Iowa State Cyclones' Defensive Lineman Receives Strong NIL Valuation

One of the top transfers for the Iowa State Cyclones recently received a strong NIL valuation.

Iowa State football coach Jimmy Rogers speaks during a timeout in the first half in the Iowa State and Iowa men’s basketball Cy-Hawk series at Hilton coliseum on Dec. 11, 2025, in Ames, Iowa. | Nirmalendu Majumdar/Ames Tribune / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

As the Iowa State Cyclones put some of the finishing touches on their roster for the 2026 season, it has been a hectic few weeks in the transfer portal for the program. 

After coming over to replace Matt Campbell, new head coach Jimmy Rogers had his work cut out for him in trying to rebuild a roster that was devastated by players leaving. To little surprise, a fair amount of those players elected to follow Campbell to the Penn State Nittany Lions, including numerous stars. 

With players like Rocco Becht and Carson Hansen leaving the program, replacing that type of production is going to be a challenge. Even though it seems like the team might be taking a bit of a step backward, that isn’t going to be the mindset of the new coaching staff. 

Rogers and the other coaches will be seeking to come in and build upon the success that Campbell started, and it appears that the focus will be on being a strong, defensive-minded team. So far, a lot of where the team has invested their NIL money has been on that side of the ball, and they got a couple of potential impact players coming in. 

On3 recently put the NIL Value for Cyclones’ new defensive lineman Caden Crawford at $309,000, projecting him to be an impact player for the team in 2026. 

Crawford Will Be Important

pic.twitter.com/loGPpRot55

— Caden Crawford (@cwcrawfordd) January 7, 2026

The talented defensive lineman will be coming to Iowa State from South Dakota, looking to make an impact at a higher level. With defensive coordinator Jimmy Bobbit moving to a four-down lineman scheme, depth upfront and on the edge is going to be important for the program. 

According to Rivals Industry Rankings, Crawford is considered to be a Top 50 player in the portal at his position and was also ranked as a Top 400 player overall. He is one of the top recruits that they have been able to bring in so far. 

With Crawford being one of the best players that they have been able to bring in, it is no surprise to see his NIL valuation just over $300,000. If the Cyclones are going to be successful in 2026, it is going to be because of their defense and physical style of play. This is a team that likely won’t be in too many successful shootouts, but they can certainly compete in the trenches with players like Crawford.