While there was a interminable wait for the first Notre Dame football player to get taken in the 2025 NFL Draft, it took no time at all for the first Irish player to get taken off the board on Saturday morning, as Jack Kiser was selected by the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Kiser is officially the third former Irish star to be selected and if you want to go by PFF’s listing of the best 100 available starting round four, he jumped the line quite a bit.
Jack Kiser gives Jaguars a proven leader as Notre Dame stars start flying off the board
Of course, a team like the Jaguars, who are trying to rebuild on both sides of the ball, likely saw a former Notre Dame football star who was definitely a leader during his time in South Bend. The linebacker was a four-year starter who might not have gotten the headlines some of his peers got on a spectacular defense, but he was a stalwart force on the Fighting Irish front seven.
The appeal of Kiser for the Jaguars is also quite clear, in the fourth round. He can be someone who will be a stud on special teams in his rookie season and can then learn and transition to being a LB in the NFL.
The Notre Dame football star could be one of those players we're talking about in just a few years that is a real draft steal. Especially if he can put up decent numbers to go along with a football IQ second to none.