IOWA CITY — The Pittsburgh Steelers selected Iowa’s Kaden Wetjen in the fourth round of the 2026 NFL Draft. He was the 121st overall pick.
The electric playmaker has the most combined return touchdowns (punt and kickoff) in Iowa program history with six. Wetjen cemented himself as one of the all-time special teams greats for the Hawkeyes. He is a two-time Jet Award winner, which honors college football’s top return specialist.
Wetjen is quite the underdog story. He began his college career at Iowa Western Community College before transferring to the Hawkeyes as a preferred walk-on. It wasn’t until Wetjen’s third season in the Iowa program that he broke out, establishing himself as a dangerous special teams weapon for the Hawkeyes in 2024. He is undersized but possesses great speed and elusiveness.
After scoring two return touchdowns in 2024, Wetjen managed to outperform that mark last season. Wetjen finished the 2025 season with four return touchdowns — three punts and one kickoff.
While Wetjen’s impact was felt the most on special teams, he also carved out a role on offense. Last season, he hauled in 20 receptions for 151 yards and one touchdown while also rushing for two touchdowns, all of which were career-highs.
Wetjen is a return specialist first and foremost. He’s a threat to flip the field at any time as a punt returner. He eludes or breaks the first tackle try and maneuvers around opponents in the open field with great vision. Better hang-time and faster contain should slow his production, but he’ll still be a threat. He can handle pitch plays and swing passes from the backfield or shallow crossers and over routes as a slot receiver. Wetjen offers immediate value as a returner, while a crafty play-caller is likely to install packaged plays for him each week.
Sees past initial set of traffic to set up future cuts/moves.
Works well on shallow crossers and deep overs.
Able to snap off out-breaking cuts with suddenness.
Set school record with six KR/PR TDs (four punts, two kickoffs).
Averaged 26.8 yards per punt return on 21 tries in 2025.
First tackle attempt is often eluded or broken on punt returns.
Desire to bounce returns wide could catch up with him in the pros.
Lacks short-area agility as a ball-carrier near the line.
Pops up tall getting into his breaks.
Corners rise up over his head on jump balls.
Short arms and smaller hands require an accurate quarterback.
Height: 5’9 3/8″
Weight: 193 lbs
5.98: Average backup or special-teamer
Follow Tyler Tachman on X @Tyler_T15, contact via email at ttachman@gannett.com
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Kaden Wetjen draft: Steelers pick Iowa playmaker in NFL draft