Okwara – Syndication Server

Recapping All Notre Dame NFL Draft Picks

Cole Kmet “stays home” during quarantine and lands with hometown Chicago Bears. Just how bad have things gone at tight end there that he’ll be counted on to fix?

This weekend saw six players from Notre Dame selected in the 2020 NFL Draft with another hand-full being signed to free agent deals. Who landed in the best places to find success and which of the later picks or free agent signings will have the best chance of making a roster?

In our podcast with myself and Jeff Feyerer we discuss the landing spot of every Notre Dame player this draft season.

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Cole Kmet “stays home” during quarantine and lands with hometown Chicago Bears. Just how bad have things gone at tight end there that he’ll be counted on to fix?

Did Chase Claypool get selected by the best franchise in football to get drafted by if you’re a wide receiver?

How much did Julian Okwara’s injury effect him falling to the third round and how many stories were better this weekend than him getting to play pro ball with his brother in Detroit?

We also analyze the rest of the picks: Troy Pride, Jr., Khalid Kareem and Alohi Gilman before breaking down all of the undrafted free agents as well. Take a listen and on Apple Podcasts go ahead and hit subscribe. Hope you enjoy what you hear and we’ll be doing this a lot more in the near future.

(Any feedback we are happy to take on Twitter at @NickShepkowski and @JF_Fey)

USA TODAY: Updated Second Round Mock Draft

Kmet is the only Notre Dame player going in Davis’s second round mock. Houston would be a nice fit, at least in terms of quarterback as perhaps the best receiver in the entire league was who Houston traded. I wouldn’t want to be associated with Bill O’Brien as a general manager but there are far worse offenses to get your NFL feet wet in than the Texans.

The opening round of the NFL Draft came and went Thursday night with no Notre Dame players hearing their names called. Entering the night it felt like it’d be an upset to hear any of their names called but a few things that would have been seen as upsets played out on night one.

What happens now in the second round? Before night two of the NFL Draft kicks off at 7 p.m. ET tonight, let’s look at where the USA TODAY has one Notre Dame player going in round two.

From Nate Davis on Friday morning:

40. Houston Texans (from Arizona Cardinals) – Cole Kmet, TE, Notre Dame: With the pick acquired in the dubious DeAndre Hopkins deal, why not give QB Deshaun Watson a weapon who can help protect him, unleash the run game and bust a few big gainers down the seams?

I know a lot of attention goes to Claypool but the one I’d be most surprised by not getting their name called in round two in Julian Okwara. He didn’t have the dominating final season with Notre Dame in terms of actual sack numbers and some may use the late-season injury against him but he stayed healthy previous to that with the Irish. He seems like a mid-second round talent to me and can’t help but see the potential steal someone may be getting if he in fact does not go in round two.

Mock Drafts: Five Notre Dame Players Selected in SI’s First Five Rounds

Sports Illustrated put out their 14th edition of the 2020 NFL Mock Draft. Find out where they have five Notre Dame players being selected.

Quick, how do you know we’ve gotten to the point that we need the actual draft to happen instead of guessing and wondering what’s going to happen with the seven rounds? If you’re seeing a mock draft labeled as “14.0” then you know we’ve probably guessed enough and we’d all be alright if the picks actually started being made.

Well I have some bad news. We still have two more weeks of this before the actual draft happens.

With that said, Kevin Hanson of Sports Illustrated released his 14th mock draft and did his without projecting any trades, just by making selections for the first five rounds. In those five rounds he had five Notre Dame players getting selected.

No Notre Dame players went in the first round of Hanson’s mock but a pair went in Round Two:

44th overall – Colts – Cole Kmet, TE
Great fit to get his first NFL licks with Phillip Rivers throwing him the ball and having Jack Doyle on the roster as well. Personally I hope he goes a pick before.

51 – Cowboys – Julian Okwara, Edge
The Cowboys have to find pass rush help after Robert Quinn departed for Chicago this off-season. Okwara would probably be thrilled if this were to end up happening.

Round Three:

66 – Redskins – Chase Claypool, WR
As a fan of Chase Claypool I hope that literally any other NFL team drafts him. Big Ron Rivera fan but can’t think of many organizations in professional sports that are less respected.

86 – Bills – Troy Pride, Jr., CB
If you follow the league at all you know that Buffalo’s defense has something brewing. If you’re picking teams to be a slot corner for as a rookie then Buffalo is way up on your desirable destinations.

92 – Ravens – Khalid Kareem, Edge
A chance for Kareem to go up against Ronnie Stanley in practice on the regular. Well, at least the few times teams are actually allowed to practice anymore.

The Notre Dame Draft Prospect Pro Football Focus Loves

One outlet that has been all about a certain Notre Dame player this off-season though is Pro Football Focus, who again has Julian Okwara going in their latest mock draft’s first round.

If you’ve consumed many NFL mock drafts in the recent weeks you’ve probably not seen many Notre Dame players selected in the first round. It’s at best a toss-up but seeming less likely by the day, and the mock draft that a former Fighting Irish football player is selected in the first round.

One outlet that has been all about a certain Notre Dame player this off-season though is Pro Football Focus, who again has Julian Okwara going in their latest mock draft’s first round.

It’s important to remember that PFF conducts these drafts by making the picks by selecting the players they would take if they were the GM of all 32 teams, not by picking who they believe each team will take. With that said, here is what Steve Palazzolo had to say about Okwara who they have going 28th overall to the Baltimore Ravens.

Even with the Ravens franchising Matt Judon, Okwara is a fantastic fit for their defense. They have the most versatile defense in the league, and Okwara is an edge rusher with coverage-dropping athleticism. The Ravens can continue their “positionless football” approach on defense with Okwara, who had an excellent 90.4 pass-rush grade a year ago to go with the movement skills to play off-ball linebacker if needed. The Ravens will use that skillset to keep opposing offenses off balance.

This isn’t the first time PFF has had Okwara going in the first round as two weeks ago Mike Renner had Okwara going 29th to the Tennessee Titans.

If I had to guess I’d think that coming off of injury especially hurts Okwara as he didn’t workout besides in the bench press at the NFL Rookie Combine a few weeks back. Because of that I’ll be pleasantly surprised if someone does step up and take him in the first round.

Notre Dame Pair Featured in USA TODAY Mock Draft

The other Golden Domer that Middlehurst-Schwartz had going in round one would be headed to one of the few franchises still playing football this January.

As college football has concluded for 2019 and the NFL has just three more games of consequence we slowly start to turn to the annual blending of the two, the NFL Draft.

Next weekend will be the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Alabama and coaches and scouts will get a chance to see the stars of tomorrow up close for a week.

With that in mind it is officially Mock Draft Season.

Perhaps the excitement in the air isn’t quite as rich as when the holidays hit in December but for football fans and followers it’s an interesting time to watch stocks rise and fall NFL bound players.

With that in mind the USA TODAY released their latest NFL Mock Draft on Thursday and a pair of key 2019 Notre Dame players made their way to the first round.

Here is who Michael Middlehurst-Schwartz has going and where he has them headed in April’s draft:

23. Patriots — Cole Kmet, TE, Notre Dame: While New England’s future with Tom Brady remains unclear, perhaps it’s time for Bill Belichick and Co. to focus on a different glaring issue. As the draft’s top talent at tight end, Kmet might help fill the Rob Gronkowski-sized hole in this offense.

Ah, the natural fit. If you’re a tight end you want to go to Notre Dame because they turn out more talent than anyone else at the position. Meanwhile if you’re in the NFL it’s hard to find many places better to play than New England where so much of their offensive success over the last two decades has been built on great tight ends. This would be a dream scenario for Kmet.

The other Golden Domer that Middlehurst-Schwartz had going in round one would be headed to one of the few franchises still playing football this January.

29. Titans — Julian Okwara, DE/OLB, Notre Dame: Mike Vrabel has thrown an assortment of players into the pass-rushing mix, yet none have proven consistent threats. Tennessee can ramp up its efforts on this front by grabbing Okwara, who’s still learning the finer points of his position but has a tantalizing athletic profile.

Will Okwara end being a first round pick? It depends you ask, read or follow as he is seemingly very much on the bubble there. After what they’ve done the last two weekends and really since the middle of the regular season Okwara would be walking into a place to likely to compete for something big again.