Seven. Seven Hawkeyes. We have spent more drafts than we care to remember sweating out late-Saturday phone calls wondering if Iowa would squeeze in a kicker before midnight to keep the streak alive. Not this year. This year the Hawkeyes set a record, three offensive linemen heard their names called, and Kirk Ferentz quietly added another seven plaques to the wall in Iowa City.
The Hawkeyes have now had at least one player drafted in 48 consecutive years — the longest active streak in the country — and the Ferentz tally is now north of 100 NFL picks. Here is how each Hawkeye landed, what they are walking into, and the undrafted free agent class that might be just as fun to track this fall.
Development 101 📚The nation’s leading draft pick producer adds seven more. pic.twitter.com/iMrAAS6itw
— Hawkeye Football (@HawkeyeFootball) April 28, 2026
The Bears took the best center in college football, and they did it in the second round. Logan Jones, the Council Bluffs native who started 51 games at Iowa, walked off the stage in Pittsburgh as the 2025 Rimington Trophy winner, an Outland Trophy finalist, a unanimous All-American, and — this is the stat we keep coming back to — not whistled for a single offensive holding penalty all season. That is not a typo. That is the résumé of a player who is going to be on an NFL roster for a long time.
The fit is clean. Chicago’s incumbent at center, Garrett Bradbury, is on a short-term contract and Jones is going to push him for snaps from day one. Bears head coach Ben Johnson runs a wide-zone-heavy scheme that asks centers to climb to the second level and torque defensive tackles. That is exactly what Jones did to Big Ten interiors for two years. Pro Football Focus had him as the No. 1 center in college football. The expectation in Chicago is that he is the heir apparent in 2026 and the starter no later than 2027. We would not bet against him grabbing the job earlier than that.
And yes, because the draft was held in Pittsburgh and Heinz tied a marketing stunt to the 57th pick, Jones also walked away with a lifetime supply of Heinz ketchup. Iowa kid lands in Chicago with free condiments. The universe is, occasionally, fair.
Congratulations @logan_jones75 on becoming the first-ever Mr. 57 last night. Your custom jacket and lifetime supply of ketchup are on the way… #ItHasToBe pic.twitter.com/WiASThQjyS
The mullet is going to Pittsburgh. The Steelers traded up for him — flipping picks 99 and 216 to Seattle to jump three spots — which tells you exactly how much Omar Khan wanted him in black and gold. Dunker started all 13 games at right tackle in 2025, was a first-team All-Big Ten selection, and was a load-bearing piece of the Joe Moore Award-winning offensive line that paved the way for 176.7 rushing yards per game while allowing just 18 sacks all year.
Gennings Dunker. STEELER. pic.twitter.com/97ObWrKoRq
The projection is that he kicks inside to guard in the NFL, where his power and nasty disposition will play up. He also gets the bonus of reuniting with former Iowa running back Kaleb Johnson, who is entering his second year with the Steelers (and according to his new coach, his sins of last year have been forgiven). Pittsburgh’s interior line was a problem in 2025. They drafted a fix who already knows their starting back’s footwork. That is the kind of pick that quietly looks brilliant in three years.
As an aside to his potential on the field, Dunker and his mane have been cashing in on his newfound celebrity post-NFL Combine. The big man has been working with everyone from Casey’s to Buffalo Wild Wings to Head and Shoulders and SportClips. Good for you big fella.
Two Hawkeyes, same building. The Steelers were back on the clock in the fourth round and grabbed Wetjen, the first-team All-American return specialist who turned Iowa’s special teams into a weapon nobody wanted to face. As mentioned in our spring open practice rundown, Wetjen was drafted on Saturday to applause inside Kinnick. What we didn’t mention is that Kaden himself was actually on the golf course when he learned he had secured the bag.
Some dudes go to the draftSome host draft partiesSome get drafted while they’re playing a round with the fellas Kaden Wetjen is already a legend pic.twitter.com/w6vw3gjUCE
Wetjen finished 2025 with 1,039 return yards and four return touchdowns, the kind of game-flipping production that translates directly to the NFL on day one.
The slot/return specialist hybrid is a real role in Pittsburgh’s offense, and as we saw in the Senior Bowl prep, Wetjen has the route-running chops from his receiver work to push for snaps in three-wide sets. Realistically, his first-year impact comes on punt and kick return, where he is going to immediately be one of the best in the league. That is a fourth-round pick that pays for itself in field position alone.
The only real downside here is given the depth chart at RB, Wetjen may well be taking the job of the aforementioned Johnson, who had been essentially relegated to kick return with Jaylen Warren and Rico Dowdle in front of him in the backfield. I suppose if that’s the price we have to pay to have the highest drafted WR of the KF era and the third highest all-time behind only Quinn Early (1988 3rd rounder) and Tim Dwight (1998 4th rounder), that’s a sacrifice I’ll make. Time to start selling that, Tim Lester.
The defending Super Bowl champions just added another Hawkeye to the offensive line room. Stephens, a 6-foot-6, 320-pound guard who started 25 games over his Iowa career, slides into a Seattle offensive line that is one of the best young units in football. He probably will not start as a rookie. He absolutely should be active on game days, and the Seahawks have a history of developing mid-round linemen into quality starters.
WHOA Seahawks trade into the 5th for Iowa OL Beau Stephens! pic.twitter.com/iLUZHlgVTn
— SleeperSeahawks (@SleeperSeahawks) April 25, 2026