Xavier Nwankpa squashed any doubts about his athleticism with his Combine performance

Stop me if you have heard this one before: a former Hawkeye has sneaky good athleticism.

This is surely the case for former safety Xavier Nwankpa, who was one of the highest-ranked recruits in Iowa's program history coming out of high school.

Nwankpa played all over the defense during his time at Southeast Polk High School, but primarily played strong safety during most of his college career.

Last season, Nwankpa made a position change to free safety, and it paid off in a big way.

After a career year during his senior season, Nwankpa was one of nine Hawkeyes invited to the 2026 NFL Combine, and to say he showed out would be an understatement.

Nwankpa's freak athleticism was on full display at the Combine

Iowa fans remember when Nawankpa got downhill, he laid out many unsuspecting running backs and wide receivers, and now he is showcasing that speed and athleticism at the combine.

Everyone knows Nwankpa is a good athlete, but now we know empirically that he is one of the best defensive back athletes in the draft class.

Relative Athleticism Score (RAS) gave Nwankpa a 9.95 out of a possible 10, even without participating in the broad jump, which is one of the top-10 rankings at the strong safety position since 1987

Regardless of whether Nwankpa plays strong or free safety, a 9.95 out of 10 athleticism score is elite.

His 9.95 score ranks No. 7 out of 1,242 strong safeties since 1987, proving that Nwankpa is one of the most gifted athletes in the class.

His score includes an elite composite speed grade after he ran a 4.48-second 40-yard dash, giving Nwankpa an opportunity to make an impact on defense and special teams right away.

Nwankpa has proven his athleticism and versatility, and any NFL organization would greatly benefit from taking a chance on him in the upcoming NFL Draft.