Notre Dame Football: Miami Dolphins expert talks Liam Eichenberg
By Brad Weiss
Liam Eichenberg was the first Notre Dame Football player off the board in the 2021 NFL Draft, and we asked a Miami Dolphins expert about the pick.
Heading into the 2021 NFL Draft, we figured that starting left tackle Liam Eichenberg would benefit from teams doing a lot of shuffling along their offensive lines. In terms of Notre Dame Football players, we figured he would be the second one off the board, as Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah had so much first-round buzz, and Eichenberg was seen as a fringe first-rounder.
However, Adam Schefter recently tweeted that a heart issue came up for JOK, an issue that has been resolved, but one that made him fall on draft night. Because of that, Eichenberg was actually the first member of the Notre Dame Football team off the board, landing with the Miami Dolphins.
Who better than to talk to about the Dolphins and them drafting Notre Dame Football star Eichenberg than Brian Miller, the site expert at phinphanatic.com.
"The Miami Dolphins drafted Liam Eichenberg out of Notre Dame, of course, and the reactions have been positive. The Dolphins have needed to fix their offense for years and Eichenberg looks to be what we hope is the final piece."
Eichenberg discusses his versatility with the Miami media.
"At his press conference with the media, he said he would play any position, including center, if that is what the coaches wanted him to do. Miami fans love his grit and toughness and appreciate a more old school physicality, something that has been missing in Miami. The image of him playing with his eye swollen shut has been passed around quite a bit on social media."
Miami wanted Eichenberg bad
"The Dolphins were aggressive to get him and fans are looking forward to seeing what he will bring to the line and are already shifting the current line around to gauge where he might fit the best. This was a fantastic pick for the Dolphins."
There is no doubt that Eichenberg is joining a special group in Miami, one that won ten games last season, and still had two first-round picks in 2021. Brian Flores has done a tremendous job building up talent on both sides of the ball, and in Eichenberg, he drafted one of the more NFL-ready offensive linemen in the draft class.
Eichenberg is going to be a special player at the next level, as he is more than versatile, but downright elite when it comes to pass protection. Across his final two years with the Notre Dame Football program, Eichenberg did not allow a single sack, something that should be music to the ears of Tua Tagovailoa, the Dolphins young quarterback.
For now, we will have to wait and see where Eichenberg does in fact land on this Miami offensive line, and how he protects Tua on an offense that should be outstanding in 2021. They brought in a terrific piece in the first round in Jaylen Waddle, who is going to bring more explosiveness to this offense moving forward.