New Iowa QB Mark Gronowski Gets Early NFL Draft Attention

New Iowa quarterback Mark Gronowski has just one year with the Hawkeyes to prove his worth to NFL scouts. Luckily, his impressive resume with South Dakota State is already generating buzz for his potential at the next level.

ESPN draft analyst Jordan Reid included Gronowski in a recent article highlighting the top names at quarterback in the 2026 NFL Draft, though he didn’t get too deep into the quarterback’s scouting profile. Still, Gronowski's mentioning signals a path to accomplishing one of his primary goals at Iowa.

Gronowski received an invite to the 2025 NFL Combine but declined in favor of rehabbing his injuries and having the opportunity to play in the Big Ten. Still, his success at SDSU, complete with two FCS national championships and a share of the division’s record for most career wins at 49, and his size and athletic profile make him an intriguing prospect in a star-studded quarterback class.

Gronowski has said he models his game after Josh Allen, both in his skill set and his unique path to the league. 

“Yeah, I mean, just right off the bat is Josh Allen like I was mentioning earlier, and him coming from, I'll call it a smaller school, Group of Five, Wyoming,” Gronowski said on former Iowa defensive lineman Louie Stec’s podcast last month. “Him having zero stars, zero offers coming out of high school, having seen him have that chip on his shoulder his entire career and and now he's one of the highest paid quarterbacks in the NFL. I love his play style and I love his story throughout, and I love just following him, watching his play style.”

Gronowski has an uphill battle despite some similarities to one of the league’s top quarterbacks. Iowa hasn’t had a first-round quarterback selected since 1986, and those who have been drafted in later rounds since have left little to no mark on the league. On top of the helmet scouting perceptions, Iowa’s offense has been abysmal for several years. If that continues, any goodwill he’s built in the eyes of NFL scouts will be completely washed away.

Still, Iowa’s offense seems poised to rebound with Gronowski under center. There are some question marks at the skill positions, but the running game is expected to be strong enough for Gronkowski to lean on. Nonetheless, Gronowski will have to make plays with a largely unproven group of receivers in 2025 to see his name rise above a dense crowd of quarterbacks.

Many see five to six quarterbacks in this upcoming class who could go as high as the first round, and that shortlist does not often include Gronowski. While it’s unlikely that every quarterback lives up to and exceeds expectations to hold that status, Gronowski is one of the few who must do so with just one year of eligibility at the college level to get onto and stay on NFL teams’ radars through next April.