Indiana NFL Draft Hopefuls Still Available As Final Rounds Take Place On Saturday

No former Hoosiers were picked in the second or third rounds conducted on Friday. The fourth to seventh rounds take place on Saturday.

Indiana Hoosiers defensive lineman CJ West (8) celebrates after bringing down Maryland Terrapins quarterback Billy Edwards Jr. (9) during the first half at Memorial Stadium. | Robert Goddin-Imagn Images

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – The first three rounds of the NFL Draft are in the books and no Indiana Hoosiers have heard their names called yet.

Indiana players most likely to be picked – defensive tackle CJ West, tackle Trey Wedig and quarterback Kurtis Rourke – are still on the board going into the final day of the draft.

Rounds 4-7 will take place on Saturday. The draft restarts at noon and will be broadcast on ABC, ESPN and NFL Network.

West had 40 tackles and two sacks for the Hoosiers in 2024, his lone season at Indiana after he played three seasons at Kent State. He forced and recovered one fumble.

A total of seven defensive tackles were taken in the second and third rounds, but West did not hear his name called.

T.J. Sanders of North Carolina (Buffalo Bills, 2nd round), Alfred Collins of Texas (San Francisco 49ers, 2nd round), Shemar Turner of Texas A&M (Chicago Bears, 2nd round), Omarr Norman-Lott of Tennessee (Kansas City Chiefs, 2nd round), Darius Alexander of Toledo (New York Giants, 3rd round), Vernon Broughton of Texas (New Orleans Saints, 3rd round) and Jamaree Caldwell of Oregon (Los Angeles Chargers, 3rd round) were all drafted ahead of West.

West would be the first defensive tackle from Indiana taken in the draft since Nolan Harrison (who was a hybrid end-tackle) was picked by the Los Angeles Raiders in the 1991 draft.

The last true defensive tackle taken from Indiana was Mark Smythe, who was chosen by the St. Louis Cardinals in 1984, but he did not play in the NFL.

Neither Rourke nor Wedig were expected to be picked on day one or two of the NFL Draft. Both of them them would have their best chance to be chosen on Saturday.

Five quarterbacks have been chosen so far – University of Miami quarterback Cam Ward was chosen first overall by the Tennessee Titans. Jaxson Dart of Ole Miss (New York Giants, 1st round), Tyler Shough of Louisville (New Orleans Saints, 2nd round), Jalen Milroe of Alabama (Seattle Seahawks, 3rd round) and Dillon Gabriel of Oregon (Cleveland Browns, 3rd round) have been picked.

Four tackles were taken in the first round.

Tackles taken in the second and third rounds on Friday included Aireontae Ersery of Minnesota (Houston Texas, 2nd round), Anthony Belton of North Carolina State (Green Bay Packers, 2nd round), Ozzy Trapilo of Boston College (Chicago Bears, 2nd round), Emery Jones Jr. of LSU (Baltimore Ravens, 3rd round), Charles Grant of William & Mary (Las Vegas Raiders, 3rd round)

West, Rourke and Wedig have the best chance to get drafted. It is also possible that linebacker Jailin Walker or wide receiver Ke'Shawn Williams could hear his name called, but consensus from draft experts suggested that was a long shot.

Whomever gets drafted first will be the first player drafted directly out of Indiana since Micah McFadden was taken in the fifth round by the New York Giants in 2022.

Several former Indiana players, including former quarterback Michael Penix Jr., have been taken in the NFL Draft, but after they transferred to other schools.

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