Notre Dame Football: Top 10 Former Irish in the NFL

No. 8: Theo Riddick 

Riddick was selected with the 199th pick (6th round) of the 2013 draft by the Detroit Lions, and he has more than exceeded expectations. Although he has never carried the ball more than 92 times in a single season, his pass-catching ability out of the backfield makes him extremely valuable on third downs.

After playing sparingly during his rookie season, Riddick has become one of the NFL’s premier third down backs, averaging 62 catches and 504 yards over the last 3 seasons. He also posted 14 touchdowns in that time frame.

Those stats should came as no surprise to Notre Dame fans.

During Riddick’s four-year career in South Bend, he shuffled around from running back and slot receiver before settling in at running back as a senior. He contributed greatly on the 2012 National Championship runner-up team.

Riddick was awarded with a contract extension in 2016, and has become a valuable contributor to the Lions offense and PPR fantasy teams. If you are looking for impressive rushing totals, Riddick is not the player for you. He is part of a new NFL trend that requires multiple, different types of running backs for an offense to be successful. As long as he keeps catching footballs and moving the chains, he should have a spot in the league.