NFL Draft watch: Where do Notre Dame’s Kyle Hamilton and Kyren Williams stand?
The NFL Draft is fewer than three months away, and Notre Dame has two particularly notable players in the mix to have their names called in Las Vegas: safety Kyle Hamilton and running back Kyren Williams.
Where do the latest draft experts think they will land?
Hamilton falls…to No. 15?
Many NFL Draft boards have Hamilton as a top-five pick. However, one draft expert just released a new mock draft predicting a surprising fall for the safety from Atlanta.
Earlier this week, Bucky Brooks of NFL.com updated his draft board following the results of Championship Sunday in the NFL. He has Hamilton going to the Philadelphia Eagles with the No. 15 overall selection.
“The addition of a playmaking safety with range, ball skills and thump would upgrade an Eagles secondary that could lose a pair of starters in the back end,” Brooks wrote.
It’s a peculiar prediction for Hamilton for sure. He is still the first safety taken off the board in Brooks’ simulation, but there are a couple of cornerbacks taken before Hamilton. Brooks has Cincinnati’s Ahmad Gardner heading to the Carolina Panthers at No. 6 overall and the Atlanta Falcons taking LSU’s Derek Stingley Jr. with the eighth pick.
Texans remain a popular destination for Hamilton
Sam Monson of Pro Football Focus released his updated draft predictions earlier in the week as well, and he has Hamilton headed to the Houston Texans with the No. 3 overall pick.
His colleague Trevor Sikkema also believes Hamilton could be headed to Houston, but they both made the predictions with the caveat that the Texans are, well, unpredictable. Regardless, Houston could certainly use a talent like Hamilton to bolster their defense.
“Hamilton has the potential to be special and has some mind-blowing plays on his college tape,” Monson wrote. “Houston still needs an upgrade almost everywhere on the roster, so any player and position is a live possibility, which gives them the flexibility to just chase greatness, and that’s Hamilton.”
Of note, the Texans remain without a new head coach after firing David Culley in January.
Williams holding steady as a top-five running back
Williams is a particularly interesting situation given the lack of value teams have recently placed on taking running backs with early-round picks. In fact, PFF’s most recent list of team needs for all 32 NFL teams does not list any teams that need to prioritize the position.
Regardless, running backs are available, and PFF’s Michael Renner released his new position rankings on Thursday. Williams checks in at No. 5 behind Michigan State’s Kenneth Walker III, Iowa State’s Breece Hall, UCLA’s Zach Charbonnet and Texas A&M’s Isaiah Spiller. Charbonnet has said he is going to stay at UCLA for the 2022 season, presumably launching Williams into that No. 4 spot.
In Mel Kiper‘s most recent position rankings for ESPN, he has Williams in the No. 4 spot at the position as well. Like Renner’s rankings, he trails Hall, Walker and Spiller (Kiper has Hall and Walker flipped).
Coan to take the field in Vegas
On the topic of the NFL Draft and Las Vegas, former Notre Dame quarterback Jack Coan is set to play in the Shrine Bowl on Thursday where he will look to impress NFL scouts after a season in which he threw for 3,150 yards, 25 touchdowns and six interceptions.
His time in Las Vegas is off to a good start, as Coan was awarded the Pat Tillman Award on Wednesday.
Additionally, Coan looked good in practice this week according to Bill Smith of NFL.com. He threw a couple of touchdown passes, including one of more than 50 yards to Maryland TE Chigoziem Okonkwo and one over the middle to Virginia TE Jelani Woods.
Coan’s NFL future remains uncertain, and it seems he is currently on the outside of the draft looking in. But with a standout performance in front of NFL scouts on Thursday, he could make an argument to be chosen in the late rounds come April.
The other Power Five quarterbacks participating in the game are Miami’s D’Eriq King, Kansas State’s Skylar Thompson and Iowa State’s Brock Purdy.
The Shrine Bowl kicks off on Thursday at 8:00 p.m. ET on the NFL Network.
