From now until the 2026 NFL Draft, we will scout and create profiles for as many prospects as possible, examining their strengths, weaknesses and what they can bring to an NFL franchise. These players could be potential top-10 picks, all the way to Day 3 selections and priority undrafted free agents. Today, a scouting report on Iowa wide receiver and kick returner Kaden Wetjen.
NO. 21 KADEN WETJEN/WR/KR/IOWA – 5090, 193 POUNDS (SENIOR)
MEASUREMENTS
Player Ht/Wt Hand Size Arm Length Wingspan
Kaden Wetjen 5090/193 8 1/2 29 5/8 N/A
40-Yard Dash 10-Yard Dash Short Shuttle 3-Cone
4.57 1.51 4.44 6.95
Broad Jump Vertical Bench Press
DNP 35.5 DNP
THE GOOD
-Impressive vision allows him to set up multiple cuts in advance
-Plays with good contact balance through well-proportioned frame
-Sudden mover in a phone booth; changes directions in the blink of an eye
-Legitimate home run threat every time he touches the football
-Good acceleration allows him to get to top speed in a hurry
-Flashed route-running chops at Shrine Bowl; dominant all week
THE BAD
-Small frame with limited catch radius
-Inconsistent hands; plagued by some tough concentration drops
-Limited route tree working out of the slot
-Most of offensive touches came via designed touches within offense (jet sweeps/quick screens)
-Testing numbers, particularly 40-yard dash, were a bit underwhelming compared to tape
STATS
-2025 stats: hauled in 20 passes for 151 yards and one touchdown; added 15 carries for 79 yards and two touchdowns
-Recorded 16 kick returns for 476 yards and one touchdown; 21 punt returns for 563 yards and three touchdowns
-Finished career with 56 kick returns for 1,538 yards and two touchdowns; 54 punt returns for 954 yards and four touchdowns
-Played in 40 career games at Iowa
INJURY HISTORY
-No known injuries in college
BACKGROUND
-Born March 9, 2002
-Team captain in high school; scored 31 touchdowns as a senior
-Ran track and field in high school
-Went JUCO route before Iowa, playing at Iowa Western Community College in 2021
-Committed to Iowa in 2022; didn’t see game action in 2022
-Consensus All-American in 2025
-Won Jet Award in 2025 as nation’s best returner for second straight year; first two-time winner
-Named Rodgers-Dwight Return Specialist of the Year, becoming first player to win award twice
-Set program punt return yards record for single season
-First-team All-Big Ten selection in 2025
-Competed in the 2026 East-West Shrine Bowl
-Combine participant
TAPE BREAKDOWN
Special teams are back in a major way in the NFL, and teams are going to be searching for some serious weapons who can provide a boost in that phase of the game. Whether it’s on coverage units or in the return game, teams are valuing those pieces once again, and that bodes well for Iowa wide receiver and return specialist Kaden Wetjen.
Wetjen, the two-time Jet Award and Rodgers-Dwight Return Specialist of the Year, is a true game-breaker in the return game.
Wetjen had four touchdowns returns in 2025 for the Iowa Hawkeyes, with one coming on a kickoff return and three on punt returns. He’s a wide receiver by trade, but he did not have much college production there. Where he will carve out a role for himself at the next level regardless of where he lands is in the return game.
It’s never advisable to catch a punt over your shoulder inside your own 10-yard line. But when you’re as dangerous in open space as Wetjen is, well, you get a bit of leeway.
That decision against Massachusetts turned out to be the right one as Wetjen took the punt 95 yards to the house, kick-starting a dominant 2025 All-American season.
He has good vision in space and plays with good contact balance, his lower-body strength allowing to stay on his feet through contact. Wetjen moves like a blur, too, and can hit the afterburners. It was stunning to see him clock just a 4.57 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine because he plays much faster on tape.
He’s a decisive returner, which allows him to hit seams at full speed. That gives coverage units fits, and when you can get a block or two with that type of running style, you’re going to be in business.
That kickoff return against Rutgers to open the game was the longest one in Iowa history, and it was fitting he did it during a season in which he put himself in Iowa lore as a returner.
Wetjen is such a sudden athlete. Dynamic mover in space with quick cuts to change directions, causing defenders to grasp at air.
This punt return against Michigan State last season was a great example of that. Look at how explosive in tight he is to cut on a dime and burst upfield, putting the coverage unit on its heels immediately.
Wetjen is so good in that aspect of the game that he could really become a dynamic weapon at the next level in the right situation.
Though he had 20 receptions last season, many of them were on designed touches, particularly on jet sweeps. It worked well as he’s once again dynamic in space.
Despite limited receiver work at Iowa — he hauled in just 23 career passes — Wetjen had himself a great week at the 2026 East-West Shrine Bowl in Dallas. He flashed some elite-level movement skills as a route runner, reminding many of 2025 Shrine Bowl darling Efton Chism III, who is now with the New England Patriots.
Chism went undrafted, but Wetjen should hear his name called late on Day 2 or early on Day 3. Special teams matter.
CONCLUSION
There is so much to like about Iowa wide receiver and return specialist Kaden Wetjen. He’s a dynamic weapon in the return game, as evidenced by his pair of Jet Awards and also twice earning Rodgers-Dwight Return Specialist of the Year honors. He’s the only player to ever win both awards multiple times.
Though the testing numbers at the Combine didn’t blow anyone way, he’s a threat with the football in his hands in space. With special teams coming back in a big way, especially on kick returns, Wetjen is a valuable weapon worth having. He still needs some time to develop as receiver, but the movement skills are there, and he can create havoc for defenses after the catch.
He reminds me a lot of another former Iowa standout Tim Dwight, who went on to have a long NFL career as a receiver and return specialist.
NFL Projection: Late Day 2, Early Day 3
Steelers Depot Grade: 7.0 ST (Spot Starter)
Grade Range: 7.0-8.0
Games Watched: Massachusetts (2025), Rutgers (2025), Indiana (2025), Penn State (2025), Minnesota (2025), Michigan State (2025)
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