John Harbaugh explains why he took Notre Dame’s Kyle Hamilton
Were you surprised Notre Dame safety Kyle Hamilton was still available to take by the time the No. 14 pick rolled around in the 2022 NFL Draft?
So was the owner of the selection, Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh.
On Saturday, Harbaugh joined ABC’s NFL Draft broadcast and spoke with host Rece Davis about his thought process in drafting a safety sometimes called a “unicorn.”
“Starting with versatility, the thing that we love about him is he can lineup in different spots,” Harbaugh said. “He can play a deep middle, plays a deep half. You see it there, he’s covering ground sideline to sideline and making plays. But just as easily, you can put him up in the box, he’ll drop out underneath, he’ll make plays on the ball with this length, he’ll play the run.”
Hamilton’s 2021 season was cut short by a knee injury, but in just over six games last year, he was placed all over the field; he lined up in the box 87 times, in the slot 227 times and as a free safety 114 times. That’s definitely worthy of earning the “versatile” label. Irish head coach Marcus Freeman has even said he may have asked Hamilton to do too much by playing all over the gridiron.
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“He’s a very smart player, high-character guy, great family, comes from an athletic background, he’s been around it his whole life. We’re thrilled to have him,” Harbaugh said.
Hamilton was given top draft “grades” by most analysts, signaling the Ravens should be thrilled to have him. He was widely considered to be a top-five talent in the draft, but due to the positional value of a safety, he fell. There was always talk that he could fall out of the top five, but slide out of the top 10 was a more recent development. Harbaugh added commentary on that situation when he talked about previous talks with Hamilton.
“He was in for a visit, and I joked with him about it,” Harbaugh said. “I asked ‘Why are you here? There’s no way you’re going to fall to 14!’ We laughed about it.”
On draft night, as the Ravens started to figure out who might still be available for the taking, Harbaugh broached the subject with general manager Eric DeCosta.
“It got to about to (pick) 11,” the Super Bowl-winning head coach said. “I looked across the table at Eric, and I said ‘Hamilton?’ He said ‘Maybe!’ Then he was there. That’s about how it went.”
Hamilton is joining one of the healthier organizations in the NFL and one known for defensive play. His new defensive coordinator is Mike Macdonald, who returns to Baltimore this season after one season at Michigan in the same role. Michigan’s head coach is Harbaugh’s brother, Jim.
Macdonald helped develop three first or second-round 2022 picks with the Wolverines last year: EDGE rushers Aidan Hutchinson and David Ojabo, along with safety Daxton Hill. As a team last season, Michigan allowed 16.1 points per game, which was fourth nationally. One of Macdonald’s shining accomplishments was stopping a dynamic Ohio State pass offense when the Wolverines topped the Buckeyes Thanksgiving weekend.
Macdonald helped orchestrate one of the biggest surprises in college football last year, as Michigan made the College Football Playoff. Will he be able to do it at the next level, this time with the services of Hamilton?
