Expected 2016 Roles For Notre Dame's Seven NFL Draft Picks
Seven former Notre Dame players were selected in the NFL Draft over the weekend and another five signed contracts as undrafted free agents, while one more has been invited to a rookie tryout next weekend.
The total of seven draftees, which all came in the first four rounds, equals the output in the 1955, 1967, 1993 and 1994 draft classes for the most in school history through that round.
Only Ohio State (12), Clemson (9) and UCLA (8) produced more draft picks than Notre Dame, which tied Alabama and Florida for fourth among college programs.
1st Round
No. 6 — Ronnie Stanley (Baltimore Ravens)
No. 21 — Will Fuller (Houston Texans)
2nd Round
No. 34 — Jaylon Smith (Dallas Cowboys)
No. 50 — Nick Martin (Houston Texans)
3rd Round
No. 74 — KeiVarae Russell (Kansas City Chiefs)
No. 90 — C.J. Prosise (Seattle Seahawks)
4th Round
No. 103 — Sheldon Day (Jacksonville Jaguars)
Undrafted free agents
Chris Brown: Dallas Cowboys
Amir Carlisle: Arizona Cardinals
Matthias Farley: Arizona Cardinals
Everett Golson: Unsigned
Jarrett Grace: Unsigned
Eilar Hardy: Unsigned
Matt Hegarty: Unsigned
Romeo Okwara: NY Giants
Elijah Shumate: Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Ishaq Williams: New York Giants (rookie tryout next weekend)
Here is an overview of where each of the draftees fits on the depth chart of their employers, with the spot in which they were drafted in parentheses:
Ronnie Stanley (6)
As you would expect with a top-10 draft selection — Notre Dame’s first since 1994 — Stanley will immediately start for the Baltimore Ravens. Head coach John Harbaugh’s squad has been one of the league’s most consistent teams during the past decade but endured a losing record in 2015.
Stanley is the left tackle of the future for the organization after the Ravens made him the first offensive linemen selected in the 2016 NFL Draft. (ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that Baltimore would have picked tackle Laremy Tunsil ahead of Stanley if not for the video of the Ole Miss product smoking marijuana with a gas mask that surfaced minutes before the start of the first round. Harbaugh disputed this report.)
Starting left tackle Eugene Monroe has missed 15 games the past two seasons and the Ravens think they found a long-term starter in Stanley 20 years after drafting Jonathan Ogden. Monroe is entering the third year of a five-year, $37.5 million contract.
“The way we’re going to do it is, we’re going to let Ronnie go in there and compete with Eugene," offensive line coach Juan Castillo told The Baltimore Sun. "What we want to do is play the best five players. We’re fortunate Ronnie is a very good athlete and good player, and so is Eugene. So we’ll let them compete, and we know that we’re going to play the best five guys. The Ravens are all about competition. Coach Harbaugh talks about that. It just makes everybody better.”
Will Fuller (21)
Few NFL receivers are more productive than Houston’s DeAndre Hopkins, but now head coach Bill O’Brien has a vertical threat on the opposite side of the field to pair with the former Clemson wideout.
Interestingly, Fuller committed to Penn State before flipping to the Irish when O’Brien was the head coach of the Nittany Lions.
In a press conference Friday, O’Brien said Fuller could “jump out of a car” and immediately run a 4.3 in the 40-yard dash. It’s that type of game-changing speed and scoring ability — Fuller reached the end zone 29 times in his final two seasons at Notre Dame — that attracted the Texans to him.
“Brian Kelly spoke very highly of him," O'Brien told the Houston Chronicle, "and I've got a lot of respect for Brian Kelly. And I'm familiar with [Fuller's] family. We couldn't hold on to him at Penn State, but we're looking forward to working with him here."
Jaylon Smith (34)
The most pressing answer of the NFL Draft — at least from Notre Dame’s angle — was how far Smith would tumble due to the torn ACL and LCL and nerve damage suffered four months ago Sunday in the Fiesta Bowl.
After weeks of reports that Smith would fall to the third day of the NFL Draft, the Dallas Cowboys took a chance on him with the third pick of the second round.
Interestingly, Dr. Dan Cooper is the head team doctor for the organization and performed the surgery on Smith in January.
As far as 2016 projections go, the Cowboys know Smith is unlikely to play this fall and almost certainly will not impact their upcoming season. This pick was for the future and comes attached with the hope that Smith will eventually transform into the player he was before the injury. If that happens, Dallas will land a top-10 talent from this past NFL Draft for merely a second round pick.
Nick Martin (50)
Martin does not have the ceiling his older brother Zack had a couple years ago when the Cowboys selected him 16th overall, but Nick can do a number of things of value for NFL organizations.
According to the Houston Chronicle, the Texans needed a guard and center and filled both holes by drafting Martin. The former Irish captain started at both positions during his career and even practiced at tackle early in his time in South Bend.
“He'll start off at center," O'Brien told the newspaper. "His versatility, him being able to play guard, is something we really liked.
"He's a very bright guy. We like his toughness and leadership, too. His coaches really spoke highly of this guy - a leader, someone who came to practice every day with a purpose, a guy who really communicated well with his teammates, in addition to his talent.”
KeiVarae Russell (74)
Russell comes with a high ceiling because of his athleticism despite struggling as a senior at Notre Dame after missing the entire 2014 season due to an academic suspension.
The Chiefs view Russell as a cornerback that can help right away and should compete right away for playing time as a third-round pick.
“I would put him at a red-level, A-score guy, meaning that he has a lot of [physical] attributes that are really good,” Dorsey told the Kansas City Star. “You combine that with his toughness, his competitiveness ... any guy that can fight through a stress fracture and play through that and practice through that on a daily basis is pretty mentally tough to me.”
C.J. Prosise (90)
The Seattle Seahawks drafted Prosise late in the third round Friday evening and expect to plug him in on third downs right away.
With the retirement of Marshawn Lynch, Thomas Rawls is expected to handle the bulk of Seattle’s backfield duties. The Seahawks, however, did not have a clear pass-catching option at running back … until drafting Prosise.
“I think this is a very, very unique player, and I love talking about him,” coach Pete Carroll told the Seattle Times. “We were hoping we could get him because we have a very special role that we can put him in and then we can go from there. He’s going to do things that he’s really good at and then we’re going to expand his role as he can handle it. There’s no reason he can’t be a first-down back, too. We just know what we’re going to attempt to do with him on third down.”
Sheldon Day (103)
The Jacksonville Jaguars possessed an explosive offense in 2015, but defense was the clear target for improvement this offseason. The organization drafted defensive back Jalen Ramsey and linebacker Myles Jack in the first two rounds and added a versatile defensive lineman in Day in the fourth round.
The Jaguars are expected to use Day, at least at the beginning, as a situational, third down pass rusher.