Iowa Football: Nine Hawkeyes invited to NFL Combine
When the NFL Combine takes place beginning later this month in Indianapolis, the Iowa football team will be well represented at the annual event.
The list of players invited to the NFL Combine was released on Wednesday and Iowa will have a record 9 players invited to participate. Those players include offensive linemen Logan Jones, Gennings Dunker, and Beau Stephens. Wide receiver and return man Kaden Wetjen will be in Indianapolis. On the defensive side of the ball defensive lineman Max Llewellyn, Karson Sharar, safety Xavier Nwankpa, and cornerback T.J. Hall. Finally, placekicker Drew Stevens will be at the NFL Combine. Scott Dochterman from The Athletic was the first to report this news.
Surprisingly left off the invite list this year was quarterback Mark Gronowski, who was recently named offensive MVP of the East-West Shrine game last month. Also left off the list was defensive tackle Aaron Graves.
According to Pro Football Focus, Iowa has eight players ranked as draft prospects heading into the 2026 NFL Draft.
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Gennings Dunker comes in at 84th , Beau Stephens is ranked 149th, Max Llewellyn is at 165th and Logan Jones is at 191st. Iowa defensive backs are next with T.J. Hall at 237th and Xavier Nwankpa at 275th. Mark Gronowski is ranked 310th and Drew Stevens comes in at 407th according to Pro Football Focus.
In the Ferentz era, Iowa has had 94 players drafted by NFL teams, including 13 in the first round. Last year the Hawkeyes had five players drafted by NFL teams. During the Ferentz era there have been three times where Iowa had six players drafted in a single year. Those three years were in row in 2010, 2011, and 2012. That included three straight years with first round picks in Bryan Bulaga, Adrian Clayborn, and Riley Reiff.
The annual NFL Draft will be taking place in Green Bay, Wisconsin starting April 23rd and ending on April 25th. Iowa will be holding their Pro Day sometime in late March.
