Notre Dame Football: Where will Hayes and Ogundeji land in the draft?

For the second straight year, two defensive ends from the Notre Dame football team are highly likely to be selected in the NFL Draft.

Last year, it was Julian Okwara and Khalid Kareem who had a draft buzz going into the 2020 NFL Draft, and both were able to hear their names called. Okwara was selected by the Detroit Lions in the third round with the 67th overall pick, while Kareem was selected by the Cincinnati Bengals in the fifth round with the 147th overall pick.

This year, it is Daelin Hayes and Ade Ogundeji who are preparing for the NFL Draft. Hayes finished the 2020 season with 16 total tackles, three sacks, one pass break up, one interception, two forced fumbles, and a fumble recovery. Ogundeji finished the year with 23 tackles, seven sacks, and a forced fumble.

Two Notre Dame football edge rushers likely to be drafted in 2021

The consensus seems to be that both Hayes and Ogundeji will be selected on the third day of the draft, which is when rounds 4-7 take place. Each player has seen their draft stock improve as of late, a good sign entering the final two months of the draft cycle.

In their overall draft prospect rankings, Pro Football Focus ranked Ogundeji at 173 and Hayes at 179. The Draft Network ranked Ogundeji at 148 and Hayes at 169. Pro Football Network ranked Hayes at 139 and Ogundeji at 155.

Those three sites gave Ade Ogundeji an average ranking of 159 and gave Daelin Hayes an average ranking of 162. With projections that close, I think we all need to be rooting for these two Notre Dame players to be selected with back-to-back picks.

Despite those evaluations, Hayes has received a bit more buzz than his former teammate. Following his strong performance at the Reese’s Senior Bowl, there has even been some talk that Hayes could potentially be selected in the second or third round.

Given the depth at the defensive end position in this year’s draft class, I think that is a bit of a longshot. However, the defensive end is a highly-valued position, and the versatility Hayes showed while playing the drop end position at Notre Dame has made him an attractive prospect.