March 29, 2024

Four Hawkeyes, Drake tight end Saubert chosen in NFL Draft

The University of Iowa football team was expected to see four players selected in the 2017 NFL Draft.

The only thing that wasn’t expected was the order those players were taken.

The 2016 Jim Thorpe Award winner, Desmond King, was projected to be the first Hawkeye picked, and quarterback C.J. Beathard was expected to be the final pick or not even selected at all.

In the end, Beathard was the first Hawkeye chosen as he was picked in the third round by the San Francisco 49ers.

Beathard, King, Jaleel Johnson and George Kittle were all selected, and Drake tight end Eric Saubert became the first Bulldog football player to be drafted since 1983.

Beathard was taken as the 104th pick in the NFL Draft. He will be once again be paired with Kittle, who was selected by the 49ers with the 146th pick in the fifth round.

Beathard and Kittle are the first college duo selected by the same NFL team since 2012 when Indianapolis chose Andrew Luck and Coby Fleener.

Johnson was the second player with Iowa ties selected. He went in the fourth round to the Minnesota Vikings. His name was called very early in the day Saturday. He went as the 109th pick overall.

King was selected a few picks after Kittle. The Los Angeles Chargers chose King in the fifth round with the 151st pick overall. King is expected to play safety in college.

Saubert was the final player with Iowa ties to be selected. The Drake Bulldog tight end was taken by the Atlanta Falcons with the 174th overall pick in the fifth round.

Four other Hawkeyes signed with NFL teams as undrafted free agents shortly after the draft.

Offensive linemen Cole Croston and running back LeShun Daniels Jr. will start their careers as teammates. Both players were signed by the New England Patriots.

Wide receiver Riley McCarron signed with the Houston Texans, and cornerback Greg Mabin signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Former Hawkeye defensive back Maurice Fleming, who finished with his career at West Virginia, also is headed to Tampa Bay.

Iowa State did not have a draft pick for the third straight season. Two Cyclones are headed to the NFL as undrafted free agents though.

Defensive back Jomal Wiltz signed with the Philadelphia Eagles, and Jhaustin Thomas signed with the Indianapolis Colts.

Northern Iowa standout Carter Schult is headed to the NFL. He was not drafted but signed with the Cleveland Browns as a free agent.

Collin Bevins, who prepped at Creston and played collegiately at Northwest Missouri State, is headed to Arizona after signing with the Cardinals as an undrafted free agent.