Iowa in the 2023 NFL Draft: Historic Success
By several measures, the 2023 NFL Draft that wrapped up this weekend was one of the most successful ever for Iowa football. It wasn't Iowa's most successful in terms of total draft picks -- the four selections in this year's draft was more on par for Iowa's average during the Ferentz Era (3.79 picks per draft). In fact, Iowa has had five or more picks seven times since 2000, topping out at six apiece in the 2010, 2011, and 2012 drafts.
No, the historic strength of his draft class was at the top, rather than its depth. All four of Iowa's selections came in the first 83 picks of the draft, best in the Ferentz Era. The only other draft in that time that featured four picks in the first three rounds was 2010, when four Iowa players (Bryan Bulaga, Pat Angerer, Amari Spievey, and Tony Moeaki) were selected in the first 93 selections.
Prior to this year's draft, Iowa had only had two first-round picks once in the Ferentz era: 2019, when T.J. Hockenson was taken by Detroit with the 8th pick and Noah Fant was taken by Denver with the 20th pick. The Hawkeyes matched that this year with Lukas Van Ness going 13th to Green Bay and Jack Campbell going 18th to Detroit.
That 2019 didn't have any other Hawkeyes selected until Anthony Nelson was taken in the 107th pick in the fourth round. This year Iowa had three picks in the top 34 selections -- just shy of three first-round selections. No other draft in the Ferentz Era can match that performance at the top of the draft.
All-time, the most recent comparable draft performance might been in 1986, when Iowa had three first-round selections (Chuck Long at 12, Ronnie Harmon at 16, and Mike Haight at 22).
From a positional standpoint, this draft featured several other Ferentz Era superlatives for Iowa as well.
* Lukas Van Ness became the highest drafted defensive lineman (13th), topping Adrian Clayborn (20th in 2011)
* Jack Campbell became the second-highest drafted linebacker (18th), just shy of Chad Greenway (17th in 2006)
* Sam LaPorta became the fourth-highest drafted tight end (34th), behind Hockensen, Fant and Dallas Clark (24th in 2003).
Draft Success vs On-Field Success
One slight cloud over Iowa's unprecedented success in the 2024 NFL Draft? It came in the wake of a season not many Iowa fans will remember with great fondness. Iowa went 8-5 in 2022, including a Music City Bowl win over Kentucky. Iowa has certainly enjoyed more notable success in several seasons that preceded standout draft classes.
In terms of early-round success, this draft was probably most comparable to the drafts in 2003 (three picks in the Top 50), 2010 (four picks in the first three rounds), and 2020 (three picks in the first 77 selections). Those drafts came in the wake of a pair of 11-win seasons that ended in Orange Bowl trips and a 10-win effort that wrapped up with a Holiday Bowl win over USC.
Obviously, the 2022 season didn't exactly measure up to those campaigns.
Of course, big drafts for Iowa haven't always been perfectly correlated to successful regular seasons. The 2011 and 2012 drafts each featured six Hawkeyes drafted, despite coming after 8- and 7-win seasons. Iowa had four players taken in 2016 after another 8-win effort the year before.
Iowa's showing in the 2023 NFL Draft does provide another data point related to the ongoing frustration around the Iowa offense. Iowa went 8-5 in 2022, but through no fault of the defense -- that's proven through any number of stats (1st in yards allowed per play, 2nd in points allowed and yards allowed per game, to name a few) as well as the impressive draft placements of Van Ness, Campbell, and Moss.
Instead, we're left with more lingering "what if"s about what Iowa could have managed to do in 2022 with a capable offense, instead of a unit that posted historically terrible numbers on that side of the ball.