Former Iowa football great named one of greatest NFL draft picks ever
Those fourth through seventh round picks are the ones that provide the necessary depth for teams to make deep runs in January. But they can also produce star players as well, like Tom Brady, Terrell Davis and Jason Kelce. Numerous former Hawkeyes have been taken in these rounds and a few of them have turned into stars, with one Hawk receiving high praise from ESPN.
Ben Solak, a writer at ESPN, put together a list of the best NFL draft pick at every draft slot from 1-262. The list is a who's who of some of the greatest NFL players of all time and one former Iowa football star who was drafted on day three got a spot on the list. George Kittle was drafted with the 146th overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft and Solak selected him as the greatest 146th overall pick ever.
One of the most loaded picks outside of the top 50 is No. 146, which saw Vikings WR Stefon Diggs (2015), Ravens edge Matthew Judon (2016) and Kittle (2017) drafted in consecutive years. Throw in Eagles DE Trent Cole (2005) and Washington QB Mark Rypien (1986) and you have an unbelievable group of midround selections.
Kittle gets the nod for me. He has spent his entire career with the 49ers and has made the Pro Bowl in six of eight possible seasons and made an All-Pro team in five of the eight. The fact that Diggs and Judon both had their career-best seasons with teams other than the ones that drafted them makes a difference, too. Let's revisit in a few more years and debate it all again. - Ben Solak, ESPN.
Kittle played at Iowa from 2013-2016 and his stats don't jump off the page. In 40 career games, he had 48 receptions for 737 yards and ten receiving touchdowns. Despite lackluster production in college, Kittle's size (6-foot-4 247 pound) and blocking prowess were enough for the San Francisco 49er's to take a flyer on him in 2017. And that pick has paid dividends ever since.
Across eight seasons in the red and gold, Kittle is a six-time Pro Bowler and two-time All Pro. He's played in 113 games for the Niners and has 538 receptions, 7380 receiving yards and 45 receiving touchdowns. He's 14th in all-time receiving yards by a tight end in the NFL and is just 600 yards away from cracking the top-ten of that list.
Kittle has turned into one of the greatest tight ends of his generation and is very deserving of his spot on Solak's list. Not too shabby for a fifth-round pick.
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