On the first night of the 2019 NFL Draft, T.J. Hockenson and Noah Fant became the 8th and 9th first round draft picks of the Kirk Ferentz era. Below is a list of all-time Iowa State Cyclones drafted in the first round: 1936: N/A 1937: N/A 1938: N/A 1939: N/A 1940: N/A 1941: N/A 1942: N/A 1943: N/A 1944: N/A 1945: N/A 1946: N/A 1947: N/A 1948: N/A 1949: N/A 1950: N/A 1951: N/A 1952: N/A 1953: N/A 1954: N/A 1955: N/A 1956: N/A 1957: N/A 1958: N/A 1959: N/A 1960: N/A 1961: N/A 1962: N/A 1963: N/A 1964: N/A 1965: N/A 1966: N/A 1967: N/A 1968: N/A 1969: N/A 1970: N/A 1971: N/A 1972: N/A 1973: George Amundson 1974: N/A 1975: N/A 1976: N/A 1977: N/A 1978: N/A 1979: N/A 1980: N/A 1981: N/A 1982: N/A 1983: N/A 1984: N/A 1985: N/A 1986: N/A 1987: N/A 1988: N/A 1989: N/A 1990: N/A 1991: N/A 1992: N/A 1993: N/A 1994: N/A 1995: N/A 1996: N/A 1997: N/A 1998: N/A 1999: N/A 2000: N/A 2001: N/A 2002: N/A 2003: N/A 2004: N/A 2005: N/A 2006: N/A 2007: N/A 2008: N/A 2009: N/A 2010: N/A 2011: N/A 2012: N/A 2013: N/A 2014: N/A 2015: N/A 2016: N/A 2017: N/A 2018: N/A 2019: N/A Wow, two 2019 tight ends > one player. Maybe next year, Cyclone fans!<doc-sep>This year marks the fourth time in less than a decade that the Iowa football program’s DBs fell later than expected in the NFL Draft. I’ll be honest, I should have seen this coming. It seems to happen literally every year to Phil Parker’s defensive backfield with the Iowa football program. The Hawks produce a great defensive back who has a ton of hype, and then they fall in that year’s NFL Draft. It happened to Micah Hyde. It happened to Desmond King, and it even happened to Josh Jackson. I really thought though that it would be different for Big Ten Defensive Back of the Year Amani Hooker this year. His versatility fits perfect with today’s growing trend of defenses going small to handle the rise in spread looks in the NFL. He can line up deep in a cover 2 or come up into the box and play the run if needed, and he can also move over to the slot if necessary. The downfall of Iowa football defensive backs is usually athleticism concerns, but Hooker managed to squash those concerns with an impressive display at this years 2019 NFL Combine. Iowa football player and Big Ten Defensive Back of the Year Amani Hooker was projected to be a mid-third round pick at the very worst, but unfortunately didn’t hear his name called Friday night on day two of the NFL Draft. Instead, the junior safety had to wait another day to get the call of a lifetime, which finally came part way through the fourth round of the 2019 NFL Draft. With the 14th pick in the fourth round, the Tennessee Titans selected Amani Hooker to come in and be a reserve safety behind Kenny Vaccaro. They clearly thought highly of the All-American safety as they traded up with the New York Jets to acquire him five picks before their original draft pick. Under Mike Vrabel, Hooker will have the opportunity to learn from a great defensive mind with Patriots roots and play behind a veteran safety in Kenny Vaccaro that can help ease the transition for the safety. It’ll be interesting though to exactly what role Hooker plays considering Vaccaro just signed a 4 year/$26 million contract extension this offseason. Either way, congratulations to Amani Hooker, and I can beyond excited to watch him prove NFL executives wrong as have past Iowa football defensive backs have done.<doc-sep>We all know Iowa has a rich history of putting tight ends into the NFL under Kirk Ferentz. Dallas Clark, Brandon Myers, Scott Chandler, and George Kittle come to mind, and even more have had a cup of tea in the league. With the Detroit Lions taking him with the eighth overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft, T.J. Hockenson now joins that esteemed group of Iowa alumni. He is the first non-QB offensive player taken and first tight end taken in the top 10 since 2014. Following a true freshman season where he was able to redshirt and learn from current NFL All-Pro George Kittle, Hockenson had a successful 2017 season for the Hawkeyes, garnering 24 receptions for 320 yards and three touchdowns. While he showed flashes of brilliance as a redshirt freshman (particularly against Ohio State, when he recorded a line of 5-71-2), he was incredibly steady at his worst and often overshadowed by teammate Noah Fant, who lit the Iowa record book ablaze with 11 touchdowns. While Iowa fans knew they had a guy with a lot of potential, very few were prepared for just how big of a breakout season T.J. Hockenson would have in 2018. He more than doubled his 2017 totals across the board on his way to earning Big Ten Tight End of the Year and John Mackey Award honors (49 receptions, 760 yards, six touchdowns) and did so in dominating fashion. He showcased good athleticism, reliable hands, and a knack for finding the soft spot of opposing defenses, and wrestled the team’s primary tight end position from Fant due to his elite blocking abilities. Now, as an acclaimed 6’5”, 250 pound tight end, he’s ready to take his talents to the next level. While Hockenson might not be the athletic freak that teammate Noah Fant is, he projects as a high-floor NFL tight end at the very worst. He doesn’t quite have the explosiveness of Fant or George Kittle before him, but his 4.7 40-yard dash time is the same time that Zach Ertz ran in 2013, so it shouldn’t be much of a concern for whatever team drafts him. Otherwise, his consistency is what will earn him playing time early on and keep him in the league for years to come - he’s a consistently good pass catcher, good route runner who will find soft spots in opposing defenses, and most importantly, a consistent and willing blocker. In conclusion: Big ups? You bet. Blocking ability? Oh yeah. TJ Hockenson really likes to block until the whistle and sometimes even past it. lol#TJHockenson @EatSleepFF @iglen31 pic.twitter.com/cPeOjHYAnG — John Chapman (@JL_Chapman) March 24, 2019 Made a sound I'm not proud of watching Hockenson run block here. The power he generates is something else. Just has excellent leg drive and effort as a blocker. #NFLDraft pic.twitter.com/uw2smFDVt0 — Evan Lazar (@ezlazar) February 14, 2019 Good (enough) speed? Sure! Best of luck to TJ Hockenson. We can’t wait to closely follow your career at the next level!<doc-sep>NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE - APRIL 25: T.J. Hockenson of Iowa poses with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell after being chosen #8 overall by the Detroit Lions during the first round of the 2019 NFL Draft on April 25, 2019 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) The 2019 NFL Draft was a ton of fun for the Iowa football program as four players heard their name called, the 4th most in the Big Ten. It’s quite apparent that the Iowa football program is entering a new age of Hawkeyes football. Prior to the 2019 NFL Draft, four underclassmen declared, setting a program record. Then, over this weekend, all four of those players heard their names called by the time we reached the middle of the fourth round. While there were a few Iowa football graduates that were expected to be looked at late on day three, ultimately all 32 NFL teams passed on the likes of Ross Reynolds, Keegan Render, and Nick Easley among others. All three of those guys have signed UDFA contracts and the other graduated members of the Iowa football team are working out the details of their NFL careers, but what really stands out is that the Hawks had the 4th most players drafted in the Big Ten, behind just Ohio State, Penn State, and Michigan, and had the three guys above been taken, the Hawks would have been sitting in second place in the Big Ten. What’s crazy is those three games have very solid chances to be on an active 53-man roster come to the start of the NFL season, but for one reason or another did not warrant a late-round selection by an NFL team. Looking at just the first round, the Iowa football team actually tied for 1st in first-round selections with the Ohio State Buckeyes when both starting tight ends were drafted before pick 21. The Big Ten itself had a fine showing over the three day NFL draft period, finishing second in the number of conference draft picks behind the SEC. The Big Ten had 40 selections compared to the SEC’s 63 but had 7 more selections than the next closest conference, the Pac-12. With the Iowa football program gearing up to be just as good if not better next season, expect the total number of selections to rise from this year’s 4. The Hawks already have one projected top-ten pick in AJ Epenesa, and there could be multiple other early entrants when the dust settles, not to mention senior quarterback Nate Stanley among seniors who could see their stock rise during the 2019 NFL season.<doc-sep>
NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE - APRIL 25: Noah Fant of Iowa poses with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell after being chosen #20 overall by the Denver Broncos during the first round of the 2019 NFL Draft on April 25, 2019 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) The first night of the 2019 NFL Draft is over, and the Iowa football team made history with two tight ends going in the first round. As we expected, last night was a historical evening for the Iowa football program. Both of the Hawkeye’s starting tight ends, Noah Fant and TJ Hockenson, were drafted in the first round, making that the first ever occurrence in the history of the NFL Draft. John Mackey Award-winning tight end TJ Hockenson was taken at 8th overall by the Detroit Lions and First Team All-Big Ten tight end Noah Fant was drafted 20th overall by the Denver Broncos. Matt Patricia’s Lions picking Hockenson makes a ton of sense given his New England Patriots background. It gives the Lions a versatile weapon that will help pave the way for last year’s second-round pick Kerryon Johnson and it gives Matt Stafford a reliable target in the passing game at the tight end position. Since Stafford’s arrival in 2009, Detroit has attempted to give him a tight end twice with first-round picks (Brandon Pettigrew and Eric Ebron), but they struck out. That will change with Hockenson, I guarantee it. Here’s FanSided’s breakdown of the former Iowa football player. Noah Fant is heading to a somewhat similar situation in the Denver Broncos have attempted to fill their gaping hole at tight end with has-beens and mid-round draft picks for the last several years. They’ve even tapped into the Big Ten pipeline drafting a former Big Ten tight end three of the last four years with Jeff Heuerman (2015 – Ohio State), Jake Butt (2017 – Michigan), Troy Fumagalli (2018 – Wisconsin), yet that has been unsuccessful as well mostly due to injuries. Now with a new head coach in Vic Fangio and a young and exciting offensive coordinator in Rick Scangarello, Fant is heading to a perfect situation. For those of you not familiar with Scangarello, he was an instrumental part in San Francisco’s offense last season that saw both Nick Mullens and CJ Beathard have success and saw former Iowa football player George Kittle emerge as an elite tight end. Interestingly enough, Noah Fant, not TJ Hockenson, is very similar to his former Iowa football teammate. Both have great straight line speed and are willing and aggressive blockers, and if this last season is any indication, Fant should be very excited. Kittle caught 88 passes for 1,377 yards while earning Pro Bowl and All-Pro honors. Those are lofty numbers but not unrealistic to expect big things from Fant in Denver’s offense featuring a quarterback (Joe Flacco) who loves to throw to his tight ends. Furthermore, with the concern for Fant’s blocking ability, it’s worth noting that the Broncos hired Mike Munchak, a noted blocking guru who will likely help Fant make gains in that facet of his game. Here’s FanSided’s breakdown of Noah Fant. The bottom line is both of these players went to great situations with established quarterbacks, which puts them in a fantastic situation to succeed. Now, we play the waiting game as day two of the 2019 NFL Draft kicks off this evening at 6 PM Central Standard Time. We’re likely to hear two more Iowa football players be selected with Amani Hooker and Anthony Nelson projected to go late second to early third.