Atlanta Falcons sign Barry Wesley — former CSU walk-on inks NFL deal after making the most out of XFL opportunity

Barry Wesley has earned every opportunity he’s ever gotten. 

After not receiving a single Division 1 offer coming out of Bear Creek High School, Wesley walked on at Colorado State in 2017 and redshirted his freshman year. By his sophomore season, Wesley was not only on scholarship for the Rams, but was a starter for all 12 games. 

“Obviously he’s got God-given size, but the guy has worked himself into a position where he’s working with the 1s and 2s with our offense, and he’s only going to get better. He’s got a bright, bright future because of the way he works and goes about his business,” Mike Bobo said in 2018. 

Between 2018-2020, Wesley started 38 games for CSU, and what’s impressive is he recorded starts at both guard spots and both tackle positions. The 6-foot-7, 300-plus pound offensive lineman is incredibly versatile for a man of his size.

Following his redshirt senior season, Wesley elected not to use his extra year of eligibility from the Covid-reduced 2020 campaign and instead declared for the NFL Draft. Unfortunately he did not hear his name called in the 2022 NFL Draft though — only an invitation to rookie mini camp with the New York Giants, which did not lead to anything substantial. 

Instead of giving up his football dreams, much like he did as a walk-on in Fort Collins, Wesley bet on himself and landed an opportunity with the Seattle Sea Dragons of the XFL. This past fall Wesley started at left tackle for the alternative professional squad and stood out enough for the Atlanta Falcons to take notice. And on Monday, after a solid showing at Atlanta’s rookie mini camp, it was announced that he signed a contract with the Falcons. 

Obviously the process of making the team, or even the practice squad, is still a challenging road that lies ahead. There’s a lot of reps to be played out in training camp, the preseason, etc. The good thing is that Wesley never backs down from a challenge. And at this point, if you’re still doubting him, you just have not been following his story.