2023 Mock Drafts Are Loaded With Notre Dame Players
I don't put much stock in mock drafts that are done a year in advance, but I do think the early mock drafts for 2023 do somewhat address a question - or should I say concern - that has been raised by some regarding Notre Dame's small 2022 draft class.
If you look at early mock drafts for next season you'll find they are loaded with Notre Dame players, and the list could grow.
I must admit, I thought Jack Coan and Kevin Austin would get drafted, but Notre Dame's 2022 draft class was always going to be small. That's what happens when you return 14 starters and over a half dozen other players with multiple starts in their careers.
Later today Irish Breakdown's Ryan Roberts will take a deeper dive into Notre Dame's potential 2023 draft class, but I wanted to kick things off by pointing out the early mock drafts. The reason is to show what was discussed already, Notre Dame's small 2022 class was due to the fact that the majority of the team's best players are coming back for the 2022 season.
I've seen two mock drafts that have three Notre Dame players going in the first round, and I have seen four different Notre Dame players get projected to go in round one by at least two writers/services.
Michael Schottey of The 33rd Team had three different Notre Dame players being selected in his first round. He had tight end Michael Mayer going 17th to the Minnesota Vikings, safety Brandon Joseph going 28th to the Green Bay Packers and defensive end Isaiah Foskey going 30th to the Kansas City Chiefs.
Joe Marino of The Draft Network also had three Irish players being selected, but it wasn't the same three. He had Mayer going to the Cincinnati Bengals at No. 22 and Foskey going to the Miami Dolphins at No. 27, but Marino had center Jarrett Patterson as Notre Dame's highest drafted player next year. He had Patterson going 17th to the Dolphins.
Instead of doing a mock draft, Pete Fiutak of College Football News ranked his 32 best players heading into the 2023 draft. He had Patterson ranked 32nd, Joseph ranked 17th, Foskey ranked 16th and Mayer ranked 15th. Of course, if that order held up it would mean four Irish players go in round one.
That tied Clemson for second most, trailing only Alabama (5) and it was more than Ohio State and Georgia, who had three apiece.
Notre Dame hasn't had three players selected in the first round since 1994, a year in which Bryant Young, Aaron Taylor and Jeff Burris were all picked early. The year prior (1993) was the last time Notre Dame had four players go in round that. That year it was Rick Mirer, Jerome Bettis, Tom Carter and Irv Smith.
I don't know if Notre Dame will have three or four players taken in round one, and right now none of those sites were talking about Cam Hart or Jayson Ademilola.
But the point isn't to predict what will happen a year ago. The point is to speak to part of the reason why Notre Dame had such a small draft class in 2022, and also why Notre Dame fans should be very excited about what their favorite football team could do in the fall.
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Ranking The 2022 Signees - Offense
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