Notre Dame football: Both 2022 NFL Draft picks should taste playoffs in Year 1
By Brad Weiss
The Notre Dame football team could see both their 2022 NFL Draft picks in the playoffs as rookies this upcoming season.
The 2022 NFL Draft has come and gone, and for the Notre Dame football team, it was not very eventful. In fact, the Irish had only two players taken in the draft, as Kyle Hamilton was the No. 14 overall pick by the Baltimore Ravens, and Kyren Williams went pick No. 164 overall to the Los Angeles Rams.
While other members of the 2021 Irish made the NFL as undrafted free agents, we choose to focus on the 2022 draft picks, and how good of landing spots they both ended up in. Both Hamilton and Williams should make it to the playoffs in Year 1, as they both joined arguably the best teams in each conference.
The Rams are fresh off a Super Bowl title this past season and had Lamar Jackson not gotten hurt down the stretch for the Ravens, they likely would have been a favorite to represent the AFC in the title game as well. Adding a talent like Williams and Hamilton to their rosters is only going to make these teams better, which could spell trouble for the rest of the league, as both are playoff contenders.
In fact, not only should Hamilton make the playoffs as a rookie, but we like him to be the league’s NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year.
Notre Dame football to dominate the 2023 NFL Draft
While only two players from the Irish were drafted in 2022, the 2023 NFL Draft is going to be completely different, as many as five members of the Notre Dame football team could be selected in the first round alone. Guys like Isaiah Foskey, Michael Mayer, Cam Hart, Jarrett Patterson, and Brandon Joseph are all top players at their position groups, making the first round a potentially exciting time.
Overall, Williams and Hamilton both should be key players for their new teams as rookies, and when all is said and done, playing against each other in next year’s Super Bowl is not out of the question.