Xavier Nwankpa
Career Summary
Xavier Nwankpa is a safety who played four seasons at Iowa before joining the Kansas City Chiefs in 2026.
He entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent and made his regular-season debut as a rookie.
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Early Life
Nwankpa is from Pleasant Hill, Iowa.
Iowa lists Pleasant Hill as his hometown.
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High School
Nwankpa attended Southeast Polk High School.
He was named an Adidas All-American and MaxPreps Iowa Player of the Year as a senior, and his team won a state championship that season.
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College Career
Nwankpa played 52 games with 36 starts during four seasons at Iowa.
He totaled 171 tackles, seven passes defensed, three interceptions, three tackles for loss, two forced fumbles and a sack. In 2025, he started all 13 games at free safety and recorded 76 tackles, an interception and two forced fumbles.
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Path to the NFL
Nwankpa signed with the Kansas City Chiefs as an undrafted free agent in 2026.
The Chiefs identify 2026 as his first NFL season.
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NFL Career
Nwankpa made his regular-season debut for Kansas City in 2026.
The Chiefs list one game played and two combined tackles in his opening NFL season.
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Career Accomplishments
Nwankpa earned third-team All-Big Ten recognition from the media in 2025 and Academic All-Big Ten honors in 2023, 2024 and 2025.
He was also named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week for his 2025 performance against Penn State.
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Playing Style
Nwankpa's Iowa career combined starting experience at strong safety and free safety with substantial special-teams work.
The Chiefs cite his size, length, speed and 466 special-teams snaps at Iowa.
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31945, 00-0040957, 12/8/2003, Xavier Nwankpa, Xavier, Nwankpa
MFT PLAYER RANKINGS
Current player ranking
MFT Score: 0.0
2026 preseason baseline. Position-relative and updated through the site’s weekly review process.