Slap the Sign
Fansided

Notre Dame football: Daelin Hayes suddenly a 2021 NFL Draft hot commodity

By Brad Weiss

Oct 7, 2017; Chapel Hill, NC, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish defensive lineman Daelin Hayes (9) reacts with defensive lineman Julian Okwara (42) after sacking North Carolina Tar Heels quarterback Chazz Surratt (12) (not pictured) in the third quarter at Kenan Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 7, 2017; Chapel Hill, NC, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish defensive lineman Daelin Hayes (9) reacts with defensive lineman Julian Okwara (42) after sacking North Carolina Tar Heels quarterback Chazz Surratt (12) (not pictured) in the third quarter at Kenan Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit

The Notre Dame football program should see multiple players selected in the 2021 NFL Draft, including two who would be first-round picks. While Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah and Liam Eichenberg are not expected to last long, there are a handful of guys who are going to be selected in Day 2 and 3, which encompasses the second through the seventh round.

This figures to be a strange draft season, as there will be no in-person scouting combine, leaving the prospects with one less chance to make an impression on NFL Scouts. There will be some kind of combine, done virtually, and there will also be Pro Days and interviews, mostly done through zoom.

Overall, the prospects will get a chance to show what they can do, and for some, the opportunity to play in the Senior Bowl really helped their chances of being drafted. One such player is a former edge rusher for the Notre Dame football team

Notre Dame Football edge rusher Daelin Hayes improving his draft stock

The Notre Dame football team sent numerous players to the Senior Bowl this season, as guys like Ian Book, Aaron Banks, and Eichenberg were some of the big names expected to arrive in Mobile. While Eichenberg sat it out, Banks and Book showed, as did edge rushers Ade Ogundeji and Daelin Hayes, two players fighting to be selected in the 2021 NFL Draft.

Ogundeji wowed scouts early on with his physical gifts, and will likely be drafted in 2021, but it was Hayes that saw his stock rise the most. In fact, he is someone who is already having a ton of virtual interviews, and he is riding his stellar performance at the Senior Bowl into possibly being a Day 2 pick in the 2021 NFL Draft.

Justin Melo from the Draft Network recently tweeted out that Hayes had already met with the Green Bay Packers and New England Patriots, and had five more interviews scheduled.

Next. Notre Dame football: 5 returning players who’ll lead Irish reload in 2021. dark

Hayes has the size, speed, and power you look for in an NFL edge rusher, and he really showed out during not only the practices but also in the games against some of the best players in the country. He is cementing his spot as a 2021 NFL Draft pick, and the only question now is how high can he go.

Home/Notre Dame Football