Where Iowa, Iowa State, UNI players have been picked in 2022 NFL Draft

With the 2022 NFL Draft complete, here’s where prospects from Iowa, Iowa State and Northern Iowa have landed, in the order they were selected:

Trevor Penning

Team: New Orleans Saints

Round: 1

Overall pick: 19

Position rank: Fourth offensive tackle drafted

Penning, the first first-round pick in UNI history, found a home with a team in clear need of an offensive tackle. The Saints lost Terron Armstead via free agency, so Penning has a good chance of starting right away in New Orleans.

What they’re saying: “He has some work to do in terms of consistency in pass protection, but the athleticism and nasty attitude are there to make it work in time,” NFL.com draft analyst Chad Reuter said.

Tyler Linderbaum

Team: Baltimore Ravens

Round: 1

Overall pick: 25

Position rank: First center drafted

Linderbaum fell a little further than most experts would’ve expected when he declared for the draft, but he landed in an ideal spot for early success. The Ravens had a pressing need at center, and their run-first philosophy fits well with Linderbaum’s strength as a run-blocker.

What they’re saying: “If he was an inch taller and if his arms were a half-inch longer he'd have been a top-five pick,” Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta said.

Breece Hall

Team: New York Jets

Round: 2

Overall pick: 36

Position rank: First running back drafted

Friday removed any doubt about whether NFL front offices thought Hall was the best running back in this draft class. The Jets said they tried to trade up near the end of the first round to try to get Hall. He’ll likely have an immediate impact on an offense that struggled to score at times in 2021.

What they’re saying: “The Jets now have a true RB1,” Bleacher Report NFL analyst Brent Sobleski said.

Dane Belton

Team: New York Giants

Round: 4

Overall pick: 114

Position rank: 12th safety drafted

Belton’s versatility should be a plus in the Giants’ defensive scheme. With Belton’s selection, Iowa has had at least one defensive back drafted in five of the last six years.

What they’re saying: “Belton provides much-needed depth at safety in the Giants secondary,” Bleacher Report’s Sobleski said.

Enyi Uwazurike

Team: Denver Broncos

Round: 4

Overall pick: 116

Position rank: 19th defensive lineman drafted

Uwazurike, who overcame a litany of challenges to get to the NFL stage, has exceptional size and athleticism for a defensive lineman taken in the fourth round. Measuring at 6-foot-6 and 316 pounds, he had a 33-inch vertical jump at the NFL Combine.

What they’re saying: “Enyi has grown so much in his time at Iowa State,” Iowa State head coach Matt Campbell said in a news release. “He was incredibly flexible on the football field and had great success regardless of where we lined him up."

Charlie Kolar

Team: Baltimore Ravens

Round: 4

Overall pick: 128

Position rank: Seventh tight end drafted

Baltimore has one of the more productive tight ends in Mark Andrews, so Kolar likely won’t be an immediate starter. But he’ll have the opportunity to learn from Andrews, who is a similar style of tight end, and further develop his blocking.

What they’re saying: “Charlie is one of the best competitors I have ever been around,” Campbell said in the news release. “He takes great pride in everything that he does, and that has set him up to be successful both on the field and off.”

Brock Purdy

Team: San Francisco 49ers

Round: 7

Overall pick: 262

Position rank: Ninth quarterback drafted

Brock Purdy is this year’s Mr. Irrelevant, the nickname given to the player picked with the very last pick in the NFL Draft. Barring the 49ers making an offseason move at the position, he’ll have a difficult path to a spot on the 53-man roster with Jimmy Garoppolo, Trey Lance and Nate Sudfeld already there.

What they’re saying: "He’s relevant to us,” 49ers general manager John Lynch said.

Notable undrafted prospects

» Where Iowa, Iowa State and UNI undrafted free agents have signed

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