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How the NFL Draft and recruiting are related for Notre Dame football

By Daniel Morrison

CHICAGO, IL - APRIL 28: Ronnie Stanley of Notre Dame holds up a jersey after being picked #6 overall by the Baltimore Ravens during the first round of the 2016 NFL Draft at the Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University on April 28, 2016 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Jon Durr/Getty Images)
CHICAGO, IL - APRIL 28: Ronnie Stanley of Notre Dame holds up a jersey after being picked #6 overall by the Baltimore Ravens during the first round of the 2016 NFL Draft at the Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University on April 28, 2016 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Jon Durr/Getty Images) /
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Notre Dame Football
CLEVELAND, OHIO – APRIL 29: Mya Tomato stands with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell during round one of the 2021 NFL Draft at the Great Lakes Science Center on April 29, 2021, in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) /

How the NFL Draft and recruiting are related for Notre Dame football

Notre Dame football has dominated the draft

Now, in 2022, Notre Dame is expected to have another top-10 pick in Kyle Hamilton. That’s before you consider all the other great players ready to be taken. It’s a moment that those players won’t forget, and you can fully expect Notre Dame to widely promote how many players they have taken in the NFL Draft and when they’re taken. There’s a key reason for this, and it’s more than just celebrating those players on Draft Day. It’s about promoting the program for the future too.

Success in the NFL Draft is one of the most important factors that land elite recruits to schools. That’s part of why certain elite teams can hoard talent, and why some teams can hoard talent at certain positions in particular. Why should an offensive lineman go to Notre Dame? Well, the coaching staff there has developed players like Ronnie Stanley, Quenton Nelson, and Liam Eichenberg, then you know that they can develop you into an NFL-ready player too. This is why teams like to brag about being ‘DBU’ or ‘Tight End U.’

When teams can prove that they can develop a lot of players at every position into viable draft picks, then it becomes easier to recruit elite talent to the team at every position, instead of just one or two groups. That’s because players with top-end talent, even if that’s a raw talent that needs to be developed, believe they have NFL potential. An elite player wants to play for a staff that they know can get them there, without potentially stunting their growth.

Marcus Freeman and the new Notre Dame coaching staff are investing a lot more in recruiting than Brian Kelly ever did. Kelly tended to let his assistants do most of the work in recruiting and let Notre Dame speak for itself. This meant only players interested in Notre Dame came. Freeman is more aggressive, making sure every recruit gets to understand both what he offers, as well as what Notre Dame offers.

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