Notre Dame Football: Four Former Irish Listed as Potential Rookie Surprises

Notre Dame football had six players taken in this year’s NFL Draft and a handful signed as undrafted free agents, and four of them have been listed as potential rookie surprises in year one.

With summer upon us, the NFL Draft in our rear view mirror, and OTAs taking place across the league, NFL teams are gearing up towards training camp and the start of the 2019 season. This year, like every other year, includes rookies out of Notre Dame trying to make a roster spot or earn playing time early in their careers.

Bleacher Report recently released a list of every NFL team’s possible surprise rookie gem, and four former Irish standouts were named – the most of any school.

It’s obviously hard to consistently pick who will and won’t become immediate contributors in the league. There are a lot of factors to that can impact one’s rookie season; injuries, coaching changes, the depth of that position on the team – just to name a few.

However, this year’s NFL Draft class was particularly deep in certain positions, like linebacker and defensive back, that pushed players into the mid to later rounds that otherwise would have been drafted higher.

It is possible that for this reason the Irish had four players make this list, because their talent and value might slightly exceed the expectations one might have for a mid, late, or even undrafted player.

With that, let’s take a look at what former golden domers might turn some heads and have a surprise standout rookie season.