This looks to be a massive draft class coming up for the ND program, which is entirely fitting considering how this three or even four year run of excellence is coming to an end, or at least I think of it that way with the graduation of Book. And so with that in mind, we might have up to ten guys drafted, which of course is what you expect from perennially dominant programs. Alabama has made a mockery of this as they have with everything, regularly and by this point easily having four, five or six 1st rounders annually - repeat annually....
But enough about Bama. 2021 will be the year of ND! No it won't, Bama will still crush us and everyone else in this regard, but still a pretty big haul. So here are our likely/possible draftees:
QB Ian Book - Sorry haters, Book is going to play in the NFL. And the word on the street is he'll be drafted somewhere between the 4th and 6th rounds. Personally, I think Book's apparent tendency toward overcautiousness shall we say, is a plus in scouts' eyes. Though it may drive ND fans to distraction, he'll be starting out as nothing more than a third-stringer, where being careful and keeping mistakes to a minimum is a valued character trait.
Javon McKinley - Probably won't get drafted, but he's going to the combine, so he'll have a chance to stack up against other top WRs where he will probably come off as comparatively stiff and slow, but still a big, imposing, muscular dude who had a productive Sr year on a playoff team.
Ben Skowarenek - he ended up doing a pretty good Jeff S. imitation for us, with many memorable TD catches, and had such a surprisingly good year he got a Senior Bowl invite, when for me I probably would have rather seen Javon as a better choice. Like Javon I figure he probably won't get drafted, but he's obviously on the 2021 draft radar screen. And he is a pretty sweet player I can't deny it. Also like Javon he's not the swiftest of WRs, but he's a physical presence who uses his size pretty effectively.
Tommy Tremble - I was surprised/disappointed that he went hardship, but he definitely had a solid year, and his blocking was out of sight. I don't really know what the lowdown on Tremble is, and if his superior blocking would be enough to get him a good draft position. He's definitely an NFL specimen, a top-shelf blocker, and pretty much a bad-ass all-around athlete who should be able to a weapon in the passing game in a more featured setup. I assume he's on track to get drafted, and with his tools and work rate he could be one of those guys that end up outperforming their college stats and reputation. It was just his sort of bad luck to play alongside first Kmet and then Mayer, who stole his thunder and what would have been certainly more production/catches at the position.
Liam Eichenberg - Will Liam be ND's 4th consecutive 1st round LT, that's the big question. Personally I think he should be. I read where he hasn't allowed a sack in like, three years, and while his pure physical tools and talent are apparently not quite on a par with your typical top-tier specimen at the all-important LT position, the production certainly seems to be there, and what else is not to like? He's huge, seems perfectly physically capable enough, and I would imagine that in addition to projecting at LT, could also project nicely at other OL spots as well. I gotta think he's no worse than a 2nd rounder, and I'm holding out for him keeping that 1st-round draft streak alive.
Aaron Banks - Huge, massive, athletic OG, who managed to become a consensus A-A this past season. I know he was 1st-team A-A on at least couple prominent lists. Solid Senior Bowl, and I'm guessing somewhere between 2nd and 4th round?
Robert Hainsey - He's always been known as an intelligent, engaging guy, who's certainly been a staple of our OL the past several seasons, as well as a team leader. And no surprise, in addition to being a quality all-around blocker, he's impressing the wider world with his intangibles and general character and I'm going to assume that will help him mightily with the draft. I'm hoping anywhere from as high as 2nd to 5th or 6th round. Probably doesn't have Pro Bowl potential, but if he's good enough to stick, he'll presumably will have the professionalism to carve out a solid career.
Tommy Kraemer - We have 4 OL who at this point I'm going to guess will all be drafted. And that's downright Bama-like! I'm no OL guru, and Kraemer has had injuries that could diminish his desirability, but otherwise he appears to be a highly draftable prospect generally speaking. A multi-year starter on a top, contending OL unit at ND, and there's no reason why if he's healthy enough he won't find himself on an NFL roster somewhere next season. So let's just say anywhere between 5th to 7th round.
Ade Ogundegi - This dude's going to end up being a 2nd round pick. We're going to miss Ade very much, he was a true force on the DL, the kind of guy who's such an obvious physical presence that even casual fans notice him. And he appears to have had quite a good showing at the Senior Bowl. He's huge, physical, athletic enough, and he may never put up gaudy stats, but nevertheless makes his presence felt and holds the point of attack! Once again, I'm no expert at grading DL play, but as I said, he's the kind of player that you can intuitively sense is one of the most disruptive, effective players on the field in a given stretch of play, even if you lack the ability to expertly pick out who's doing what. He has the presence of a typical Bama/SEC type DL, let's say. I suppose more of a run stopper than a pass rusher, I just can't see barring injury Ade not having a very decent NFL career.
Daelin Hayes - Sort of the opposite or the yin to Ade's yang, Hayes is more a sleek and swift pass rusher, at least in his best or ideal iteration, but he also seems like a capable enough all-around DE. I guess with his pure physical potential he could maybe project as 3-4 OLB type guy, and could be a good situational pass rusher perhaps. I've always though of him as a tough, solid contributor, and by no means an underachiever, even if he never quite reached his pure pass rushing potential. I suppose Hayes could test pretty well and that could help him quite a bit, but I'm guessing Ade will go higher, and that Hayes could go anywhere from 3rd round on. But Hayes is definitely a specimen in his own right. Maybe I'm underrating him and if he tests off the charts he'll go 2nd round? And I admit I'm smitten by Ade and biased in his favor.
J O K - Most mocks have JOK going 1st round, and I can believe it. Complete jump-off-the-screen physical talent. He's the current Butkus winner, and there's really not a lot to say other than he's a visible, obvious badass and impact player on defense, and though he will have like everyone areas of improvement to work on, he's too physically gifted, and too naturally talented to not have a nice, long NFL career at a minimum, barring the unforeseen of course. I'm curious how his testing will go, given what a fairly prodigious athlete the guy is. He's compared a lot to someone like Derrick Brooks of erstwhile FSU fame, and while that's pretty high praise, I think the shoe fits well enough. I just wonder how this guy wasn't a more highly sought-after recruit. He was pretty clearly physically athletic in his HS videos, if also perhaps rather raw, and was a good student with Ivy offers. Truth is these coaches don't know what they're doing. They have all their film study techniques they learn as young apprentice GAs, but it's all just raw noodles. Not much more than guesswork. I'm kidding!
So yeah, there you go, that's ten possible draftees. Eleven actually, I counted wrong. So please share your thoughts on ND's NFL class of 2021!
But enough about Bama. 2021 will be the year of ND! No it won't, Bama will still crush us and everyone else in this regard, but still a pretty big haul. So here are our likely/possible draftees:
QB Ian Book - Sorry haters, Book is going to play in the NFL. And the word on the street is he'll be drafted somewhere between the 4th and 6th rounds. Personally, I think Book's apparent tendency toward overcautiousness shall we say, is a plus in scouts' eyes. Though it may drive ND fans to distraction, he'll be starting out as nothing more than a third-stringer, where being careful and keeping mistakes to a minimum is a valued character trait.
Javon McKinley - Probably won't get drafted, but he's going to the combine, so he'll have a chance to stack up against other top WRs where he will probably come off as comparatively stiff and slow, but still a big, imposing, muscular dude who had a productive Sr year on a playoff team.
Ben Skowarenek - he ended up doing a pretty good Jeff S. imitation for us, with many memorable TD catches, and had such a surprisingly good year he got a Senior Bowl invite, when for me I probably would have rather seen Javon as a better choice. Like Javon I figure he probably won't get drafted, but he's obviously on the 2021 draft radar screen. And he is a pretty sweet player I can't deny it. Also like Javon he's not the swiftest of WRs, but he's a physical presence who uses his size pretty effectively.
Tommy Tremble - I was surprised/disappointed that he went hardship, but he definitely had a solid year, and his blocking was out of sight. I don't really know what the lowdown on Tremble is, and if his superior blocking would be enough to get him a good draft position. He's definitely an NFL specimen, a top-shelf blocker, and pretty much a bad-ass all-around athlete who should be able to a weapon in the passing game in a more featured setup. I assume he's on track to get drafted, and with his tools and work rate he could be one of those guys that end up outperforming their college stats and reputation. It was just his sort of bad luck to play alongside first Kmet and then Mayer, who stole his thunder and what would have been certainly more production/catches at the position.
Liam Eichenberg - Will Liam be ND's 4th consecutive 1st round LT, that's the big question. Personally I think he should be. I read where he hasn't allowed a sack in like, three years, and while his pure physical tools and talent are apparently not quite on a par with your typical top-tier specimen at the all-important LT position, the production certainly seems to be there, and what else is not to like? He's huge, seems perfectly physically capable enough, and I would imagine that in addition to projecting at LT, could also project nicely at other OL spots as well. I gotta think he's no worse than a 2nd rounder, and I'm holding out for him keeping that 1st-round draft streak alive.
Aaron Banks - Huge, massive, athletic OG, who managed to become a consensus A-A this past season. I know he was 1st-team A-A on at least couple prominent lists. Solid Senior Bowl, and I'm guessing somewhere between 2nd and 4th round?
Robert Hainsey - He's always been known as an intelligent, engaging guy, who's certainly been a staple of our OL the past several seasons, as well as a team leader. And no surprise, in addition to being a quality all-around blocker, he's impressing the wider world with his intangibles and general character and I'm going to assume that will help him mightily with the draft. I'm hoping anywhere from as high as 2nd to 5th or 6th round. Probably doesn't have Pro Bowl potential, but if he's good enough to stick, he'll presumably will have the professionalism to carve out a solid career.
Tommy Kraemer - We have 4 OL who at this point I'm going to guess will all be drafted. And that's downright Bama-like! I'm no OL guru, and Kraemer has had injuries that could diminish his desirability, but otherwise he appears to be a highly draftable prospect generally speaking. A multi-year starter on a top, contending OL unit at ND, and there's no reason why if he's healthy enough he won't find himself on an NFL roster somewhere next season. So let's just say anywhere between 5th to 7th round.
Ade Ogundegi - This dude's going to end up being a 2nd round pick. We're going to miss Ade very much, he was a true force on the DL, the kind of guy who's such an obvious physical presence that even casual fans notice him. And he appears to have had quite a good showing at the Senior Bowl. He's huge, physical, athletic enough, and he may never put up gaudy stats, but nevertheless makes his presence felt and holds the point of attack! Once again, I'm no expert at grading DL play, but as I said, he's the kind of player that you can intuitively sense is one of the most disruptive, effective players on the field in a given stretch of play, even if you lack the ability to expertly pick out who's doing what. He has the presence of a typical Bama/SEC type DL, let's say. I suppose more of a run stopper than a pass rusher, I just can't see barring injury Ade not having a very decent NFL career.
Daelin Hayes - Sort of the opposite or the yin to Ade's yang, Hayes is more a sleek and swift pass rusher, at least in his best or ideal iteration, but he also seems like a capable enough all-around DE. I guess with his pure physical potential he could maybe project as 3-4 OLB type guy, and could be a good situational pass rusher perhaps. I've always though of him as a tough, solid contributor, and by no means an underachiever, even if he never quite reached his pure pass rushing potential. I suppose Hayes could test pretty well and that could help him quite a bit, but I'm guessing Ade will go higher, and that Hayes could go anywhere from 3rd round on. But Hayes is definitely a specimen in his own right. Maybe I'm underrating him and if he tests off the charts he'll go 2nd round? And I admit I'm smitten by Ade and biased in his favor.
J O K - Most mocks have JOK going 1st round, and I can believe it. Complete jump-off-the-screen physical talent. He's the current Butkus winner, and there's really not a lot to say other than he's a visible, obvious badass and impact player on defense, and though he will have like everyone areas of improvement to work on, he's too physically gifted, and too naturally talented to not have a nice, long NFL career at a minimum, barring the unforeseen of course. I'm curious how his testing will go, given what a fairly prodigious athlete the guy is. He's compared a lot to someone like Derrick Brooks of erstwhile FSU fame, and while that's pretty high praise, I think the shoe fits well enough. I just wonder how this guy wasn't a more highly sought-after recruit. He was pretty clearly physically athletic in his HS videos, if also perhaps rather raw, and was a good student with Ivy offers. Truth is these coaches don't know what they're doing. They have all their film study techniques they learn as young apprentice GAs, but it's all just raw noodles. Not much more than guesswork. I'm kidding!
So yeah, there you go, that's ten possible draftees. Eleven actually, I counted wrong. So please share your thoughts on ND's NFL class of 2021!
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