Where draft experts project former Iowa players to be drafted in 2023

IOWA CITY — Iowa football could be going from one extreme to the other with this year’s NFL Draft.

The Hawkeyes had one of their smaller NFL Draft classes in recent history in 2022. Two players selected marked the fewest for the Hawkeyes since 2016.

The floor for Iowa in the 2023 NFL Draft is four players selected, on the other hand, and five is realistic. Five would be tied with the 2020 group for the most Hawkeyes drafted in the last decade.

Mock drafts are far from perfect in predicting who will go where. ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr., for example, correctly picked only four of the first 23 picks in his final mock draft of 2022.

Accuracy aside, it also is not a great way of predicting where later-round prospects will go because most only prognosticate the first and/or second rounds.

With those asterisks in mind, here is where many draft experts are expecting the Hawkeyes’ NFL Draft prospects to land:

Lukas Van Ness

ESPN’s Mel Kiper (April 11): 24th to Jacksonville

ESPN’s Todd McShay (April 4): 10th to Philadelphia

ESPN’s Jordan Reid (March 29): 20th to Seattle

CBS Sports’ Josh Edwards (April 14): 12th to Houston

Associated Press’ Rob Maaddi (April 12): 10th to Houston (projected trade)

Lukas Van Ness has been consistently projected to go in the first round. Where in the first round? That’s anything but consistent among draft experts.

McShay “thought about” slotting Van Ness at No. 8 to Atlanta, but others expect him to go later in the first round.

Jack Campbell

ESPN’s Mel Kiper (April 11): 48th to Detroit

ESPN’s Todd McShay (April 4): 48th to Detroit

ESPN’s Jordan Reid (March 29): 52nd to Seattle

CBS Sports’ Josh Edwards (April 14): Not in first round

Associated Press’ Rob Maaddi (April 12): 27th to Buffalo

Jack Campbell undoubtedly improved his draft stock at the NFL Combine, and that shows with recent mock draft projections.

“He’s tested better than a lot of people thought,” said Jim Nagy, the executive director of the Senior Bowl and a longtime NFL scout, on The Gazette’s Hawk Off the Press podcast.

Sam LaPorta

ESPN’s Mel Kiper (April 11): Not in first two rounds

ESPN’s Todd McShay (April 4): 55th to Detroit

ESPN’s Jordan Reid (March 29): 60th to Cincinnati

CBS Sports’ Josh Edwards (April 14): Not in first round

Associated Press’ Rob Maaddi (April 12): Not in first round

Draft projections at this point seem to point toward LaPorta being a second-day pick. Pro Football Focus ranks him as the third best tight end in the 2023 class, with Oregon State’s Luke Musgrave not far behind him.

Nagy described LaPorta as an “all-around” tight end.

“He'll be a really good No. 2 or solid starter-level player,” Nagy said.

Riley Moss

ESPN’s Mel Kiper (April 11): Not in first two rounds

ESPN’s Todd McShay (April 4): 59th to Buffalo

ESPN’s Jordan Reid (March 29): 131st to Cincinnati

CBS Sports’ Josh Edwards (April 14): Not in first round

Associated Press’ Rob Maaddi (April 12): Not in first round

The two of the five mock drafts with projections for Moss have two considerably different opinions on the former Big Ten Defensive Back of the Year.

To be precise, 72 picks different. Nagy is optimistic about Moss’ future, though.

"There's really no limitation,“ Nagy said. ”He's a good mover. He's fast. He's played a ton of football."

Kaevon Merriweather

Kaevon Merriweather has not gotten much love in the mock drafts. Reid has the only mock draft featured in this article that includes all seven rounds, so Merriweather’s exclusion is not necessarily a reason to fret.

Comments: john.steppe@thegazette.com