Just two seasons ago before Curt Cignetti took over at the helm of the Indiana football program, LB Aaron Casey was Indiana's lone representative at the 2024 NFL Combine. Fast forward two years, and IU set a program record in February by sending nine players to the 2026 NFL Combine in Indianapolis. Now, Indiana is set to be more represented than ever at the 2026 NFL Draft.
Predicting where every Indiana Hoosier will be picked in the 2026 NFL Draft
The draft festivities get going on Thursday, April 23 at 8 p.m. ET, and fans of Indiana football have plenty of intriguing storylines to follow. The Hoosiers can make history in a variety of ways, so here are three of the top storylines to follow along with during this week's draft.
Fernando Mendoza going No. 1 overall
Yes this one is obvious, but it's a big one. Barring any wild unforeseen last-second changes, Fernando Mendoza will be selected with the No. 1 overall pick by the Las Vegas Raiders. If it happens, Mendoza would become just the second No. 1 overall pick in Indiana football history and first in nearly 90 years. The lone top overall pick from Bloomington is Richard Corbett “Corby” Davis, who was selected by the Cleveland Rams in 1938.
Will the Hoosiers have multiple players go in the first round?
Last year, the Hoosiers had just two players drafted and neither of them cracked the first three rounds. DT CJ West went in the fourth round with No. 113 overall pick to the 49ers, and QB Kurtis Rourke went in the seventh round with No. 227 overall selection also to the 49ers. Now, Indiana is poised to see multiple players get picked in the first round.
Mendoza is the overwhelming favorite to the be No. 1 overall pick, and WR Omar Cooper Jr. is projected to be a mid-to-late first rounder. If it happens, it would be record-breaking. The Indiana football program has never had multiple first rounders selected in the same NFL Draft. The last Hoosier taken in the first round came back in 1994 with WR Thomas Lewis going No. 24 overall to the New York Giants.
S D'Angelo Ponds is also a name to keep an eye on, as he is projected to be a second round pick. Is there a chance he sneaks into the first round as well?
Indiana's draft class can break a 50-year program record
The current program record for most Hoosiers selected in a single NFL Draft is seven, which happened back in 1976. Things were a bit different back then, as there were only 28 teams in the NFL and the draft featured a whopping 17 rounds. Today's drafts have just seven rounds for the league's 32 teams. After sending nine players to the combine, Indiana is primed to tie or exceed that 50-year old record.
Before Cignetti came to town, the Hoosiers were typically never well-represented at the NFL Draft. In fact, Indiana has had just 27 total players drafted since 2000. This year, Indiana could have anywhere from 9-12 players drafted and several others sign with NFL teams as undrafted free agents. Needless to say, things have changed in Bloomington.
Along with Mendoza and Cooper, other IU players likely to hear their names called this week include WR Elijah Sarratt, LB Aiden Fisher, RB Kaelon Black, RB Roman Hemby, S Louis Moore, EDGE Mikail Kamara, C Pat Coogan, and TE Riley Nowakowski.
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