Four Notre Dame Players Make SI Top 100 For 2020 Draft
Sports Illustrated released its Top 100 Big Board for the 2020 NFL Draft, and four different Notre Dame players made the list.
First up is tight end Cole Kmet, who SI ranks as the 49th best prospect in the 2020 NFL Draft. Here is what analyst Kevin Hanson said about the former Irish standout:
"A two-sport athlete (with baseball) at Notre Dame, Kmet initially planned to return to South Bend, but he could be the TE1 in a relatively weak class. Kmet has reliable hands, runs good routes and tested well at the combine."
If this ranking is on current levels I understand Kmet being ranked where he is, which is a borderline Top 50 player and the top tight end. The reason I think Kmet will go higher than this in the draft, however, is I believe NFL teams see what I see, and that is he's just scratching the surface of his pull potential.
Right after Kmet is defensive end Julian Okwara, who ranks 50th in the latest big board.
"Okwara’s season was cut short (fibula) and he has lacked consistency, but he’s a long and explosive athlete that has racked up 13.5 sacks and 19.5 TFL in 22 games over the past two seasons."
This analysis is spot on. Okwara was not a consistent player, especially as a senior, but his pass rushing tools and potential as a player are quite high. It would seem this ranking is as much about tools and potential as it is proven production.
Wide receiver Chase Claypool is ranked 68th on the list and is the 12th highest ranked player at his position. I do not see 11 better receivers on this list, and I'll continue my stance that Claypool is a better player than USC's Michael Pittman, who ranks ahead of Claypool on this big board.
Claypool not only came up bigger in big games, he's a more physically imposing player, a faster player and Claypool does not have scheme inflated statistics.
I would also rank Claypool higher than Penn State's KJ Hamler, a fast, dynamic athlete that is very small and has shaky hands, which is a bad combination. If I was an NFL team I'd also rather have Claypool than Clemson's Tee Higgins, but that is definitely not a popular stance.
The final Notre Dame player on this list is cornerback Troy Pride Jr., who checks in as the 74th best player in this draft class. This makes Pride the 12th best cornerback in this draft class. There are a few players I would have below Pride, but Ohio State's Damon Arnette is the most glaring.
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