Bison Breakdown: What’s your favorite NFL Draft landing spot for the Hoosiers?

Indiana football saw a program-record eight players selected in the 2026 NFL Draft, with a member of the 2025 national championship roster hearing their name called in each of the draft’s seven rounds last week.

The headliners are No. 1 overall pick Fernando Mendoza to the Las Vegas Raiders and No. 30 overall pick Omar Cooper Jr. to the New York Jets, but don’t forget D’Angelo Ponds joining Cooper in the Big Apple, Kaelon Black heading out west to the San Francisco 49ers or the resolute Riley Nowakowski going to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Having watched these players, in some cases for several years, here are our favorite landing spots for the Hoosiers:

LCN: I’ve found myself liking Kaelon Black to the 49ers quite a bit. That’s an organization that consistently produces quality looks for running backs and puts them in a position to do what they do best. For Black, that’s just finding a hole and running, occasionally over people if they’re in his way. Him being taken that high speaks to how San Francisco viewed him in this draft. I’m also a fan of Sarratt to the Ravens given that he’ll have an MVP throwing the ball his way while being able to show off what he can do as a run blocker.
Colin: I like D’Angelo Ponds to the Jets. I know, the Jets are bad. I know, their defense was particularly bad. But they have a former defensive coordinator as their new head coach, a former undersized defensive back with a playing style that had a lot in common with Ponds’, and plenty of playing time available. Given his size and the general excuses people made as to why he isn’t ready for NFL play, I’m glad he’s going somewhere that he can prove himself immediately to a coach with an intimate understanding of what a player like Ponds can bring to a team. He’s going to be thrown off the deep end, but that was the case when he came to Indiana from James Madison and that ended up just fine.

What about spots or situations you don’t necessarily love?

LCN: Any Jets selection worries me to a degree given that organization’s track record but I found it pretty puzzling that Aiden Fisher was on the board that long. He was wildly important to Indiana’s defense this past season and has a bright future however he chooses to spend it, so we’ll see how that goes in Houston, which has a strong draft record lately.
Colin: I do not like Omar Cooper Jr. to the Jets. I’m glad he was a first rounder, but I genuinely do not know who will get the ball to him. A quick Google search tells me Geno Smith is back to the Jets for another go at it, which maybe. Smith has looked every bit an NFL starter his last few seasons. On the other hand, I can’t think of any receivers who benefitted from having Geno as their quarterback, be it with Seattle or Oakland. Behind that is probably Cade Klubnik? Bleak. Unless they plan on using Cooper Jr. in the wildcat, hope he ends up with a QB at least as good as what he had last year at Indiana.