We are breaking down the Notre Dame football prospects ahead of the NFL Draft which begins on Thursday, April 28th in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Today we’ll take a look at a player Notre Dame is hoping becomes a record-setting pick in the upcoming Draft.
SPECS
Name: Kyle Hamilton
Position: S
Height: 6-4 (per the NFL Combine)
Weight: 220 (per the NFL Combine)
40: 4.59 (t-14th out of 14 S)
Vertical: 38 (3rd out of 15 S)
Broad: 131 (2nd out of 17 S)
3-Cone: 6.9 (5th out of 7 S)
20-Yard: 4.32 (5th out of 6 S)
Hometown: Atlanta, Georgia
STATS
| YEAR | TACK | TFL | INT |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 41 | 1.0 | 4 |
| 2020 | 63 | 4.5 | 1 |
| 2021 | 34 | 2.0 | 3 |
| TOTAL | 138 | 7.5 | 8 |
BIO:
Hamilton played immediately as a true freshman as a quasi-starter behind veterans Alohi Gilman and Jalen Elliott while intercepting a team-high 4 interceptions to become a freshman All-American in 2019. He would then break out nationally in 2020 as a sophomore full-time starter garnering All-American status while building a case as the nation’s top safety prospect.
The 2021 season got off to a roaring start for Hamilton before a knee injury forced him to miss the last 6.5 games of the year. Despite the shortened season, he was still named to some All-American lists and was able to recover and participate in the NFL Combine.
STRENGTHS:
A true ball hawk. A dangerous playmaker as a single-high safety with true sideline-to-sideline speed and terrific ball skills. Flourishes in coverage against outside receivers and tight ends. Hamilton has a very long, lanky frame and has added a nice amount of muscle since his freshman year. Smart and adaptive. He’s a dangerous down-hill disrupter and uses his leverage well while tackling. Superb in run support. Mixture of size and athleticism is as elite as it gets at his position.
WEAKNESSES:
Speed times at the Combine weren’t amazing. His long frame can support more muscle which means weighing 230+ early in his career is a real possibility. Will a franchise keep him at safety? Can he excel in a hybrid linebacker role? Teams will want to know his knee is 100% before taking him in a generationally high spot for a safety.
OVERVIEW:
Like many college stars, Hamilton’s prolific career was a brief comet of success with only 1.5 years of true starting time and a missed opportunity to play in a major bowl game in his final season due to injury. With more time on the field his career would’ve been decorated more with national awards and recognition but as it stands he leaves Notre Dame joining a very small group–along with the likes of Jaylon Smith, Quenton Nelson, and Will Fuller–as the freakiest athletes from South Bend in modern times.
PREDICTION:
1st Round, 10th Overall to the New York Jets
Hamilton is swimming in unchartered waters for a safety and Notre Dame defender. He should beat Jerry Tillery (28th, 2019) as the highest selected Irish defender this century. Before Tillery we have Renaldo Wynn (21st, 1997) and then Bryant Young (7th, 1994) as the highest picks from Notre Dame’s defense. Hamilton should comfortably be in the top 15 overall this year, although weirder things have happened in the past.
Here are the all of the safeties picked in the top 15 over the last 10 NFL Drafts:
Jamal Adams, 2017, 6th overall
Malik Hooker, 2017, 15th overall
Karl Joseph, 2016, 14th overall
Kenny Vaccaro, 2013, 15th overall
Mark Barron, 2012, 7th overall
It’s weird in a league with so much passing that safeties don’t go higher but here we see warning signs that it’s a tough position to stick at long term with maybe not great long-term value. Barron, Vaccaro, and Joseph are no longer in the league, Hooker was released by the Colts and signed by the Cowboys where he barely played last year due to injury, while Adams was legit elite with the Jets although Seattle didn’t love his 2021 performance after making him the highest paid safety with a $70 million contract.
Kyle Hamilton is the best player in the draft, period. @BenjaminSolak: https://t.co/pvrM1GkkfL
— The Ringer (@ringer) March 28, 2022
There’s been smoke around Hamilton to the Jets at 4th overall all season long. Other safety-needy teams in the top 5 include the Lions at 2nd overall and the Texans at 3rd overall. I really struggle thinking a NFL team will take a safety this high and I believe it would be the highest slot for the position since 1991 when the Browns took UCLA’s Eric Turner 2nd overall.
We should watch out for Hamilton’s hometown Falcons with the 8th overall pick while the Eagles have the 15th, 16th, and 19th pick to be a team with enough assets to move up and take him. As it stands, the Jets have their second pick at 10th overall and I think that’s where his most likely spot, and the spot he will not drop past, will ultimately end up.
It would be interesting to break down those NFL safeties because there seem to be at least two basic types – those who play a lot in the box and those who are more true free safeties.
I thought Adams and Barron are more the box type safety whereas clearly Hamilton is more of a free safety who can also play in the box. But those who are box-type safeties usually don’t quite have the athleticism/speed to play single-high like Hamilton does. Which makes one wonder how many safeties in the NFL have that kind of speed to play single-high successfully. Perhaps that’s why Hamilton is one of a kind.
The Ringer piece was really good detailing the re-ascendance of two high safeties in the NFL game. It is pretty crazy how much an elite safety can truly help a team, but the conventional wisdom to de-value them still is rooted on many teams with high picks who have a lot of needs and will probably go safer choices (OT, edge rushers).
This is a great class for Kyle to be in, since there aren’t many (any?) QBs worthy of a top-5 pick. I really hope he surprises and gets taken in the 3-6 range, hopefully Atlanta at 8 would be his floor.
The other interesting implication from that Ringer article, other than that Kyle should clearly go top-two, is how overvalued defensive linemen are. Your team is better off upgrading replacement-level players with one top-10 safety, estimated price $15 million, than two top-10 defensive ends, estimated price $50 million. That’s (supposedly) a huge market inefficiency.
Not a huge fan of the Jets organization. Hopefully Hamilton doesn’t end up there, however, they have been known to have a decent secondary In the past.