Notre Dame Football: Who replaces each player heading to the NFL?
By Jack Leniart
The Notre Dame Football program saw nine players selected across the 2021 NFL Draft, and 14 players enter the NFL. So who replaces them?
The Notre Dame football team will need to replace the production of 14 players who have departed for the NFL. This article will discuss the players on the current roster who are most likely to fill those vacancies.
A total of nine Notre Dame football players were selected during the 2021 NFL Draft this past April, and you would have to go all the way back to 1994 to find a year when more Irish players were drafted (10).
Following the conclusion of the draft, another five Notre Dame players signed deals as undrafted free agents. These numbers are a measurement of the talent on the college football team’s roster and, to an extent, the overall health of the program.
Another way we can measure the health of a college football program is by observing how effectively they can replace the production of players who departed after the previous season. The 2021 season for Notre Dame will be a solid data point for that measurement.
The biggest losses for the Irish are on the offensive side of the ball. Notre Dame will have to replace their starting quarterback, four starting offensive linemen, two of their top three tight ends, and two starting wide receivers. The most significant departure for the Irish is Ian Book, a three-year starter and the winningest quarterback in Notre Dame history.
Book was selected by the New Orleans Saints in the fourth round.
Liam Eichenberg, Aaron Banks, Tommy Tremble, and Robert Hainsey were all selected on the second day of the NFL Draft. Ben Skowronek was selected on the third day of the draft. Tommy Kraemer, Javon McKinley, and Brock Wright all signed deals as undrafted free agents.
The other five players who left for the NFL were all defensive starters last season. Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, the 2020 Butkus Award winner, was selected on the second day of the draft. Starting defensive ends Daelin Hayes and Ade Ogundeji were both Day 3 picks. Defensive backs Nick McCloud and Shaun Crawford signed deals as undrafted free agents.
Who will be replacing those 14 players on the depth chart? Let’s go through each position group and discuss the players who are best-positioned to win those open starting jobs.