Notre Dame football: Imagine 16 draft selections and no Kyle Hamilton
By Brad Weiss
The 2022 NFL Draft is next month, and a recent report said that Notre Dame football star Kyle Hamilton could fall to the second half of the first round.
The Notre Dame football program has not had a player taken in the first round of the NFL Draft since 2019 when Jerry Tillery was picked by the Los Angeles Chargers. Since then, we have seen some guys fall out of the first round that were projected to go in Day 1, including last year, when Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah fell to the second round.
A projected top-10 pick, JOK had some medical issues come up during the draft process, and though he was cleared, he still fell to Cleveland. As a rookie, he proved to be a first-round talent, as the Browns ended up getting him as a steal.
In 2022, that trend will end, as safety Kyle Hamilton has been projected as an early pick in the 2022 NFL Draft. However, with the draft weeks away, some feel he is going to plummet in the first round, including one of the better draft experts out there.
Matt Miller, who does a tremendous job for ESPN as an NFL Draft analyst, recently stated that Hamilton could fall in a big way.
"“It’s possible he falls all the way into the second half of Round 1. Now, it takes only one team to change that, but the consensus around the league is that a drop is expected.”"
Notre Dame football star likely a top-5 pick in 2022
Despite all the noise, Hamilton is an elite talent, and some feel he could be the most NFL-ready player in this entire draft class. He has incredible size, speed, and power from his safety position, and looking back at his slower 40-yard time at the NFL Combine, it was clear that it was a form thing, and not his speed.
Quarterback play is crucial in the NFL, which makes having a strong secondary an absolute must. For most of the teams picking in the first half of the first round, they need a player like Hamilton, so there is no way I can see 16 picks going by with him waiting in the Green Room.
After Hamilton does come off the board, it could be a long wait for the Irish to hear another one of their players called. Some mock drafts have star running back Kyren Williams going all the way in the sixth round, and while that is likely not going to be the case, Williams being picked outside of the first two days is a possibility.