Though a fantastic weekend of college football is in the books, another day of football is just beginning. 

Some of you may not be as invested in the NFL as you are college football, but as you know, there are a lot of former Iowa State players having success in the professional ranks. 

Here are some of the top former players you should keep an eye on in Week 6: 

Spoiler: you can probably list Purdy at the top spot for the rest of the season, he's just been that good. I'll be honest, I never saw an NFL future for Purdy after he went 7-6 during his final Iowa State season and was selected last in the subsequent NFL Draft, but he's proved me and just about everyone else wrong with San Fransisco. 

The 49ers are one of the best teams in the NFL when healthy, and they've been flat out dominant in 2026 so far. 5-0 San Francisco is coming off a big-time win over NFC West rival Seattle last weekend, but that's now long in the past. The attention now turns to a Monday night showdown with the 1-3-1 Washington Commanders at Levi's Stadium.

FanDuel lists the Niners as an early 7.5-point favorite, so we'll see if Purdy and Co. can keep things rolling at home. Washington quarterback Jayden Daniels won't make things easy. 

The Houston Texans are one of the strangest teams in the NFL. That defense was supposed to help the Texans remain in Super Bowl contention, but it instead resulted in a disastrous 0-4 start. Houston worked itself out of an 0-3 hole last year, but it has a ton of work to do this year. 

Any chance of reviving the 2026 season begins with an upset win over AFC South rival Jacksonville in London on Sunday morning, but the Texans will have to do so without running back David Montgomery. The beloved former Cyclone suffered a groin injury in last weekend's win over Tennessee and will be out this weekend as a result, so this is your reminder. 

If you're disappointed you can't start your Sundays by watching David Montgomery, you can always watch Jaylin Noel ball out for Houston as well. Noel has tallied 277 yards and one touchdown on 13 receptions this season, so expect him to be a primary target for quarterback C.J. Stroud. Though the Jaguars are 4-1, their defense ranks just 18th in the NFL in total defense, so there could be some opportunities for Noel to shine. 

The addition of offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel was supposed to help the Los Angeles Chargers be one of the best offenses in the NFL, but that has yielded anything but. The Chargers' season is essentially over before November, as they currently sit winless at 0-5. 

Los Angeles needs anything it can get at this point, and that's where Kolar comes in. He signed with the Chargers in free agency and is coming off a three-catch, 37-yard performance against Denver last weekend. We'll see if he can see a similar volume against AFC West rival Kansas City on Sunday. 

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