Former Nebraska football tight end Thomas Fidone II was selected by the New York Giants in the seventh round of the 2025 NFL Draft on Saturday afternoon.

The Giants took Fidone with the third selection in the seventh round at No. 219 overall. He joins defensive lineman Ty Robinson (drafted in the fourth round at No. 111 overall by the Philadelphia Eagles on Saturday) as former Huskers taken in this year's draft.

Fidone spent four seasons at Nebraska, recording 61 receptions for 633 yards and four touchdowns, all of which came in the past two seasons. The 2024 campaign saw him set career-highs in catches (36) and receiving yards (373).

Fidone is the first true tight end from Nebraska to be drafted since Tracey Wistrom in the 7th round of the 2002 draft. Niles Paul was a receiver at Nebraska before eventually converting to a tight end in the NFL — he was taken in the 5th round in 2011.

Nebraska head coach Matt Rhule is hoping the players who bought-in to his culture and stuck with it through hard moments — guys like Ty Robinson, Nash Hutmacher, Fidone, Isaac Gifford and others — start a trend where NFL organizations want to draft Huskers because of how ready-made they'll be.

"I think the thing that we’re trying to get done, is we really, really want our players, when they go to the NFL, to be pros," Rhule said on Tuesday, two days before the start of the draft. "As I tell them, when you’re in year one, I want you to be in year three mentally, if that makes sense. The guys are trying to figure out how to take notes and learn all of this information. We’ve put them in an environment where year one is actually year three and they’re further ahead."

Fidone was a four-star recruit in the 2021 class out of Council Bluffs (Iowa) Lewis Central. He was rated the No. 1 tight end and No. 36 overall prospect in his class.

Two ACL injuries impacted Fidone's career at Nebraska, delaying his development and leading to him only playing in one game his first two seasons. While there were hard moments for Fidone to get through on the field with injuries, and off it on social media with his own fan base, he stayed a Husker when it would've been easy to finish his career somewhere else.

Rhule appreciated that most about his tight end.

"There's no one more more loyal than Fidone, so I'm excited for him," Rhule said. "He's gonna get drafted I think. I mean, I've gotten more calls on him. He's an unbelievably freaky athlete. He took probably the toughest shot to the knee. I saw the practice rep. I almost threw up when I saw it. No disrespect to the kid who did it, I just have never seen anything like it. Sometimes I see some vitriol on Twitter for that kid, and it's like, why? Because he was a five star and you wanted a little more. That's tough. I think he's an amazing, amazing young man."

Rhule said he encouraged Fidone to go through the draft process and ultimately chase his dream of playing in the NFL following the 2024 season. Rhule called Jim Nagy, then executive director of the Senior Bowl before he took the Oklahoma general manager job, to ask if Fidone would have a spot if he declared for draft.

"I just didn't want to see him have another knee," Rhule said. "He had two of the toughest injuries, and he's fought back and he's carrying that on his shoulders, and he's so loyal and he plays hard. His best football is ahead of him. So I'm excited for him."

Here's what The Athletic's Dane Brugler wrote in his analysis of Fidone. Brugler projected the tight end to be selected in the 5th or 6th round:

"A two-year starter at Nebraska, Fidone was a Y tight end in former offensive coordinator Marcus Satterfield’s pro-style spread (61.5 percent of snaps inline, 35.1 percent in the slot). Highly recruited out of high school (ranked one spot ahead of Brock Bowers in the 2021 tight end recruiting class), his career was sidetracked by two major knee injuries, although he returned to the field and flashed that high-level ability.

Fidone is at his best on a linear plane, where he can get down the seam and utilize maximum extension with his arm length to pull in throws away from his body. He is cognizant of his hands and positioning as a blocker, but he is more of a “lose slowly” player than an overwhelming force. Overall, Fidone is a plucky athlete with appealing length and speed, but he hasn’t yet played his best football and will need to develop quickly once in an NFL camp to earn a role. He didn’t play much special teams in college, which will need to change at the next level."

Defensive back Tommi Hill, receiver Isaiah Neyor and defensive tackle Nash Hutmacher are the other former Huskers who have the highest chance of being selected in the 2025 NFL Draft.

Nebraska has not had at least five players drafted since 2011, when the program saw seven former players get selected – highlighted by cornerback Prince Amukamara, the Huskers' most recent first-round pick at No. 19 overall.

In all likelihood, though, the best-case scenario for Nebraska will be seeing four of its former players get drafted (Robinson, Fidone, Hill and Neyor), which would match the 2012 and 2016 classes for the program's most selections in a single draft since 2011.

In addition to Hutmacher, offensive linemen Bryce Benhart, Micah Mazzccua and Ben Scott, linebackers John Bullock and MJ Sherman, running back Rahmir Johnson, defensive back Isaac Gifford and punter Brian Buschini all have a strong chance of earning UDFA deals (undrafted free agent) once the dust settles post-draft on Saturday and Sunday.

“I think it’s very important to say that most of those guys were brought here by Scott Frost and his staff and his strength staff and all those people that were here," Rhule said on Tuesday. "I think that’s very, very important to say. Ty Robinson, Nash Hutmacher, Isaac Gifford, Fidone – those guys were brought here under that staff. I know the impact Coach Beckton (former tight ends coach Sean Beckton) had on Thomas and the relationship that they had. I think that’s important to say.

"We took an approach when we got here with everyone that was here – there was no ‘you’re old guys and new guys.’ You’re our guys. We tried to take that approach. We tried to develop. Corey (strength coach Corey Campbell) and those guys downstairs do a really nice job."

>> GAIN ALL-ACCESS with an annual or monthly subscription for less than $10/month

>> NEW SUBSCRIBERS get 30 days FREE

>> Sound off on the hot topics on our INSIDER'S BOARD

>> Follow us on Twitter (@NebraskaRivals)

>> Follow us on Instagram (@nebraskarivals)

>> Subscribe for FREE to the Inside Nebraska YouTube channel