Kaden Wetjen

● Fearless and dynamic as a return specialist (six career return touchdowns) ● Only FBS player in 2025 with both a kick return and punt return touchdown ● First NCAA player since 2009 with a rushing, receiving, punt return and kick return touchdown in the same season ● Bursts to accelerate as a ball carrier and maintains his speed ● Above-average cut balance to buckle pursuit ● Instinctive vision to weave through coverage ● Fast-paced route running opens quick underneath windows ● Makes coordinated adjustments on the ball ● Team captain; made major strides over his final year in the program ● First two-time winner of the Jet Award (top return specialist in FBS)

● Caught just 23 passes (on 30 targets) in four FBS seasons ● Unproven on downfield routes/tracking (five career targets, zero catches on throws of 20-plus yards) ● Shorter stature, with limited arm length and small hands ● Small catch radius and relies too much on his body to finish catches ● Missing refinement and discipline in his route steps ● Needs to develop better feel for leveraging coverage to peel into open zones

A one-year starter at Iowa, Wetjen was an inside-outside receiver in offensive coordinator Tim Lester’s pro-style, zone-based offense. His offensive role grew in 2025 as an underneath option (22 of his 23 career catches came within 10 yards of the line of scrimmage), but his impact came in the return game. At a program with a rich history of returners (Tim Dwight, Cooper DeJean, Ihmir Smith-Marsette), Wetjen stands alone with a school-record six return touchdowns. During his All-America senior year, he led the FBS in punt return average (26.8 yards) and punt return touchdowns (three), and he became the first player in Big Ten history with three punt return touchdowns and one kick return touchdown in the same season. Wetjen is a small, compact target in the receiving game, with better quickness than polish as he works to get himself open. But his vision and burst with the ball in his hands separate him. He has outstanding proximity awareness and seems to gravitate toward space with his twitchy cuts and quick acceleration. Overall, Wetjen is a dynamic return man and scoring threat on every touch, although time will tell if he can graduate from gadget receiver to a more established role in an offense.