Iowa football coach Kirk Ferentz stands atop NFL Draft talent pipeline

The 2026 NFL Draft is underway, with the first round in the books. The Iowa Hawkeyes figure to see names of their own going off the board today and tomorrow, as yet another class of prospects is set to fuel the pipeline from Iowa City to the NFL. The NFL Draft sees Day 2 get underway this evening , and could see talented offensive lineman Gennings Dunker off the board soon, as he is a talented prospect ready to step in and start right away.

He will be the first of a group of Iowa Hawkeyes going to the NFL, which will further Kirk Ferentz's spot atop the list of college football coaches with the most all-time NFL draft picks. 1 - Kirk Ferentz (94) A longevity award as much as it is a credit to high-level recruiting and player development, Ferentz is the winningest coach in program history with a pair of Big Ten titles and several coach of the year honors since taking over in December 1998. Early in his Iowa tenure, Dallas Clark, Robert Gallery and Chad Greenway were Ferentz's first three Day 1 picks as a coach, and there have been 10 others since, including Lukas Van Ness and Jack Campbell in 2023.

- Brad Crawford, CBS Sports There are very good chances that this year's draft sees Kirk Ferentz surpass the mark of 100 players drafted, as this group could see up to eight or nine Hawkeyes selected in the second through seventh rounds on Friday and Saturday. If there is ever a hard, steadfast number that shows the Hawkeyes are among the nation's best in player development and setting players up for success, it is this one right here. Iowa recruits, develops, and fills the NFL pipeline every year under Kirk Ferentz.

Contact/Follow us @HawkeyesWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Iowa news, notes and opinions. Follow Riley on X: @rileydonald7 This article originally appeared on College Sports Wire: Iowa football coach Kirk Ferentz stands atop NFL Draft talent pipeline