During his 25+ years as the head coach at Iowa, Kirk Ferentz has seen a lot of players selected in the NFL Draft -- 87 to be precise. 12 of those 87 were taken in the first round of the NFL Draft. Of those 87 players drafted, 18 were defensive backs. But he's never had a defensive back taken in the first round -- until now.
Cooper DeJean, a unanimous All-American and Big Ten Defensive Back of the Year in 2023, is widely projected to be selected sometime in the first round of the NFL Draft on Thursday night (7 PM CT, ABC/ESPN/NFL Network). Assuming that projection is accurate, DeJean will become the first defensive back of the Ferentz Era to be taken in the first round.
Iowa has had many excellent defensive backs over the last quarter-century -- including Bob Sanders, Sean Considine, Bradley Fletcher, Tyler Sash, Desmond King, Amani Hooker, and Riley Moss, to name a handful -- but none of them heard their names called during the first round of the NFL Draft. In fact, no Iowa defensive back has been taken in the first round since Tom Knight was taken 9th overall by San Francisco in 1997. That looks poised to change this year with DeJean, the latest standout defender to emerge from Phil Parker's tutelage.
Assuming the first round projections for DeJean prove accurate he'll also continue Iowa's recent trend of success in the first round -- the Hawkeyes have had at least one player taken in the first round in two straight seasons and in four of the last five seasons. That's a remarkable track record of developing players into potential stars -- especially since only one of those players (Tristan Wirfs) was ranked higher than a three-star prospect entering Iowa.
MORE HERE:
iowa.rivals.com
Cooper DeJean, a unanimous All-American and Big Ten Defensive Back of the Year in 2023, is widely projected to be selected sometime in the first round of the NFL Draft on Thursday night (7 PM CT, ABC/ESPN/NFL Network). Assuming that projection is accurate, DeJean will become the first defensive back of the Ferentz Era to be taken in the first round.
Iowa has had many excellent defensive backs over the last quarter-century -- including Bob Sanders, Sean Considine, Bradley Fletcher, Tyler Sash, Desmond King, Amani Hooker, and Riley Moss, to name a handful -- but none of them heard their names called during the first round of the NFL Draft. In fact, no Iowa defensive back has been taken in the first round since Tom Knight was taken 9th overall by San Francisco in 1997. That looks poised to change this year with DeJean, the latest standout defender to emerge from Phil Parker's tutelage.
Assuming the first round projections for DeJean prove accurate he'll also continue Iowa's recent trend of success in the first round -- the Hawkeyes have had at least one player taken in the first round in two straight seasons and in four of the last five seasons. That's a remarkable track record of developing players into potential stars -- especially since only one of those players (Tristan Wirfs) was ranked higher than a three-star prospect entering Iowa.
MORE HERE:
Go Iowa Awesome - 2024 Iowa NFL Draft Preview and Projections
Projections for when and where Iowa players could be taken in the 2024 NFL Draft.
iowa.rivals.com
