Notre Dame football: Predicting Khalid Kareem’s NFL Draft

Notre Dame’s Khalid Kareem offers a lot of intrigue to teams considering drafting a defensive end in the 2020 NFL Draft, we predict where he might go.

Former Notre Dame defensive end Khalid Kareem has seen his draft stock vary greatly over the past year. At the beginning of last college football season, Kareem was being mentioned as a potential first-round candidate along with fellow Notre Dame pass rusher Julian Okwara.

Unfortunately, the Notre Dame pass-rushing duo fell well short of the expectations of many experts in regard to the number of sacks that they produced last season in South Bend. It turns out that Kareem had been dealing with a shoulder injury throughout last season, but was unwilling to sit out and miss games in what would be his final season playing for Notre Dame.

One has to wonder if the injury significantly impacted the performance of Kareem throughout the season. That’s not to say that he had a poor season, as Kareem was routinely making big plays for the Irish throughout the 2019 season, but rather that it slowed him in his pursuit of opposing quarterbacks and impacted his total sack numbers.

As a result of the previously undisclosed injury, Kareem opted to sit out of the NFL Combine events. He would attend the event, receive his official measurements and participate in the interview process of the NFL Combine but would not take part in any of the physical tests.

Kareem had hoped to be a full participant in Notre Dame’s Pro Day in March, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Pro Day was canceled. As a result, NFL general managers and scouts will have to go off of the game film that Kareem had during his tenure at South Bend, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. However, he will have to battle with the recency bias and hype of some of the strong performers at the combine.

Kareem is a prototypical 4-3 defensive end who, while lacking the elite speed of a Julian Okwara style speed rusher, possesses solid bull-rushing skills.  Additionally, Kareem is excellent in run defense and has a knack for finding the ball and making big plays.

While originally in the first-round draft pick conversation, Khalid Kareem has slipped to the third through fifth rounds on most draft experts boards. Any team that uses a pick in that range is likely to land a steal at the defensive end position.

I am predicting that Kahlid Kareem is selected by the Seattle Seahawks in the third round of the draft with the 101st overall pick. The Seahawks were recently notified that they would receive the 101st overall selection in the draft via a compensatory pick.

The Seahawks are said to be in the running for free agent pass rusher Jadeveon Clowney. However, reports have been that the two sides remain far apart on a deal for Clowney to return in 2020. If Seattle is unable to resign Clowney, it leaves them with little depth on the defensive line.

If Clowney were to depart, the Seahawks would be left with L.J. Collier, Bruce Irvin, Branden Jackson, Shakir Soto, and Rasheem Green as their remaining defensive ends. That isn’t exactly a group that is going to strike fear into the hearts of opposing offensive coordinators.

If the Seahawks do in fact select Kahlid Kareem in the upcoming 2020 NFL Draft, Kareem will join former Notre Dame running back C.J. Prosise as the only other Irish alum currently on the Seattle roster.

Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll has been utilizing a base 4-3 defensive scheme with more regularity in recent seasons. With Kareem projecting as a prototypical 4-3 defensive end, he seemingly would represent an ideal fit for Seattle.

Regardless of which NFL team ultimately ends up calling Khalid Kareem’s name when they step to the podium during April’s draft, the team will be receiving a high-motor player with a ton of leadership. If they can land him after the second round, that team will likely be landing an absolute steal at defensive end.