Notre Dame Football: Irish reloading along the offensive line

The Notre Dame Football program lost four starters along the offensive line this offseason, but have reloaded with another talented group.

During the 2021 NFL Draft, the Notre Dame Football program sure lost a lot of talent up front along the offensive line. Starting with left tackle Liam Eichenberg, who was the first Irish player off the board at No. 42 to the Miami Dolphins, the program saw three starting offensive linemen from a year ago get selected in the first four rounds of the draft.

Aaron Banks found his new home in San Francisco, going a few picks after Eichenberg in the fourth round, and Robert Hainsey joined the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the fourth. Hainsey will get a chance to try for a Super Bowl ring right away in his NFL journey, as the Bucs and Tom Brady will look to repeat.

After the draft, Tommy Kraemer was picked up as an undrafted free agent by the Detroit Lions, and will definitely have a legitimate shot to make that roster. Overall, four starters are gone, which means there is a lot of work to do to build back up the group.

Notre Dame Football could start two true freshman along the OL

Luckily, the Irish have some excellent players returning, including center Jarrett Patterson, who many believe will be a first-round pick this upcoming year. Patterson is rumored to be making the move to left tackle, which would increase his draft stock even more, and is a move that is smart for the program.

Along with veterans like Josh Lugg and Zeke Correll who are returning, the Irish also have Quinn Carroll coming back. Also, Notre Dame Football could see two true freshmen crack the starting lineup up front, as both Blake Fisher and Rocco Spindler have been as good as advertised this spring.

Notre Dame Football: Irish NFL rookies have great shot at playoffs

For the nine members of the Notre Dame Football program who were drafted in 2021, most of them will have a legitimate shot at the playoffs as rookies.

With a new quarterback under center, the Irish are going to need to get everything they can from this new group of offensive lineman, and all signs point to that being the case. Notre Dame Football has long been Offensive Line U, and that should not change in 2021, even with plenty of new faces lining up in front of Jack Coan.