Former Notre Dame safety Kyle Hamilton poised for a rare first-round NFL Draft selection

Thirty-five years have passed since Lou Holtz came to Notre Dame and participated in his first NFL draft in 1987. 

Offensive tackle Wally Klein went in the second round that year to become Holtz’s first of an eventual avalanche of NFL picks.

Since Klein, 60 more Irish players have been drafted in the first two rounds.

And barring unforeseen circumstances tonight, former Notre Dame safety Kyle Hamilton will become No. 61 and the first Irish defensive back selected in the first round since 2012 when Harrison Smith went to the Minnesota Vikings 29th overall. 

With that as a backdrop, let’s take a position-by-position look at the first- and second-round Fighting Irish selections in the 35 drafts since Holtz’s first in 1987.

Again, this is a look at the elite Notre Dame players selected in the first two rounds of the NFL Draft and doesn’t include those who built pro careers after later-round selections.  

Offensive line (14 total/8 1st-round/6 2nd-round)

The most impressive position group in terms of numbers and success from its first- and second-round selections, this list includes four first-round picks and two second-rounders since only 2014.

In 2019, tackle Ronnie Stanley along with guards Quenton Nelson and Nick Martin, secured three of the five spots on the NFL’s All-Pro offensive line. 

Before this recent glut of top Irish draft picks and NFL All-Pros, the Notre Dame pipeline to the NFL was hit and miss and included first-round picks such as tackle Andy Heck (1989), tackle Luke Petitgout (1999) and center Jeff Faine (2003).

All three enjoyed solid NFL careers of at least nine years. 

Defensive line (9/3/6)

Through its draft history, this has not been a position of great results for Notre Dame.  

Most recently, 2019 first-round pick Jerry Tillery went 28th overall to the San Diego Chargers and has his NFL career off to a solid start with 96 tackles and 9.5 sacks in three seasons. 

Stephon Tuitt, a second-round pick in 2014, has played eight seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers. 

Before Tuitt, there wasn’t much to talk about for Notre Dame since defensive end Renaldo Wynn — a first-round draft pick (21st overall) in 1997 — recorded 516 total tackles and 27 sacks during his 13-year NFL career.  

And three years before Wynn, Bryant Young parlayed his No. 7 overall first-round pick in 1994 into a 14-year NFL Hall of Fame career with the San Francisco 49ers. 

Tight end (8/3/5)

Tight End U is alive and well with Irish junior Michael Mayer set to become a first-round pick in 2023 and add his name to a list of six Irish TEs already drafted in the first and second rounds since 2006. 

Among that group of six, Tyler Eifert is the only first-round choice. 

The 21st overall selection of the Cincinnati Bengals in 2013, Eifert’s career started fast with a pro-bowl selection in 2015 before myriad injuries stunted his production and likely forced him out of professional football after eight seasons. 

Second-round pick Cole Kmet (2020) is forging a nice career with the Chicago Bears and second-round selection Kyle Rudolph (2011) is moving through the twilight of his 11-year NFL career after two Pro-Bowl selections, 479 receptions, 4,745 receiving yards and 49 touchdowns. 

Fourteen years prior to this surge of Irish tight end draftees, first-round picks Derek Brown (14th overall in 1992) and Irv Smith (20th overall in 1993) both enjoyed moderate NFL success. 

Running back (7/1/6)

Few elite Irish tailbacks have been drafted early, and only a couple have thrived in the NFL. 

In fact, Julius Jones is the only Irish tailback taken in the first two rounds over the last 17 years when he went in the second round (43rd overall) in 2004.

Before that, Jerome Bettis — the only first-round Irish running back in the last 38 years — became the standard-bearer of this group.

Bettis, the 10th overall pick in 1993, was a six-time Pro-Bowl selection and a NFL Hall of Fame selection after rushing for 13,664 yards and 91 touchdowns.

Ricky Watters, a second-round pick (45th overall) in 1991, was a five-time Pro-Bowl selection and remains a strong candidate for future NFL Hall of Fame induction with 10,643 career rushing yards, 4,248 receiving yards and 91 total touchdowns. 

Defensive back (7/4/3)

As previously mentioned, when Hamilton is selected tonight, he’ll become the first Irish defensive back chosen in the first round since Harrison Smith went 29th overall in 2012.  

Before Smith, Jeff Burris in 1994 (27th overall) was the last Irish defensive back taken in the first round during the halcyon days of Notre Dame secondary standouts.

In the six drafts from 1990-1995, Notre Dame had six DBs selected in the first and second rounds, including first-rounders Todd Lyght (1991), Tom Carter (1993) and Burris. 

Lyght was a Super Bowl champion with the St. Louis Rams in 2000 and recorded 37 career interceptions and four touchdowns during his NFL career. 

Wide receiver (6/3/3)

Four of Notre Dame’s six first- and second-round wideout picks over the last 35 years have come in the last 12 drafts. 

Notre Dame’s only two first-round picks since Heisman Trophy winner Tim Brown went No. 6 overall in 1988  — Michael Floyd (2012) and Will Fuller (2016) — had shining NFL moments but minimal staying power. 

Golden Tate, a second-round pick in 2010, is a 12-year NFL veteran with 695 career receptions and 46 receiving touchdowns. 

This group of Irish wideouts is clearly headlined by Brown, a nine-time NFL Pro-Bowl selection, a College and Pro Football Hall of Fame honoree, and the last Notre Dame Heisman Trophy winner. 

Linebacker (6/0/6)

It’s surprising that Notre Dame hasn’t had a first-round pick at linebacker since Bob Crable went to the Jets 23rd overall in 1982. 

Jaylon Smith was in line to break that drought in 2016 until a freak knee injury dropped him from a top-10 draft projection into the second round. 

With only six Irish linebackers drafted in the first two rounds over the last 39 years, this has not been a position of great NFL strength for Notre Dame. 

Of those six draftees, second-round pick Manti Te’o (2013) holds the best NFL profile (8 seasons, 307 tackles, 1.5 sacks, 2 interceptions).

Though, expect 2021 second-rounder Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah to possibly eclipse those numbers as he enters his second season with the Cleveland Browns after a strong rookie year. 

Quarterback (4/2/2)

A draft-day bust position for Notre Dame since Joe Montana and Joe Theisman won Super Bowls in the 1980s, Rick Mirer in 1993 went first-round (second overall) and became the first of only four Irish quarterbacks drafted in the first two rounds since Terry Hanratty was a second-round pick in 1969.

Mirer was followed 14 years later by Brady Quinn — a first-round (22nd overall) pick in 2007 — then second-rounders Jimmy Clausen in 2010 and DeShone Kizer in 2017.  

Mirer played 12 seasons with seven teams during his journeyman NFL career and threw for 11,969 yards with 50 touchdowns and 76 interceptions. 

Quinn, Clausen and Kizer all barely sipped a cup of coffee in the NFL.