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BLOOMINGTON — The Houston Texans drafted Indiana football linebacker Aiden Fisher with the No. 243rd pick in the seventh round of the 2026 NFL Draft on Saturday afternoon.
Fisher leaves the Hoosiers as the program’s first defender to earn multiple All-America nods. He’s only the second player in team history to earn first-team All-Big Ten honors (Van Waiters). He’s the first IU linebacker drafted since the New York Giants selected Micah McFadden in the fifth round of the 2022 draft.
Indiana football coach Curt Cignetti leaned on Fisher to transfer over the culture they brought from James Madison into IU’s locker room. He also anchored defensive coordinator Bryant Haines’ complex scheme. He wore the green dot helmet — the designated player on the defense who can hear play calls from coaches — in each of his two seasons in Bloomington and was a game captain for each game in 2025.
Fisher, who developed a well-earned reputation for calling out plays at the line of scrimmage, was a consistent playmaker as well. He flew around the field during a win over Oregon in Eugene with 13 tackles, returned an interception for a touchdown against UCLA and had multiple sacks in the CFP.
Fisher received an NFL combine invite, but waited to do his testing until IU’s Pro Day. The linebacker posted a 4.76-second 40-yard dash, 37.5-inch vertical jump, 10-foot, 3-inch broad jump and 4.51-second shuttle run. He had a 6.30 Relative Athletic Score, a metric that evaluates NFL prospects by comparing their athletic ability to historical data for their specific position. The score ranked 1,288 out of 3,408 running backs tested going back to 1987.
Fisher finished second on IU with 97 tackles (46), his third straight season with more than 95 tackles. He filled up the box score on a weekly basis with 10.5 tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks, two interceptions (one returned for a touchdown) and one forced fumble. He also had 21 quarterback pressures.
Athletic limitations aside, Fisher is a player NFL teams will want in their locker rooms. He’s a hard-worker that’s as dedicated of a film junkie as Curt Cignetti. Those traits help him make up for a slim build and lack of explosiveness. He replaces a quick first step with pre-snap knowledge of knowing where the ball is going. Fisher’s leadership qualities are second-to-none as well.
Michael Niziolek is the Indiana beat reporter for The Bloomington Herald-Times. You can follow him on X @michaelniziolek and read all his coverage by clicking here.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indiana's Aiden Fisher taken in 7th round of NFL Draft; what the Texans are getting
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Fisher leaves the Hoosiers as the program’s first defender to earn multiple All-America nods. He’s only the second player in team history to earn first-team All-Big Ten honors (Van Waiters). He’s the first IU linebacker drafted since the New York Giants selected Micah McFadden in the fifth round of the 2022 draft.
Indiana football linebacker Aiden Fisher highlights
Indiana football coach Curt Cignetti leaned on Fisher to transfer over the culture they brought from James Madison into IU’s locker room. He also anchored defensive coordinator Bryant Haines’ complex scheme. He wore the green dot helmet — the designated player on the defense who can hear play calls from coaches — in each of his two seasons in Bloomington and was a game captain for each game in 2025.
Fisher, who developed a well-earned reputation for calling out plays at the line of scrimmage, was a consistent playmaker as well. He flew around the field during a win over Oregon in Eugene with 13 tackles, returned an interception for a touchdown against UCLA and had multiple sacks in the CFP.
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Indiana football linebacker Aiden Fisher NFL combine results
Fisher received an NFL combine invite, but waited to do his testing until IU’s Pro Day. The linebacker posted a 4.76-second 40-yard dash, 37.5-inch vertical jump, 10-foot, 3-inch broad jump and 4.51-second shuttle run. He had a 6.30 Relative Athletic Score, a metric that evaluates NFL prospects by comparing their athletic ability to historical data for their specific position. The score ranked 1,288 out of 3,408 running backs tested going back to 1987.
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Indiana football linebacker Aiden Fisher stats
Fisher finished second on IU with 97 tackles (46), his third straight season with more than 95 tackles. He filled up the box score on a weekly basis with 10.5 tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks, two interceptions (one returned for a touchdown) and one forced fumble. He also had 21 quarterback pressures.
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Indiana football linebacker Aiden Fisher scouting report
Athletic limitations aside, Fisher is a player NFL teams will want in their locker rooms. He’s a hard-worker that’s as dedicated of a film junkie as Curt Cignetti. Those traits help him make up for a slim build and lack of explosiveness. He replaces a quick first step with pre-snap knowledge of knowing where the ball is going. Fisher’s leadership qualities are second-to-none as well.
Michael Niziolek is the Indiana beat reporter for The Bloomington Herald-Times. You can follow him on X @michaelniziolek and read all his coverage by clicking here.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indiana's Aiden Fisher taken in 7th round of NFL Draft; what the Texans are getting
Continue reading...
