT, Utah/Timpview High
• Winston Reid, LB, Weber State/Copper Hills

Denver Broncos

• Dallen Bentley, TE, Utah/Snow/Taylorsville High
• Garett Bolles, OT, Utah/Snow/Westlake
• Jonah Elliss, LB, Utah
• Karene Reid, LB, Utah/Timpview HIgh

Detroit Lions

• Sione Vaki, RB, Utah
• Penei Sewell, OT, Desert Hills High (via Oregon)

Green Bay Packers

• Chris Brooks, RB, BYU
• Jordan Love, QB, Utah State

Houston Texans

• Dalton Schultz, TE, Bingham High (via Stanford)

Kansas City Chiefs

• Kingsley Suamataia, OG, BYU/Orem High
• Khyiris Tonga, DT, BYU/Granger High
• Jalen royals, WR, Utah State
• Jeffrey Bassa, LB, Kearns High (via Oregon)
• Alohi Gilman, S, Orem High (via Notre Dame)

Las Vegas Raiders

• Matt Gay, K, Utah/Utah Valley/Orem High
• Taron Johnson, CB, Weber State
• Jackson Powers-Johnson, OC, Corner Canyon High (via Oregon)

Los Angeles Rams

• Puka Nacua, WR, BYU/Orem High

Miami Dolphins

• Zayne Anderson, S, BYU/Stansbury High

Minnesota Vikings

• Zemaiah Vaughn, CB, Utah

New England Patriots

• Caleb Lomu, OT, Utah
• Christian Elliss, LB, Judge Memorial (via Idaho)

New Orleans Saints

• Zach Wilson, QB, BYU/Corner Canyon High
• Julian Blackmon, S, Utah/Layton High
• Devaughn Vele, WR, Utah
• Kaden Elliss, Judge Memorial (via Idaho)

New York Giants

• Jack Kelly, LB, BYU/Weber State/Kearns High
• Jaxson Dart, QB, Corner Canyon High (via Ole Miss)

New York Jets

• Tim Patrick, WR, Utah

Pittsburgh Steelers

• Jaylen Warren, RB, Utah State/Snow/East (via Oklahoma State)

San Francisco 49ers

• Fred Warner, LB, BYU

Seattle Seahawks

• Connor O'Toole, LB, Utah
• Rashid Shaheed, WR/RS, Weber State

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

• Miles Killebrew, S, Southern Utah
• Keionte Scott, CB, Snow (via Miami)

Tennessee Titans

• Cody Barton, LB, Utah/Brighton High
• Mohamoud Diabate, LB, Utah

Washington Commanders

• Tanoa Togiai, OG, Utah

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