Skip to main content
Hoosiers Now

Meet the Four Indiana Hoosiers Selected on Final Day of 2026 NFL Draft

Meet the four Indiana players picked on Day Three of the 2026 NFL Draft.
Jared Shlensky|
Indiana's Elijah Sarratt (13) kisses the trophy after the College Football Playoff National Championship college football game at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens on Monday, Jan. 19, 2026.
Indiana's Elijah Sarratt (13) kisses the trophy after the College Football Playoff National Championship college football game at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens on Monday, Jan. 19, 2026. | Rich Janzaruk/Herald-Times / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

In this story:

Indiana Hoosiers

If you thought Indiana's historic undefeated national championship season wasn't going to carry over to the NFL Draft, you thought wrong.

Not only did the Hoosiers have the top overall pick in Fernando Mendoza and another first-round pick in Omar Cooper Jr., but IU had two more players selected on Friday and four more taken on Saturday, giving Indiana a program-record eight NFL Draft selections.

Not too shabby for a team that was once the dormant of the Big Ten. IU's eight selections tied for the seventh most by any school and tied for second-most in the Big Ten behind Ohio State.

Elijah Sarratt

Wide receiver Elijah Sarratt was the first of Indiana's four players taken on Saturday after the Baltimore Ravens took him in the fourth round with the 115th overall pick.

Similar to D'Angelo Ponds, Sarratt joined the Hoosiers after beginning his career at James Madison University. In two seasons at IU, he started 26 games and was a two-time All-Big Ten selection.

Sarratt caught 118 passes for 1,787 yards and 23 touchdowns over the last two years and had a career-year in 2025 after catching 65 passes for 830 yards and 15 scores.

Riley Nowatkowski

Riley Nowakowski heard his name called in the fifth round after the Pittsburgh Steelers took him with the 169th overall pick.

Nowakoski began his career at Big Ten rival Wisconsin before transferring to Indiana for his final year of eligibility.

Nowakowski started all 16 games for the Hoosiers and was a Second Team All-Big Ten selection after catching 32 passes for 387 yards and two touchdowns and rushing for a pair of scores.

Pat Coogan

Most pundits had center Pat Coogan going no later than the fifth round, but the Notre Dame transfer had to wait until the sixth round to get picked. The Titans snagged the Rose Bowl Offensive MVP with the 194th overall pick after an illustrious college career.

Coogan started all 16 games at Indiana this year and played in 46 games over the last four years. Coogan was the anchor of IU's offense and brings a ton of versatility and experience to the NFL.

Aiden Fisher

Aiden Fisher was Indiana's final draft pick after the Houston Texans selected the linebacker in the seventh round with the 243rd overall pick.

Just like Ponds and Sarratt, Fisher found his way to Bloomington after beginning his career at JMU. Fisher was a two-year starter and a two-time All-Big Ten selection for the Hoosiers and put together a monster senior season.

Fisher finished his senior year with 97 tackles, 10.5 tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks, two interceptions, one of which he returned for a touchdown, broke up three passes, forced a fumble, and recovered a fumble.

Fisher doesn't stand out physically, but he puts up numbers and brings a lot to the table from a production standpoint.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Loading recommendations... Please wait while we load personalized content recommendations

Published | Modified
Jared Shlensky
JARED SHLENSKY

Home/Football