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The Best Notre Dame Football Player Taken In Each Round of the NFL Draft

By Connor McJunkin

9 JAN 1994: TIM BROWN OF THE LOS ANGELES RAIDERS WITH HELMET ALOFT LEAVES THE FIELD AFTER THE RAIDERS DEFEATED THE DENVER BRONCOS 42-24. Mandatory Credit: Al Bello/ALLSPORT
9 JAN 1994: TIM BROWN OF THE LOS ANGELES RAIDERS WITH HELMET ALOFT LEAVES THE FIELD AFTER THE RAIDERS DEFEATED THE DENVER BRONCOS 42-24. Mandatory Credit: Al Bello/ALLSPORT /
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The 2019 NFL Draft is finally here, and that historically means it will be a busy and exciting weekend for former Notre Dame football players.

When it comes to producing NFL talent recently and throughout history, few programs measure up to Notre Dame football. The Irish have had 498 players drafted since the first draft in 1936, which is the second most of any program behind only USC. On a more recent scale, Notre Dame has had eight first round picks since 2012, which is the fourth most of any school during that period.

While we usually only remember and value high round draft picks, the players who are taken in the later rounds that end up producing great careers and making a name for themselves are worth mentioning too. Of the 498 players drafted from Notre Dame, obviously all of them weren’t first or second round picks, many fell through the cracks and still went on to produce at a high level in the NFL.

A recent example would be Theo Riddick, who was a sixth round pick by the Detroit Lions in the 2013 draft, selected 199th overall. Since entering the league, he has become one of the best receiving running backs in football, racking up over 2,200 yards and 14 touchdowns through the air and adding another 1,000 yards and 5 touchdowns on the ground.

When it comes to producing NFL talent, Notre Dame has been one of the best for a very long time. Not just because of the first and second round players, but because of the guys who are taken on day two and three and still become great players at the next level.

For the following list looking at the best Notre Dame player taken from each round of the NFL Draft throughout history, I will be basing the selected player off of NFL careers only. Also note that the NFL Draft only became a seven round draft starting in 1994, but for the sake of this article (any my sanity) we will stick to the best players from rounds one through seven.

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