IOWA CITY — The Arizona Cardinals selected Iowa linebacker Karson Sharar in the sixth round of the 2026 NFL Draft. He was the 183rd overall pick.
Sharar, a product of Iowa Falls, Iowa, appeared in 48 games during his Hawkeye career, including 13 starts.
Sharar existed mostly in the shadows until his final season at Iowa. He was behind some exceptional linebackers during his time in the program, such as Jack Campbell, Seth Benson, Jay Higgins and Nick Jackson. To his credit, Sharar did not bolt for the transfer portal, instead sticking it out with the Hawkeyes, despite not being in a featured role on defense.
Last season, Sharar finally took on a bigger role, starting all 13 games for the Hawkeyes. It was by far the most productive season of Sharar's college career. His 83 tackles were almost seven times more than his previous single-season high. His 12 tackles for loss were 12 times his previous single-season high. All four of his career sacks at Iowa came last season.
Two of those four sacks came against Heisman Trophy finalist Diego Pavia during Iowa's win over Vanderbilt in the ReliaQuest Bowl.
Sharar is a one-year starter whose production masks inconsistencies in the box. For having so few starts, he’s rarely fooled by misdirection and scrambles to recover when it gets the best of him. He lacks size/strength to play effectively through contact and hasn’t learned to slip blocks often enough. He’s a willing chance taker but subpar pursuit speed and tackle-finishing shrink his margin for error. Sharar’s best chance of making a roster will be as a special-teams star, but he’ll need to prove he’s trustworthy as a functional backup.
Fearless on cover teams and capable blocker on kickoffs.
Stays dialed into backfield to pick up assignments.
Face-first mentality bolsters effectiveness as a blitzer.
Below-average size sees him knocked around in the box.
Drifts into traffic and loses back-side containment.
Needs to get stronger and improve both block slip and shed.
Limited foot quickness and reactive agility lead to missed tackles.
5.68: Candidate for bottom of roster or practice squad
Follow Tyler Tachman on X @Tyler_T15, contact via email at ttachman@gannett.com
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Karson Sharar draft: Cardinals pick Iowa LB in NFL draft