#95

Aaron Graves

Senior defensive lineman for Iowa. 2025: 5 sacks, 6.5 tackles for loss, 37 tackles.

DL · Iowa · Sr. · #95

6′5″ · 295 lb · Dayton, IA

CFB Index 79 · #50 of 420 edge rushersLow confidenceAll-ConferenceReturning to Iowa for 2026

How he plays

Disrupts the pocket from the interior.

Sacks: 96th percentile.

The full scouting read

The numbers

sacks · 2025

6.5 TFL · 37 tackles · 3 hurries

Best game: 2 sacks, 2 TFL, 2 tackles, vs Minnesota

His career numbers, season by season

The story

4 defensive lineman for Iowa. 2025: 5 sacks, 6.5 tackles for loss, 37 tackles.

Signed as a 4-star recruit to Iowa in 2022.

His career, year by year

Aaron Graves

DL · Iowa · Sr · #95

Disrupts the pocket from the interior. This is his fourth year in the same defensive front at Iowa. He has been named All-Big Ten two seasons running, most recently in 2025. The receipt on tape: 7 tackles against Penn State, Week 8, 2025.

Low coverage — composed from the verified record.

positional archetype classification
seasons on the roster
recognition record
game log

2025 snapshot

Season context · Team result + system

4 seasons under Kirk Ferentz — 35-18 over that span.

2022Iowa8-5HC: Kirk Ferentz · Run-leaning, slow tempo

2023Iowa10-4HC: Kirk Ferentz · Run-leaning, slow tempo

2024Iowa8-5HC: Kirk Ferentz · Run-heavy, slow tempo

2025Iowa9-4HC: Kirk Ferentz · Run-heavy, slow tempo

Where this defender ranks vs the field

Box-score production percentiles vs the position cohort

79All-Conference level #50 of 420?

Medium confidence7 metrics · season cumulative

Elite: sacks (96th percentile). Strength: tackles for loss (87th percentile).

Box-score production (7)

Sacks#102 / 2975 · 96th pct

5.0

Tackles for loss#340 / 2975 · 87th pct

6.5

QB hurries#457 / 2975 · 82nd pct

Tackles#1007 / 2975 · 65th pct

Solo tackles#1252 / 2975 · 56th pct

Passes defended#1191 / 2975 · 48th pct

Interceptions#304 / 817 · 31st pct

Percentiles are versus same-position peers with enough snaps this season, based on box-score production. There are no play-by-play efficiency bars here: CFBD's play-value model credits offensive players only, so no defensive EPA exists to rank.

Splits & context

Splits · Per-game

2025 season · 13 games

Home/Road · Season halves

Home vs Road

	TKL/g	TFL/g	SACK/g	PD/g
Home7g	3.1	0.8	0.6	0.0
Road6g	2.5	0.2	0.2	0.2

First half vs Second half

	TKL/g	TFL/g	SACK/g	PD/g
Weeks 1-77g	2.7	0.5	0.3	0.0
Weeks 8+6g	3.0	0.5	0.5	0.2

Supporting cast · Scheme

Staff and system around the player

2026 season

Head Coach

Kirk Ferentz

Scheme reads (pass share, tempo, sack rate) need at least 3 team games — 2 games in so far.

Awards

Player standing · 2025

All-Conference

Picked for an all-conference team by at least one selector.

Recognition

Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex

Production · CFB Index Score

79 · #50 of 420 edge rushers

Former four-star. Now #50 at the position.

2026 outlook

In the mix to repeat All-Big Ten

Based on 2025: #10 of 69 Big Ten DLs

How the All-Big Ten estimate is computed

35% estimated, 95% confidence interval 31–38%. Base rate measured from players who finished at a comparable rank in their conference and came back the next season. It is an estimate from a small sample, not a forecast of this player.

Career stats

Season	Team
2025	Iowa	37	17	6.5	5.0	1	1	--
2024	Iowa	33	17	8.0	6.0	3	--	--
2023	Iowa	36	14	4.5	2.5	1	--	--
2022	Iowa	15	6	5.5	2.5	--	--	--
Career		121	54	24.5	16.0	5	1	--

Signature game

SIGNATURE GAME · Week 18 · 2025

W 34–27

at Vanderbilt

1 TOT

A wire-to-wire battle — won by 7 on the road.

With M. Gronowski — 212 yds · 2 TD · 1 INT · QBR 79.5 · 54 rush yds (10 car) · 1 TD · R. Dakin — 49 AVG · 2 IN 20 · 51 LONG

Game log

Game log · Week-by-week

2025 season · 13 games

Box score · CFBD

Wk	Opp	TKL	SOLO	TFL	SACK	INT	PD	Note
Wk 1	W 34-7vs UAlbany	1	1	1.0	1.0	—	0
Wk 2	L 13-16@ Iowa State	2	0	0.0	0.0	—	0
Wk 3	W 47-7vs Massachusetts	5	3	1.5	0.0	—	0
Wk 4	W 38-28@ Rutgers	5	2	0.0	0.0	—	0
Wk 5	L 15-20vs Indiana	3	1	1.0	1.0	—	0
Wk 7	W 37-0@ Wisconsin	2	2	0.0	0.0	1	0
Wk 8	W 25-24vs Penn State	7	3	0.0	0.0	—	0	Season-high 7 tackles
Wk 9	W 41-3vs Minnesota	2	2	2.0	2.0	—	0	2 sacks
Wk 11	L 16-18vs Oregon	3	0	0.0	0.0	—	0
Wk 12	L 21-26@ USC	3	2	1.0	1.0	—	0
Wk 13	W 20-17vs Michigan State	1	1	0.0	0.0	—	0
Wk 14	W 40-16@ Nebraska	2	0	0.0	0.0	—	1
Bowl	W 34-27@ Vanderbilt	1	0	0.0	0.0	—	0
Total		37	17	6.5	5.0	1	1

How he plays

Play style

Disruptive interior rusher who lives in the backfield.

CFB Index positional classification

Activity vs finishing · season enumeration

What the box score actually says

13 games

37Tackles

17Solo

6.5TFL

5Sacks

1Pass def.

1INT

37 tackles. 1 passes defended. 1 interceptions. 6.5 TFL.

Week 11 sack
Week 51 sack
Week 71 INT
Week 92 sacks
Week 121 sack
Week 141 PD

Counts only, never a rate — splash-event sample sizes this small (interceptions, pass breakups, TFL) are noise as a rate and signal only as a tally.

2026 Outlook

Iowa

2026 Depth chart

Projected starter

Defensive line · Iowa

Returning around him

7 Iowa players drafted to NFL
Transfer portal: +7 net (15 in / 8 out)

2026 Award watch

No preseason watch lists yet (most drop June 15 – July 15)

Iowa · Last season: 9-4 · Talent rank #44 · 2026 recruiting class #26

DNA match

Player DNA

3-Tech Penetrator

Disruptive interior rusher who lives in the backfield.

IDL

His 2025 production profile sits closest to Will Whitson’s 2024 season.

Will Whitson

86%match

Coastal Carolina · 2024

All-Sun Belt

Shakel Brown

Troy · 2022

84%

Sokoya McDuffie

Old Dominion · 2021

84%

Braden Fiske

Florida State · 2023

All-ACCNFL Rd 2 · Pk 7

84%

Justin Eboigbe

Alabama · 2023

All-SECNFL Rd 4

84%

Matches Will on

Height

Weight

Hurry rate

Not enough data yet for this comparison.

As a senior, his production profile tracks closest to Justin Eboigbe's senior season at Alabama (2023).

Justin Eboigbe

88%match

Alabama · 2023

All-SECNFL Rd 4

Kyonte Hamilton

Rutgers · 2024

NFL Rd 7

84%

Rene Konga

Louisville · 2024

All-ACC

84%

Dennis Briggs Jr.

Florida State · 2023

83%

Braden Fiske

Florida State · 2023

All-ACCNFL Rd 2 · Pk 7

81%

Matches Justin on

Class year

Weight

TFL rate

Player DNA

Players who play like Aaron Graves

George Rooks

Boston College · 2024

91%

DeShawn Lynch

Washington · 2024

88%

Logan Lee

Iowa · 2023

87%

Rylie Mills

Notre Dame · 2024

86%

Tyree Morris

Utah State · 2025

86%

Stats from CFBD · ESPN · fan discourse. Every figure computed from source tables — not invented. Methodology

Aaron Graves

20227 games

202513 games

2025 snapshot

Splits & context

Awards

All-Conference

Career stats

Signature game

Game log

How he plays

DNA match

3-Tech Penetrator

Players who play like Aaron Graves