Category: Notre Dame NFL Draft

Notre Dame’s Kareem Now Healthy Following Labrum Surgery

The NFL Draft is fast approaching and it seems like Notre Dame’s Khalid Kareem is healthy and ready for the NFL.

Many football players have the mindset to leave it all on the field, regardless of how they feel. Notre Dame’s DE Khalid Kareem did exactly that, as he found out after the regular season was over, that he played his final 3 games with a torn labrum in his left shoulder.

Although Kareem was injured, that still didn’t stop him from being highly effective on the field, as he registered 14 tackles, a sack, three forced fumbles and recovered one while unaware of his shoulder injury. He did play in the Camping World Bowl win over Iowa State, but wasn’t overly effective, just getting one tackle while pressuring the quarterback twice. About three weeks later he went under the knife and his shoulder was repaired, but the timing caused him to miss the Senior Bowl and ensuing NFL Combine.

By the look of this video, Kareem looks healthy once again.  He is projected to be selected between rounds 3 and 5 of the NFL Draft that will be held in less than two weeks. This video should help his draft stock as letting NFL teams know he is healthy and ready to play whenever teams will be able to reconvene and be ready to contribute this upcoming season.

NFL Draft: Notre Dame’s Kmet Runaway Favorite to be First Tight End Taken

We’ve long been on-board with Notre Dame’s Kmet as the best tight end prospect in the nation since October but others took their time to join us in that thinking.  One outlet that does see him the same way as us is BetMGM.

Will someone jump up and grab Cole Kmet at the end of the first round next Thursday as the NFL Draft kicks off?  That remains to be seen but we are getting what appears to be clarity on how much better of a prospect he’s viewed as compared to the rest of the class.

We’ve long been on-board with Notre Dame’s Kmet as the best tight end prospect in the nation since October but others took their time to join us in that thinking.  One outlet that does see him the same way as us is BetMGM.

BetMGM lists Kmet as a runaway favorite to be the first tight end off the board as they list him as a -286 moneyline favorite, or almost 1:3 odds.  For comparison, Adam Trautman of Dayton checks in with the second best odds at 7:1.  Brycen Hopkins of Purdue is 9:1 and Thaddeus Moss of LSU closest the top four at 11:1.

Odds via BetMGM. Access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated _____ at _____ a.m. / p.m. ET. (You will need to write in the day and time you are looking at the latest betting lines)

Kmet is far from a perfect tight end prospect as Jeff Feyerer wrote about a week or so ago.  Compared to the rest of the class though he’s the best tight end prospect in this class and if he can stay on the field, has potential to do some work in the NFL.

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Notre Dame’s Kmet Rated Top Tight End by Touchdown Wire

Cole Kmet might not be a can’t miss tight end prospect but none exist in the 2020 NFL Draft. What he is is the best tight end available.

Anything and everything you read about this 2020 NFL Draft tight end class is that it pales in comparison to recent classes.

Last year’s class saw Iowa teammates T.J. Hockenson and Noah Fant both go in the first round. 2018 wasn’t great, but it still had one first rounder, two second rounders and two third rounders. 2017 was chock full of highly rated prospects in O.J. Howard, David Njoku, and Evan Engram.

This year. Meh.

Washington’s Hunter Bryant, Purdue’s Brycen Hopkins, Florida Atlantic’s Harrison Bryant are interesting receiving threats, Dayton’s Adam Trautman is intriguing. I’ve always liked Missouri’s Albert Okwuegbunam. But none of them is the complete package.

Kmet is the closest thing the NFL is going to see in this draft to a “complete” tight end.

That fact alone may have been the impetus for Notre Dame’s Cole Kmet to enter his name in the draft despite 23 career games, 60 career catches and an opportunity to put up major numbers next year with quarterback Ian Book coming back and Chase Claypool’s targets to fill.

Based on analysis from Touchdown Wire’s own Mark Schofield, he made the right decision.

Schofield has him rated as the #1 in the class citing his ability to attack the seam, his catch radius, his run after catch potential, and the breadth of his blocking experience relative to other college tight ends.

Along with those positives, Schofield mentions his tendency toward body-catching in traffic, defenses finding success in knocking him off his routes and the injuries that prevented Kmet from gaining more experience.

I have Kmet ranked right now as my number one tight end and I don’t see that changing. Though some may consider me biased, I’ve been aboard the Kmet bandwagon as the next great Notre Dame tight end.

Check the time stamp there folks!

Now here’s the thing. Kmet is by no means a perfect prospect. Justifiably, there are concerns and I agree with all of those Schofield mentioned in his analysis. While the potential is there, there simply isn’t a lot of evidence of Kmet being a no-doubt prospect.

Frankly, he hasn’t played a lot of football. Even Kyle Rudolph, who seemed like he was always banged up, played in six more college contests than Kmet. But it does beg the question?

Is the unknown on Kmet a negative or is it a curiosity that will pique some team’s interest forcing him higher up the boards than we think.

I’m willing to bet on the latter.

Where does Kmet’s pro potential rank in my mind compared to recent products from “Tight End U”? I’m glad you asked.

Kmet might not be a knock-out prospect for reasons discussed but he is the clear top tight end in this NFL Draft.

Former Notre Dame Star Smith Honored by MaxPreps

Jaylon Smith is recognized as one of the best high school players in the last decade.

Earlier this week MaxPreps came out with their All-Decade High School Football Team, consisting of the best prep players from 2010-2019. They honored 100 players in their list, with former Irish star LB Jaylon Smith being named to the first team.

Zach Poff, MaxPreps National Football Editor, who compiled the list, wrote that Smith “was the top-rated linebacker in his class and helped the Knights to four consecutive state titles. Named Mr. Football in Indiana as a senior and was a three-time all-state first-team selection.” The production by Smith in high school led to a 5-Star ranking by all services and finished his career by playing in the prestigious U.S. Army All-American Bowl.

Smith then made an impact early and often in his career in South Bend, totaling 292 tackles, 24.5 tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks, 3 forced fumbles and an interception. The three-year starter was a second-team All-American his sophomore season before winning the Butkus Award as the nation’s best linebacker his junior year. Smith’s final year saw him become a consensus All-American and unfortunately during his final game in the Blue and Gold, he tore his ACL and LCL.

This clearly hurt his draft stock, as prior to Smith’s injury he was viewed as a clear-cut first round pick. The Dallas Cowboys selected Smith in the second round with the 34th overall selection but did not play his “rookie” year due to rehabbing the injury. When Smith finally returned to the field, his talent’s shined once again, as he has totaled 344 tackles, 7.5 sacks, an interception, 6 forced fumbles and a touchdown. His efforts impressed Dallas as they extended him through 2024 for $64 million. Smith has been a star at every stop he’s had in his football career. He has made Notre Dame extremely proud to call him an alumnus.

Bowl Projections in April?! – We may as well react…

Perhaps even more absurd is trying to project bowl projections right now in a season that may or may not be played and at that, very possibly would at least start after a significant delay.

Quick – name something absurd you’ve done during your time having to stay home during the Coronavirus pandemic we’re all living through.

I’ll start:

I stayed up until almost 3 a.m. on Saturday night and into Sunday morning as I not only started but completed the entire seven episodes of “Tiger King” on Netflix.  Thoughts:  humans are just the worst, I’ve never rooted so hard for a team of tigers in my life and, uh, I have a lot of questions but will save them for another place and time.

Perhaps even more absurd is trying to project bowl projections right now in a season that may or may not be played and at that, very possibly would at least start after a significant delay.

Now enter Pete Fiutak, my partner on the College Football News Podcast (I’ve got technical issues on my end so recording has hit a snag for the time being).  Pete runs College Football News and his idea for fun was to try and project each and every bowl game for the 2020 season.

On April 1.

Yes, he’s crazy but we already knew that.  Now to answer your immediate question of “Where did he put Notre Dame!?!!”

The Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl facing off against Florida.

He had a lot of positive things to project about Notre Dame a few days back when he claimed they’ll knock off Clemson and be a player for a College Football Playoff spot but in his projections kept them just short of the CFP here.

Take all complaints up with @PeteFiutak.

Would this count as satisfying for you as a Notre Dame fan?  For me it’d be satisfying, sure, but it’s not often a schedule sets up to be both as strong but also as favorable in terms of being very top-heavy but also allowing for a potential playoff berth even if there is a loss in there.

NFL Combine Show’s Why Notre Dame Strength Coach Matt Balis is One of the Best in the Country

Notre Dame Director of Football Performance Matt Balis is one of the best in the country.

The NFL combine finished last weekend and what the eight former Notre Dame stars did was impressive as a whole. A lot of that credit has to go to Matt Balis, the Director of Football Performance AKA strength coach for the Blue and Gold. Balis is responsible for getting the players in optimal playing shape, and those skills translated to many performing extremely well for NFL personnel.

Charles Power, of 247Sports looked over some of the data after the combine and some strength coaches stood out to him. Balis was one of them, as he has made many players improve their athletic traits. Power had a very interesting stat to go along with the success Balis has had “noting the Fighting Irish are 33-6 since Balis arrived in South Bend.”

In Olympic style scoring, the Irish would have taken the crown as they finished inside the top three in 7 different events. Individually it was TE Cole Kmet that stood out as he was named to NFL.com’s All-Combine Offensive Team.

Kmet and WR Chase Claypool were two of the former Irish star’s that made noise during the workouts and that is a direct reflection of the work that Balis has put in with those players. It’s safe to say his methods are among the best in the country, giving Brian Kelly’s team a leg up against many opponents.

NFL Combine: Notre Dame’s Chase Claypool Tests Into Elite Company

Notre Dame’s Chase Claypool wows NFL scouts at NFL Combine.

Everyone who follows Notre Dame Football knew WR Chase Claypool would test out very well at the NFL Combine, but no one really knew how impressive Claypool would be. He put on a show in Indianapolis yesterday.

Claypool’s 40-yard dash time put him among some very elite company. Since the 2006 NFL Combine, Claypool joins future Hall of Fame WR Calvin Johnson as the only WR’s over 230-pounds to run that fast. When adding in the bench press numbers along with his measureables, the NFL is drooling over Claypool’s potential.

Any time you are compared to Megatron, you are in very good company. Claypool was asked to work out at tight end as well, but after putting up these kind of numbers, NFL teams will be falling in love with him even more.

Claypool’s impressive showing yesterday will most likely make him plenty of money, as he will for sure move up many teams’ draft boards. The NFL executives tend to fall in love with players who test out this well and Chase Claypool is the latest player to wow everyone while doing drills in Indy.

NFL Combine: Claypool, Finke and Kmet’s Bench Press Results

Wednesday saw the wide receivers attack the bench press with two former Notre Dame targets getting their reps in.

Workouts are getting underway at the 2020 NFL Combine in Indianapolis and we’ll keep you as up to date as we possibly can with any results or news that come from Notre Dame prospects in attendance.  Wednesday saw the wide receivers attack the bench press with two former Notre Dame targets getting their reps in.

Chase Claypool, who plenty of conversations have focused on potentially changing positions to tight end, put up an outstanding 19 reps in the bench press (225 pounds).  That will do little to downplay a potential position change for him as it’s a very high number for a receiver.

Chris Finke also participated in the bench press Wednesday, putting up seven reps himself.

Finke and Claypool will both go through the more advanced workouts starting Thursday, as will former Notre Dame tight end Cole Kmet who chose not to participate in the bench press at the combine but could during Notre Dame’s pro day that will be held in March.

Troy Pride, Jr. Listed as Contender for Fastest 40 Time at NFL Combine

For what it’s worth, wide receiver John Ross of Washington ran a 4.22 40 yard dash at the 2017 NFL Combine which is the recorded for fastest dash to this day.

A ton has been made about Troy Pride, Jr. who we discussed last week for despite not having the most impressive statline, having quite a resume and seemingly having his stock rise ahead of the NFL Draft.

Pride’s coverage skills were always good at Notre Dame even if his size isn’t exactly that of a traditional NFL cornerback, at least not of the traditionally sized stars.

However, his speed is truly elite.  The former track team member at Notre Dame ran a 10.5 second 100 meter dash at the ACC Outdoor Championships in 2018, good enough for a fifth place finish before he moved on from track and focused solely on football.

The USA TODAY tried to guess who will run the fastest 40 yard dash at the NFL Combine this week and named a few of the favorites to walk away with the fastest time.  Pride is by no means their pick but he’s listed with the following writeup:

Troy Pride Jr., CB, Notre Dame

One of our earlier picks as a sleeper to watch at the combine, Pride could seize the stage at the combine by following a standout Senior Bowl with another impressive workout. Pride said he’s “way faster now” than when Notre Dame hand-timed him at 4.30, and he was recognized as one of the Athletic Coast Conference’s top sprinters during his freshman and sophomore years.

For what it’s worth, wide receiver John Ross of Washington ran a 4.22 40 yard dash at the 2017 NFL Combine which is the recorded for fastest dash to this day.

NFL Combine: Kmet Well Aware of Hometown Bears Need at Tight End

As the Chicago Bears enter 2020 the need at the position is as obvious as it gets and the Notre Dame product is well-aware of his hometown team’s hole at the position.

The Chicago Bears have a good amount of needs headed into the 2020 NFL Draft with tight end being a massive one.  In the offense they’re trying to run, modeled off of that from Andy Reid and the Kansas City Chiefs, the importance of a tight end can’t be understated.

However, the Bears have struck out on the position in recent years paying a boatload of money to former Philadelphia Eagle Trey Burton and spending a second round pick on Adam Shaheen who has done practically nothing in three seasons.  As they enter 2020 the need at the position is as obvious as it gets and the Notre Dame product is well-aware of his hometown team’s hole at the position.

“I’ve definitely looked at it” is what Kmet said Tuesday at the combine when asked about the Bears issues at the position.

“Obviously it would be a great opportunity to play in Chicago and the hometown and all of that. That would be a lot of fun” Kmet added.

Notre Dame used to be a hot-bed for talent for the Chicago Bears as 22 different former Fighting Irish players have been drafted by the Bears over the years.

Dave Duerson, Jim Flanigan, Mike Gandy and some guy named Johnny Lujack immediately come to mind.

When asked his favorite NFL team growing up, Kmet let his fondness for the orange and blue in Chicago be known:

“The Bears. The hometown.”

Kmet helped guide St. Viator High School in Chicago suburb Arlington Heights, Illinois to a state championship in baseball his senior year.  Tom Thayer and Chris Zorich are a couple of the Chicago locals to go on to Notre Dame before ending up with the Bears, a list Kmet could potentially join.

Personally I’d hope for Kmet to be a Bear, been a while since a Notre Dame player was brought in and expected to be a difference-maker on my favorite NFL team.  I’m guessing Kmet would be happier to sneak into the back end of the first round (Bears first pick is 43rd overall) and find a more consistently good franchise and bigger paycheck that comes along with it.