KANSAS CITY — University of Iowa defensive back Riley Moss was selected by the Denver Broncos in the third round of Friday’s NFL Draft. Moss was the 83rd player picked overall. He is the 18th defensive back selected in the Kirk Ferentz era.
Moss (6-foot-1, 193-pounds) is a native of Ankeny, Iowa. He earned first-team All-Big Ten honors from league coaches. As a junior he was named the Tatum-Woodson Big Ten Defensive Back of the Year in 2021 when he earned first-team All-America and All-Big Ten honors.
Moss was named a Permanent Team Captain on defense and earned Team Hustle Awards for both defense and special teams. Moss recorded 47 tackles as a senior, with one interception and two forced fumbles.
Moss completed his Hawkeye career with 11 interceptions to tie for seventh in career thefts. He shares the Big Ten record with two interception return touchdowns in a game (vs. Indiana, 2021) and ranks second at Iowa with 239 career interception return yards. He shares the Iowa career record with three interception return touchdowns.
Denver in 2023 will be under the direction of first-year head coach Sean Payton. The most recent Hawkeye player to be selected by the Broncos was defensive back Michael Ojemudia in the third round in 2020. Tight end Noah Fant was a first round selection in 2019 and linebacker Josey Jewell was selected by the Broncos in the fourth round in 2018.
Iowa has had at least one player drafted in every NFL Draft since 1978, including 13 first round selections. Moss is the 85th player coached by Kirk Ferentz at the University of Iowa to be selected in the NFL Draft.
With the selection of linebacker Jack Campbell (Detroit, 18th pick) and defensive lineman Lukas Van Ness (Green Bay, 13th pick) in Thursday’s first round, the Iowa football program had two players selected in the first round of the NFL Draft for the first time since 2019 when tight ends T.J. Hockenson (8th) and Noah Fant (20th) were selected. Iowa football was one of five programs to have multiple players selected in the first round in the 2023 draft.
It is just the fourth time in program history that two Hawkeyes have been selected in the first round of the NFL Draft (1986, 1997, 2019). Iowa football has had a first round selection in four of the last five NFL Drafts.
The Iowa football program had three selections in the first two rounds of the NFL Draft for the first time since 2003, and four players selected in the first three rounds for the first time since 2010.
To see the University of Iowa’s NFL Draft Central Page, visit Iowa’s Draft Central.