What they’re saying: Notre Dame’s Kyle Hamilton to the Baltimore Ravens
With the No. 14 overall selection in the 2022 NFL Draft, the Baltimore Ravens took Notre Dame safety Kyle Hamilton on Thursday night. Here is some initial reaction from the experts across various networks.
Rece Davis, ESPN
“This is a really interesting dude. He had his own podcast at Notre Dame. He was really smart with name, image and likeness (NIL) where college players are now able to make money. He is a remarkably versatile player. Mike Macdonald, the former Michigan defensive coordinator who’s now the defensive coordinator with the Ravens, will have a lot of ways to use him.”
PROMOTION: Sign up for just $1 for your first year at Blue & Gold
Todd McShay, ESPN
“I think they got one of the best five football players all the way down at pick No. 14, and it’s just because he’s a safety that Kyle Hamilton wound up falling. He ran a 4.59, which is a little bit below average for the position of safety, but you have to consider he’s 6-4, 220 pounds. He’s got the best reaction skills of any defensive back. As a defensive coordinator, I can play this guy at linebacker, I can play him at the overhang. He can play single-high (safety), double-high. He does so much that now you’ve become multiple and versatile on the defensive side.”
Desmond Howard, ESPN
“The most impressive thing about Kyle Hamilton is how much ground he’s able to cover. He has tremendous football speed. He may not time well at the 40, but when you put on the tape, this guy gets from point A to point B as fast as anyone I’ve ever seen.”
Josh Alper, Pro Football Talk
“Hamilton’s play at Notre Dame made him the top safety in this year’s class, and there was talk about him coming off the board in the top five early in the pre-draft process. Hamilton didn’t wind up going quite that high, but he landed with a traditionally strong defensive team that should be able to make good use of his versatility in a secondary loaded with veterans like Marlon Humphrey, Marcus Peters, Chuck Clark and Marcus Williams.”
Pete Prisco, CBS Sports
“The Ravens will be getting a player who will help their back end right away. I like Hamilton, but I don’t love him like most. He will have some problems in coverage, but they need to use him in a variety of ways to take advantage of his talents. He isn’t Ed Reed.”
David Shaw, Stanford head coach
“This guy’s a difference maker. I saw him as a freshman at Notre Dame. He was a guy we wanted to pick on in the passing game. About mid-way through the first quarter we said ‘This is not a good idea.’ He’s got range, he’s got length, and the film that everyone is seeing, my Dad calls it ‘stealing second.’ He’s got that anticipation. I don’t care what his 40 time is, when that ball goes up, he’s already taken two steps in that direction. He can get there and make plays.”
Charles Davis, NFL Network
“The Baltimore Ravens, at 14, got a player that had to be in just about everyone’s top five in terms of consensus rankings. He was my favorite player in this draft for all of the reasons (Shaw) just talked about. I think he can do everything on the football field, plus the maturity factor.”
