Historic Draft Class Adds to Kirk Ferentz’s Lasting Iowa Legacy

The 2026 NFL Draft has come and gone, and it turned out to be a record-setting weekend for the Iowa Hawkeye football program.

Seven Iowa Players Selected in NFL Draft

Dear Old Gold reports that seven former Iowa Hawkeyes were selected in this weekend's NFL Draft. That is an all-time record for the Hawkeye football program. Here are the players drafted.

• C Logan Jones - Chicago Bears - 2nd round
• OL Gennings Dunker - Pittsburgh Steelers - 3rd round
• WR Kaden Wetjen - Pittsburgh Steelers - 4th round
• OL Beau Stephens - Seattle Seahawks - 5th round
• LB Karson Sharar - Arizona Cardinals - 6th round
• DB TJ Hall - New Orleans Saints - 7th round
• DE Max Llewellyn - Miami Dolphins - 7th round

Counting this year's draft total, Dear Old Gold reports that Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz has now guided 101 Hawkeyes into the NFL. Since 2013, Iowa has had at least one player selected in the NFL Draft. While some Iowa fans will say that wins and losses are the goal of any football program, developing players and sending them to the pros is certainly something else to be proud of, and could end up being the enduring legacy of Kirk Ferentz at Iowa.

More Former Hawkeyes Sign with NFL Teams

While Iowa had seven players drafted by NFL teams, several more have already signed free agent contracts with teams. Hawk Fanatic reports that they include;

• QB Mark Gronowski - Miami Dolphins
• DB Xavier Nwankpa - Kansas City Chiefs
• DL Aaron Graves - Baltimore Ravens
• TE Hayden Large - Chicago Bears
• DE Ethan Hurkett - Kansas City Chiefs

No college football program does a better job of taking 2 and 3-star recruits and turning them into NFL-ready football players than the University of Iowa.

Good luck in the NFL, Hawkeyes!