Notre Dame Football: Liam Eichenberg the first Irish player off the board
By Brad Weiss
While many felt that Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah would be the first Notre Dame Football player off the board, it was Liam Eichenberg at pick No. 42 to the Miami Dolphins.
Leading up to the 2021 NFL Draft, most of the experts predicted that Notre Dame Football star Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah would be selected in the first round. One of the best defensive players in the country, JOK took the college football landscape by storm this past season, helping the Irish to an undefeated regular season.
As we inched closer to the draft, the only question was where JOK would land in the first round, and on Thursday night, we found out. However, both he and Liam Eichenberg were shut out of the first round, though both were projected to go early on Day 2 when all was said and done.
In the end, it was actually Eichenberg who was the first member of the Irish drafted.
Notre Dame Football star goes No. 42 to the Miami Dolphins
Liam Eichenberg has been an anchor for this Notre Dame Football team for years, and some believed that he could’ve been a first-round pick this year. He was a key to the Irish going to two College Football Playoffs, and with the Miami Dolphins, he will be tasked with protecting their No. 1 asset in Tua Tagovailoa.
The Dolphins are building something special in South Beach, and for Eichenberg, this could not have been a better landing spot. Eichenberg will likely move to the right side at the next level, which would actually be the blindside for Tua, who is a southpaw.
In our staff predictions, we all had JOK going in the first round, but most of us had Liam Eichenberg going in round two. Those predictions came true for Eichenberg, and while JOK is likely to be drafted soon, it is still incredible that he has not been drafted heading into pick No. 43 overall.