Is Iowa Hawkeyes Star in Danger of Going Undrafted?

The Iowa Hawkeyes will likely be placing numerous players into the NFL this month, as they have a handful of players heading into the NFL Draft.

While running back Kaleb Johnson is considered the gem of Iowa's class, the Hawkeyes have some other very intriguing prospects, and perhaps the most compelling of all is linebacker Jay Higgins.

Higgins is coming off of a 2024 campaign in which he racked up 124 tackles and four interceptions, winning the Butkus-Fitzgerald award for the Big Ten's linebacker of the year.

As a result of Higgins' impressive season, some had him pegged as one of the draft's biggest sleepers. In fact, some mock drafts had him going as high as the third round.

However, thanks to a brutal showing at the Scouting Combine in which Higgins' lack of athleticism was on full display, his draft stock has plummeted to the point where most consider him a late Day 3 pick. In fact, Pro Football Network's most recent mock has him going with the 253rd overall pick to the Miami Dolphins. That's at the very back end of the seventh round.

So, is it actually possible that Higgins could go undrafted? Whenever a player's average draft position in mocks is in the seventh round, that typically means that player is right on the border.

It seems hard to imagine Higgins not being selected later this month. After all, he has a tremendous football IQ, a great nose for the ball and a spectacular motor. That's why he was able to lead the Big Ten with 79 solo tackles in 2023 (he rattled off 174 tackles overall that season).

But in a modern NFL landscape where athleticism and versatility at the linebacker position is so paramount, it stands to reason that many teams may be leery about Higgins' ability to effectively play significant snaps on the professional level.

My opinion? Higgins will get drafted. He was too productive at Iowa for him to not get picked at some point over seven rounds. But it's looking more and more like the 23-year-old may be sweating it out in a couple of weeks.

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