Iowa football: Three biggest surprises from 2019 NFL Draft

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NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE – APRIL 25: Noah Fant of Iowa poses with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell after being chosen #20 overall by the Denver Broncos during the first round of the 2019 NFL Draft on April 25, 2019 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /

Denver trades back and selects Noah Fant

When we put out our NFL Draft preview of Iowa football player Noah Fant, it was assumed that the Denver Broncos may be in the running for his running mate TJ Hockenson more so than Fant. Given where the Broncos were picking, it made sense. Hockenson was projected to anywhere from pick #7 to pick #12 whereas Fant was looked at as a late-teens early-20’s prospect.

Fant’s most widely projected landing spots were the Raiders, the Patriots, and the Titans. The Broncos were never a part of that despite holding a top-30 visit with the prospect.

That all changed when the Denver Broncos decided to trade back at the last second in the first round Thursday night with the Steelers and move to pick 20.

Even then, most assumed they were eying Missouri quarterback Drew Lock or Kansas State lineman Dalton Risner with that pick. With Hockenson gone to the Lions at pick #8, it was widely assumed that Denver was out of the running for a tight end until the mid rounds of the draft.

Then the junior All-Big Ten tight end got the call from John Elway himself notifying him that he would become a Denver Bronco.

Now, looking back, this situation makes perfect sense. The Broncos new offensive coordinator Rick Scangarello just got done coaching All-Pro and former Iowa football player George Kittle. Kittle was the key element of San Francisco’s offense, and with Joe Flacco coming to the Mile High City, he needed a reliable target at tight end.

At the time, however, this was a huge surprise.