Eight is great
With less than a month to go until the NFL Draft, the news, rumors, and predictions are coming in hot and heavy. With the combine and pro days now behind us (including Notre Dame’s) the 7 round mock drafts are gaining more and more attention.
So let’s take a look at one.
In a 7 round mock draft, College Sports Network has 8 Notre Dame football players being selected.
ROUND 2
- 56 — CB Benjamin Morrison — Buffalo Bills
Benjamin Morrison is extremely technically refined and polished. He has the ability to anticipate routes and brings awareness presnap. However, a season-ending hip injury has plummeted his draft stock, and the Notre Dame corner has gone from a surefire first-round pick before the 2024 season to a likely Day 2 pick-up.
ROUND 3
- 74 — S Xavier Watts — Carolina Panthers
Xavier Watts is a ball-hawking safety with elite production. The Notre Dame safety has 13 interceptions in the last two seasons, demonstrating exceptional anticipation, proactive ball skills, and explosive trigger.
ROUND 4
- 127 — LB Jack Kiser — Los Angeles Rams
ROUND 5
- 152 — DT Howard Cross — Arizona Cardinals
- 153 — TE Mitchell Evans — Cincinnati Bengals
ROUND 6
- 192 — DT Rylie Mills — Cleveland Browns
- 213 — RJ Oben — Las Vegas Raiders
ROUND 7
- 254 — QB Riley Leonard — New Orleans Saints
I don’t really have a lot of takes from this mock draft. After all… it’s just a mock draft. I do, however, have just a few thoughts.
The downward spiral of Benjamin Morrison’s draft stock continues to amaze me. According to this mock draft, Morrison will be the 9th cornerback selected. The eight in front are:
- 2 — Travis Hunter (Colorado Buffaloes) — Cleveland Browns
- 6 — Will Johnson (Michigan Wolverines) — Las Vegas Raiders
- 22 — Jahdae Barron (Texas Longhorns) — Los Angeles Chargers
- 23 — Shavon Revel (East Carolina Pirates) — Green Bay Packers
- 36 — Maxwell Hairston (Kentucky Wildcats) — Jacksonville Jaguars
- 43 — Azareye’h Thomas (Florida State Seminoles) — San Francisco 49ers
- 46 — Darien Porter (Iowa State Cyclones) — Atlanta Falcons
- 52 — Trey Amos (Ole Miss Rebels) — Seattle Seahawks
The most pressing thought I have is… what the hell happened? Will Johnson had injuries too, and he’s still a projected first rounder. And to be honest, it’s not the round or the overall pick that is shocking — it’s that Morrison is basically rated here as the 9th best CB in the draft. A former All-American with film to back his play. It’s just odd to me.
Xavier Watts is going to be a steal for whoever picks him. It was also clear in this mock draft that the safety position looks to have very little value. Watts is the third safety selected after Nick Emmanwori (South Carolina Gamecocks) and Malachi Starks (Georgia Bulldogs). Both Emmanwori and Starks are projected to go in the first round, and Watts is projected to go in the 3rd round. That seems VERY odd to me.
A few more quick thoughts:
- I think both Jack Kiser and Rylie Mills are projected about a round lower than I think they will actually go.
- While getting drafted is a life goal for all of these players, Riley Leonard would actually be better off to go undrafted than be drafted with pick #254.
- I never really gave serious thought to RJ Oben being drafted, but seeing the 6th round is nice to see.
- I’m still on the “Beaux Collins will be drafted” boat, but I don’t have much to back that up.
Obviously there is still a bunch of time between today and the NFL Draft, and trades always makes these 7 round drafts obsolete in a hurry — but let’s have our fun and argue about it anyway.