Notre Dame football: How high can Kyle Hamilton go in 2022 NFL Draft?

The Notre Dame football program has an absolute stud at safety in Kyle Hamilton, but the question is, how high can he go in the 2022 NFL Draft?

When it comes to the 2021 Notre Dame football team, there are question marks on both sides of the ball. The Irish are coming off a berth in the College Football Playoff, but graduation and the NFL took a major toll on the roster, as 14 players have gone on to play professionally.

One player who is still with the program, albeit likely only for one more year, is safety Kyle Hamilton. A tremendous athlete and All-American safety, Hamilton will be the key for Marcus Freeman in his first season as the team’s defensive coordinator, proving stability in the defensive backfield.

In fact, Freeman is taking over a defense with a lot of veteran talent, including a stacked linebacker corps, as well as a breakout star in Isaiah Foskey. However, for the Irish to get back to a College Football Playoff, Hamilton is the key, and all signs point to another outstanding season from him leading the Irish’s secondary.

While Hamilton is likely to go to the NFL next year, the question is, how high could he go in the 2022 NFL Draft?

Notre Dame football star goes No. 2 overall in recent mock

Sayre Bedinger does an incredible job as the site expert over at NFL Mocks, and he recently put together his latest 2022 NFL Mock Draft. The piece states that this is going to be a quarterback-heavy mock draft, but it is Hamilton who shows up as the No. 2 overall pick.

Hamilton is taken at No. 2 by the Detroit Lions in this mock draft, falling only behind Oregon star edge rusher Kayvon Thibodeaux, who goes No. 1 overall to the Houston Texans. With Detroit, Hamilton would instantly become the featured player on their defense, joining a young cast of players trying to turn things around under new head coach Dan Campbell.

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Hamilton is no doubt going to be a first-round pick, and the only question that remains is just how high is he going to be selected. We have seen him consistently land in the top-10, but with this recent No. 2 projection, could he end up being the highest-drafted player since Rick Mirer in 1993?

Only time will tell.