The 2026 NFL Draft was a historic one for the Indiana Hoosiers.
Indiana broke a program record with eight players being selected, breaking the previous record of seven from 50 years ago in 1976. Indiana had a player picked in each round, and No. 2 overall pick Fernando Mendoza and No. 30 overall pick Omar Cooper Jr. became the first pair of Hoosier teammates to both be selected in the first round of the same draft.
Indiana players most likely to be first round picks in the 2027 NFL Draft
As impressive as Indiana's draft showing was, there were still multiple draft-hopeful Hoosiers who did not hear their names called. Four players have since signed with NFL teams as undrafted free agents. Here are two of those signees who have the best chance to make the Week 1 roster for their respective teams.
RB Roman Hemby (Las Vegas Raiders)
Hoosier RB Roman Hemby not getting picked was quite a surprise. Hemby was widely considered to be a solid Day 3 pick, but all seven rounds and 257 total picks went by with Hemby being left out. He quickly signed as an UDFA with the Raiders, teaming him up with Mendoza once again. As Las Vegas enters a new era with head coach Klint Kubiak at the helm, don't be surprised if Hemby earns his way onto the Week 1 roster.
Hemby was Indiana's leading rusher this past season, as he racked up 1,120 yards and 4.9 yards per carry to go along with seven touchdowns. In addition, he hauled in 17 passes for 165 yards in the passing game. Ashton Jeanty is the clear RB1 in Las Vegas, but after that not much appears to be set in stone. The Raiders wasted no time after the draft to go after Hemby, which means they could have specific plans in mind for the dynamic tailback.
EDGE Mikail Kamara (San Francisco 49ers)
EDGE Mikail Kamara was viewed as afringe Round 6 of 7 picks, but he ultimately went undrafted. Kamara started all 16 games for Indiana this past season, and his 60 total pressures led the Big Ten and were tied for seventh nationally according to Pro Football Focus. He is an effective edge rusher who excels at plugging gaps in the run game, and racked up seven forced fumbles throughout his college career.
The 49ers have seen several injuries to their defensive front over the last few seasons, so they made filling those gaps a priority in the draft. Along with signing Kamara, San Francisco also drafted Texas Tech EDGE Romello Height in the 3rd Round and Oklahoma DT Gracen Halton in the 4th Round. That could make Kamara's path to a Week 1 roster spot a bit tricky, but it seems that the 49ers are looking to have as much depth as they can up front.
Add us as a preferred source on Google