Four Notre Dame Players Ranked Among Top 50 Draft Prospects For 2025

Pro Football Focus has four Notre Dame players ranked among the Top 50 returning draft prospects for next year's draft

Nov 5, 2022; South Bend, Indiana, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish cornerback Benjamin Morrison (20) / Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports

Notre Dame has one of the most talented teams in the country returning for the 2024 season, and Pro Football Focus is one of many outlets starting to take notice. The outlet released its Top 50 prospect for the 2025 NFL Draft, and the Irish were well represented.

Notre Dame had four players listed among the Top 50 prospects by Pro Football Focus, which tied the Irish for second. Ohio State (6) had the most players on the list, but Notre Dame tied with Michigan and Oregon for the second spot. The Irish had twice as many players listed than did Georgia.

Junior cornerback Benjamin Morrison was the highest Notre Dame player, checking in as the No. 8 player on the draft board. He was also listed as the second best cornerback on the board. Here is what Pro Football Focus said about Morrison:

"While Johnson’s first two seasons were special, Morrison’s weren’t too far behind. As a true freshman in 2022, he tied for the Power Five lead with six interceptions while his 29.2 passer rating allowed was third. In 2023, he was tied for eighth in that same group with 13 forced incompletions.

"Morrison’s posted an 86.8 single-coverage grade since 2022, which paces all returning Power Five corners. On seven targets against Marvin Harrison Jr. over the last two years, he had more forced incompletions (three) than allowed catches (two). While there’s work to do as a tackler, Morrison has elite ball skills for the position. He and Johnson could be top-10 picks in 2025 and likely be the first corners off the board this year if eligible."

Senior tight end Mitchell Evans was next on the list, ranking No. 33 on the board. Evans was also the second best tight end player on the PFF board. Evans hauled in 29 passes for 422 yards (14.6 YPC) in just eight games last season. He was on pace to be one of the best pass catching tight ends in the country before his injury. How well he comes back from that injury will certainly have a huge impact on where he's viewed in next year's draft class.

Sixth-year senior defensive tackle Howard Cross III ranked No. 37 on the list, and he was fourth ranked interior defensive lineman on the board. Cross earned second team All-America honors in 2023 after racking up 66 tackles, 7 tackles for loss and a pair of sacks.

Fifth-year senior safety Xavier Watts rounded things out, ranking No. 41 on the list. Watts also ranked as the fourth best safety on the board. Watts had a monster 2023 campaign, leading the nation with 7 interceptions to go with 52 tackles and 3 tackles for loss.

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