Now that the Notre Dame football team is officially moving onto the 2025 season, several former Irish players are doing the same, only they’re preparing to play at the next level.
One of the most interesting former players to watch in the NFL Draft is defensive back Benjamin Morrison. The veteran corner has long been considered one of the best in the business, but injuries have derailed his Notre Dame career. Now that he’s ready to head to the NFL, there’s some question about how much those injuries have also derailed his ability to get drafted in the early rounds.
It appears that CBS Sports’ Tom Fornelli doesn’t believe the Notre Dame football star didn’t see his draft chances hurt at all. And as an added bonus, Fornelli believes that Morrison will be reunited with one of his old coaches at the next level, while boosting a defense that badly needs some help in the secondary.
Notre Dame football star reunited with old defensive coordinator
Fornelli believes that Morrison is headed to the Cincinnati Bengals in the first round. He believes the corner will be the No. 17 pick in the draft. And he explains why he thinks the oft-injured defender will go so high despite seeing two straight seasons end early.
“Morrison played in only six games this season and wasn't around for Notre Dame's playoff run, and I think it's caused people to forget how freaking good he is! If Morrison stayed healthy all year, I don't think there's any question that he's a first-round pick. He's an exceptional corner in coverage.”
It does make sense that new Bengals DC, Al Golden would push for his franchise to pick up such a talented defensive back. The big question is whether that’s way too early. Fornelli doesn’t think so, but his talent alone isn’t the issue.
For instance, ESPN draft analyst Matt Miller recently has Morrison going at No. 46 to the Atlanta Falcons. The gulf between the two picks isn’t massive, the former Notre Dame football star is going in the second round in this mock rather than the first. But in reality, there’s a pretty big gap between 17th overall vs a second round pick.