Iowa in the 2023 NFL Draft: Preview
Iowa has had at least one player selected in the NFL Draft every single season since 1978. That streak is a lock to continue in 2023 as the Hawkeyes have multiple players who are set to hear their names called over the next three days. The 2023 NFL Draft gets underway at 7 PM CT tonight (Thursday, April 27), with TV coverage from ABC, ESPN, and NFL Network.
Iowa has had 81 players selected in the NFL Draft since Kirk Ferentz took over as head coach in 1999. In the modern history of the NFL Draft (since 1994, when the draft was reduced to seven rounds) the most players Iowa has had selected in a single draft is six, which happened in 2010, 2011, and 2012. In that same modern era, the most players Iowa has had selected in the first three rounds is four, which happened in 2010.
Iowa has had a player taken in the first round of three of the last four drafts (T.J. Hockenson and Noah Fant in 2019, Tristan Wirfs in 2020, and Tyler Linderbaum in 2022). The buzz around Lukas Van Ness should provide him with a very good chance to become Iowa's fifth first-round pick in as many seasons.
Here's a rundown on who's likely to have their dreams of being selected in the NFL Draft fulfilled -- and where they're likely to be taken.
LUKAS VAN NESS
Mock Draft Summary
Yahoo!: Round 1 — #10
Yahoo! (Top 100): #15
PFF: Round 1 -- #9 Chicago Bears
ESPN (Miller): Round 1 -- #9 Chicago Bears
ESPN (Kiper/McShay joint mock): Round 1 -- #19 (Tampa Bay Buccaneers)
ESPN (Kiper mock - R1 only): Round 1 -- #11 Arizona Cardinals (via trade)
ESPN (McShay mock - R1 only): Round 1-- #24 Jacksonville Jaguars
ESPN (Kiper ranking): OVR 27 | DE 3
ESPN (McShay ranking): OVR 15 | DE 2
The Athletic: Round 1-- #10 Philadelphia Eagles
CBS Sports: Round 1 -- #12 Arizona Cardinals (via trade)
NFL.com: Round 1 -- #17 Pittsburgh Steelers
NFL.com Grade/Projection: 6.40 | Round 1
There's strong consensus around Van Ness being a Round 1 pick -- the only question is how early he goes. He could go on the fringes of the Top 10, but it seems most likely that he'll go somewhere in the teens.
DL Draft history
Adrian Clayborn is the highest-drafted DL from Iowa in the Ferentz era -- he was selected 20th overall by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2010. 15 other Iowa defensive linemen have been drafted since 2000. Clayborn is the only one to have been taken in the first round, though Matt Roth (2005), Jonathan Babineaux (2005), and A.J. Epenesa (2020) were all selected in the second round. Van Ness has the opportunity to join some very exclusive company.
JACK CAMPBELL
Mock Draft Summary
Yahoo! (Top 100): #50
PFF: Round 2 -- #55 Detroit Lions
ESPN (Miller): Round 2 -- #48 Detroit Lions
ESPN (Kiper/McShay joint mock): Round 3 -- #65 Houston Texans
ESPN (Kiper ranking): OVR 58 | ILB 3
ESPN (McShay ranking): OVR 58 | ILB 2
The Athletic: Round 2 -- #55 Detroit Lions
CBS Sports: Round 1 -- #29 Buffalo Bills (via trade)
NFL.com: Round 3 -- #73 Houston Texans
NFL.com Grade/Projection: 6.20 | Round 2
Campbell's productivity during four years at Iowa was immense, but his NFL Draft stock gets dinged a bit for two main reasons: he doesn't possess elite athleticism for modern NFL linebacker play, and he doesn't play at a high-value position, draft-wise; ILB tends not to be a position that teams covet in Round 1. Campbell should hear his name called in Round 2, though, likely around the middle or back half of the round. Several experts like the fit he could provide in Detroit.
LB Draft history
Chad Greenway is the highest-selected LB from Iowa in the Ferentz Era -- he was taken 17th overall by the Minnesota Vikings in 2006. Greenway is also the only Iowa linebacker since then to have been selected in the first round. If Campbell is taken in the second round, he would join Pat Angerer (63rd overall to the Indianapolis Colts) in the 2010 draft as the only other Ferentz-coached Iowa linebacker taken in the second round.
SAM LAPORTA
Mock Draft Summary
Yahoo! (Top 100): #72
PFF: Round 2 -- #45 Green Bay Packers
ESPN (Miller): Round 2 -- #63 Kansas City Chiefs
ESPN (Kiper/McShay joint mock): Round 2 -- #58 Dallas Cowboys
ESPN (Kiper ranking): OVR 36 | TE 3
ESPN (McShay ranking): OVR 43 | TE 5
The Athletic: Round 3 -- #70 Las Vegas Raiders
CBS Sports: Round 2 -- #59 Buffalo Bills
NFL.com: Round 2 -- #51 Miami Dolphins
NFL.com Grade/Projection: 6.18 | Round 3
LaPorta is rated as one of the top tight end prospects in this class and a pretty strong consensus has emerged for him to be selected in the second round. He doesn't quite have the extreme athleticism that tends to push tight end prospects into the first round, but he projects as a very solid, reliable option at the tight end position.
TE Draft history
Iowa has been a tight end factory (#TEU) under Kirk Ferentz, producing 11 future NFL Draft picks since 2000. The high-water mark came in 2019, when Iowa managed to have not one, but two tight ends taken in the first round -- T.J. Hockenson at #9 overall to the Detroit Lions and Noah Fant at #20 overall to the Denver Broncos. Hockenson and Fant are the highest-drafted tight ends in the Ferentz Era, though Dallas Clark (#24 overall to the Indianapolis Colts in 2003) is not far behind. LaPorta isn't likely to be the next first-rounder, but he should have an excellent opportunity to continue Iowa's rich legacy as TEU in the NFL.
RILEY MOSS
Mock Draft Summary
PFF: Round 5 -- #136 Chicago Bears
ESPN (Miller): Round 3-- #86 Baltimore Ravens
ESPN (Kiper/McShay joint mock): Round 2 -- #56 Jacksonville Jaguars
ESPN (Kiper ranking): OVR 69 | S 3
ESPN (McShay ranking): OVR 62 | CB 10
The Athletic: Round 4 -- #128 New York Giants
CBS Sports: Round 5 -- #172 New York Giants
NFL.com: Round 4 -- #128 New York Giants
NFL.com Grade/Projection: 6.12 | Round 4
Moss has one of the most intriguing draft profiles of any Iowa player in the 2023 NFL Draft — if only because no one seems quite certain what he'll be in the NFL. ESPN's Mel Kiper likes him to become a safety in the NFL, and ranks him as the 3rd-best safety prospect in this draft. Several other draft experts expect him to remain a cornerback in the NFL, where he has a lower ceiling, though even there the mock drafts range from him going in the third round to late in the fifth. Moss is most likely to be a Day 3 selection, but if a team really likes his potential fit in their defensive scheme, he could go higher than expected.
DB Draft history
Iowa is rightly lauded as #TEU for its pipeline for sending tight ends to the NFL, but it's also been highly effective at turning defensive backs into future NFL Draft picks. The Hawkeyes have had 17 defensive backs selected since 2000, from Matt Bowen in 2000 all the way to Dane Belton in last year's draft.
The highest-selected Iowa defensive back in the Ferentz Era remains Bob Sanders, who was taken #44 overall by the Indianapolis Colts in 2004. He just narrowly edges out Josh Jackson, taken #45 overall by the Green Bay Packers in 2018. Sanders and Jackson are the only defensive backs to have been selected in the first two rounds of the NFL Draft, though several have been taken in the third round, including Charles Godfrey (2008), Bradley Fletcher (2009), Amari Spievey (2010), and Michael Ojemudia (2020).
KAEVON MERRIWEATHER
Mock Draft Summary
PFF: Round 6 -- #191 Los Angeles Rams
ESPN (Miller): n/a
ESPN (Kiper/McShay joint mock): n/a
ESPN (Kiper ranking): OVR n/a | S 16
ESPN (McShay ranking): OVR 281 | S 23
The Athletic: Round 7 -- #245 New England Patriots
CBS Sports: Round 7 -- #226 Jacksonville Jaguars
NFL.com: n/a
NFL.com Grade/Projection: 5.90 | Round 6
Merriweather projects as a fringe prospect in this draft. Safety is not a high-value position in the NFL Draft, outside the very top prospects at the position, and Merriweather doesn't possess elite size or athleticism. If he's selected, it will be near the end of the draft on Day 3, in either the sixth or seventh round.
DB Draft history
See above.