Hawkeye Pipeline: Cooper DeJean joins Jack Campbell and Sam LaPorta in NFL mock draft
There is something in the water with the Iowa Hawkeyes and the NFL Draft. A growing trend is popping up and that is the pipeline of the Hawkeyes to certain teams in the NFL.
Teams are drafting Hawkeyes and often doing so in multiples with success usually following pretty soon thereafter. The Detroit Lions did this last year. They took Jack Campbell in the first round and snagged Sam LaPorta in the second round.
Campbell gave the Lions a steadying presence at linebacker with 95 total tackles and two sacks. LaPorta thrust himself into the upper echelon of tight ends right away hauling in 86 receptions for 889 yards and 10 touchdowns.
CBS Sports recent mock draft thinks that the Lions and head coach Dan Campbell may go back to the well again. They have mocked Cooper DeJean to the Detroit Lions with the No. 29 pick in the first round of next week’s draft.
Round 1 – Pick 29 – Detroit Lions: Cooper DeJean, Iowa
More teams have DeJean as a safety/nickel than cornerback/nickel. For Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn, DeJean can play in a number of different spots. – Jonathan Jones, CBS Sports
Could DeJean slide all the way to No. 29? That seems unlikely but weirder things have happened in the NFL Draft. Should he hit that point, the Lions could bolster their secondary and, with a move to safety, instantly upgrade their safety duo to one of the best in the league.
Cooper DeJean would be slotted alongside fellow Big Ten star, Kerby Joseph manning the back end of the Lions’ defense giving them two stars at safety. Joseph had four interceptions last season which would pair ideally next to DeJean’s ball-hawking ability.
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