While not the most lauded factory for NFL talent, the Iowa Hawkeyes have given more than their fair share of NFL legends over the years.
Over 300 players who once wore the Black & Gold for Iowa have gone on to play in the NFL. A whopping 290 of them have been drafted, and more are well on the way.
In the 2024 NFL Draft, Iowa will see at least three players drafted with a hopeful fourth. Still, it's not a necessity. Two of the players on this list weren't drafted, after all.
But who exactly makes up that list? To answer the question, we'll use Pro Football Reference's Weighted Approximate Value metric.
For those unfamiliar, a player's Approximate Value (AV) is specific to Pro Football Reference designed to be a "single number on the seasonal value of a player at any position from any year." Conversely, a player's weighted AV is a method of balancing players out. Each player's AV is calculated with "100% of the player's best season, plus 95% of his 2nd-best season, plus 90% of his 3rd-best season, plus 85% of his 4th-best season, and so on."
With that in mind, it's not a perfect science. In fact, there's one player on this list that Pro Football Reference doesn't have a proper Weighted Approximate Value for.
So, with the formalities out of the way, let's look back on the Hawkeye program's greatest NFL careers.
We get started with Jay Hilgenberg, a center who makes this list as one of two undrafted players. Hilgenberg entered the league in 1981 with the Chicago Bears and didn't start a game until 1983.
After starting eight games in '83, Hilgenberg earned the starting position in Chicago and went on to have a Hall of Fame-worthy career. Unfortunately, though he's been nominated for the hall, he's yet to be inducted.
Hilgenberg blocked for Walter Payton, so to tout the Bears rushing stats during his time would be underselling what Hilgenberg brought to the table. Nonetheless, Hilgenberg commanded an offensive line that paved the way for Payton and eventually a Super Bowl title.
Hilgenberg was named to seven Pro Bowls and two All-Pro teams. Pro Football Reference graded his career WAV at 83 and his Hall of Fame resume at 59.10, a few ticks below the lowest-ranked center in the Hall of Fame. While the wait could go on for several more years, hopefully, the Iowa City native will soon be rightfully enshrined in Canton.
Andre Tippett was a teammate of Hilgenberg's at Iowa, but the two squared off in Super Bowl XX. While Tippett didn't go home with a ring that day, his career accolades are impressive enough to compensate.
Tippett was drafted by the New England Patriots 41st overall in the second round of the 1982 NFL Draft. After a year of learning, Tippett began terrorizing quarterbacks off the edge in 1983.
Unofficially, Tippett finished his career with 100 sacks, topped with 18.5 sacks in 1984. He also tacked on 19 fumble recoveries in his career, two of which he returned for touchdowns.
After five Pro Bowl selections and two All-Pro recognitions, Tippett retired after the 1993 season. He waited 15 years before he was finally enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2008.
Marshall Yanda is the only other player on the list not in the Hall of Fame, though he only recently became eligible. While Yanda wasn't a first-ballot Hall of Famer, his career as the right guard for the Baltimore Ravens was one of the more impressive in the modern era.
Still, Yanda was a third-round pick in 2007. He was initially worked out at right tackle despite being somewhat undersized for the position. The Ravens moved him to right guard in 2008, but things didn't completely fall into place for Yanda until 2010.
After starting a full season that year, it was clear Baltimore had found a diamond in the rough. For the next nine years, Yanda was easily recognized as one of the best offensive linemen in the NFL, regardless of position.
Only two players who played the bulk of their careers in the 2010s, Zach Martin and Jahri Evans, have better resumes for the Hall of Fame according to Pro Football Reference's data. They graded his WAV a 92.
Yanda started 166 games, second most of any player on this list. He was named to eight Pro Bowls and two All-Pro teams along the way. He spent his entire career with the Baltimore Ravens, through thick and thin. The Ravens won Super Bowl XLVII with Yanda leading their offensive line.
It's only a matter of time before the Cedar Rapids native is rightfully inducted into the Hall of Fame.
Now for the player Pro Football Reference didn't have a proper WAV score for. I stumbled upon his page while seeing who had the most Pro Bowls from Iowa. The answer was Emlen Tunnell.
With just a WAV of six, it appears Pro Football Reference simply hasn't gone that far back with some of their data points. Nonetheless, Emlen Tunnell had a wildly impressive career through the 1950s.
The NFL Draft used to be a good bit less structured than it is today. Tunnell's Hall of Fame page relays that NFL teams thought the defensive back nicknamed "The Gremlin" would play one more year at Iowa, so he went undrafted in 1948.
He landed with the New York Giants anyway and made an immediate impact, snagging seven interceptions in just 10 games played and only three starts. In 1949, Tunnell was promoted to start five games, playing in all 12, and hauled in 10 picks, the most he'd post for the remainder of his career.
After becoming a full-time starter in 1950, Tunnell was named to eight straight Pro Bowls. In 1959, he was named to his ninth. He also was named First-Team All-Pro four times. Both honors are the most for any former Hawkeye. Needless to say, he was named to the Hall of Fame's All-1950s Team.
Tunnell hauled in 79 interceptions, returning them for 1,282 yards and four touchdowns. Only one other player had more career interceptions and his return yardage is fifth all-time.
Tunnell was rightfully named to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1967.
Karras is a recognized name in the trenches. While his bloodline has gone on to have extra success with the name stitched on the backs of their jerseys, it all started with Alex Karras.
Karras had a fantastic career for the Detroit Lions in the 1960s. Though he just missed the championship era of the franchise, he was a terror for offenses venturing to the Motor City.
Unofficially, Karras is credited with 100 career sacks, though his first two seasons haven't been tallied by Pro Football Reference just yet. Still, the 10th overall pick of the 1958 NFL Draft was up for consideration for Defensive Rookie of the Year.
Karras is one of just eight Hawkeyes to be drafted 10th or higher. At the time he was drafted, he was the second-highest Hawkeye drafted by the league, only bested by Dick Crayne in 1936 at fourth overall.
After ripping off back-to-back 11-sack seasons, Karras was suspended in 1963 for gambling. When he returned in 1964, he grabbed 13 sacks and was up for Comeback Player of the Year. He followed that up with 15 sacks in '65 to earn his third and final All-Pro selection, one of only four Hawkeyes with as many or more.
Karras retired in 1970 but unfortunately didn't live to see his enshrinement into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2020 as he passed away in 2012.
Today, his greatnephew, Ted Karras, is a third-generation guard for the Cincinnati Bengals.
Paul Krause is one of the NFL's greatest players of all time, regardless of position. His 115 WAV from Pro Football Reference is in the top 50 since 1960.
Krause was drafted by Washington in the second round of the 1964 NFL Draft and immediately became a problem for opposing quarterbacks. As a rookie, Krause collected 12 interceptions, just two shy of the NFL's long-standing record held by 'Night Train' Dick Lane. Somehow, he wasn't the Rookie of the Year, it went to some guy named Johnny Unitas instead.
Nonetheless, Krause was named to two Pro Bowls and two All-Pro teams in his first four seasons with Washington. He moved on to Minnesota to play with the Vikings where he cemented himself as a legend.
Krause played in Super Bowl IX against the Pittsburgh Steelers. While he had six tackles and recovered one of the Steelers' four fumbles in the game, he wasn't able to pick off Terry Bradshaw, who only needed to throw 14 passes to give the Steelers the win.
The following season in 1975, Krause returned to form after seeing a dip in his interception numbers, grabbing 10, returning them for a league-leading 201 yards. He earned his final All-Pro selection and his eighth Pro Bowl that year.
By the end of the 1977 season, Krause had tied Tunnell's career interception mark. Krause missed nearly the entire 1978 season. But in his final season, Krause hauled in three picks, breaking the tie between the Hawkeyes and cementing his legacy on a record that may never be broken.
Krause had to wait until 1998 to be enshrined in Canton, but he holds the distinction of being one of the very best defensive backs in NFL history and the greatest NFL player to ever don the Black and Gold of Iowa.