We are breaking down the Notre Dame prospects hoping to hear their names called in the upcoming NFL Draft being held in Detroit from April 25th through the 27th. Today, we look at one of the most promising Irish pro prospects in many years.

SPECS

Name: Joe Alt
Hometown: North Oaks, Minnesota
Position: OT
Height: 6-9 (per NFL Combine)
Weight: 321 (per NFL Combine)
40: 5.05
Vertical: 28.0
10-Yard Split: 1.73
Broad: 9′ 4″
3-Cone: 7.31
20-Yard Shuttle: 4.51
Bench Press: 27

STRENGTHS:

A goddamn mountain of a man in stature. Excellent footwork and excels at adjusting his stride to ward off pass rushing and combo moves. Strong hands who uses his long arms to maintain leverage while blocking. Alt is an elite pass blocker. Moves really well for his size in run blocking. He has the genes and pedigree to be an All-Pro level player in the NFL. The rare player who was huge and somehow measured even larger for the NFL. Did I mention he’s huge?

WEAKNESSES:

Some of the best power rushers have had decent success getting underneath Alt’s tall frame. Most NFL scouts have been critical of his forward lean and pad level at times. Relies too much on his length and reach. A more consistent and controlled run blocking effort will be required at the next level.

OVERVIEW:

It wasn’t that long ago where I thought it was crazy Notre Dame was sticking with Alt at left tackle instead of teammate Blake Fisher who “won” the job before injury as a true freshman. It turns out, the coaching staff made the correct decision. Fast forward a couple years and Alt is coming off phenomenal back-to-back All-American seasons and could be the highest drafted prospect out of South Bend since Quenton Nelson in 2018.

In another draft year with less quarterback-needy teams ready to select first this could be a top 3 type of situation for Alt.

PREDICTION:

1st Round, 7th Overall to the Tennessee Titans

Well, this is boring. I couldn’t find a single legitimate NFL mock draft that had Alt going anywhere else besides with Tennessee’s first pick. The team just cut Andre Dillard after signing him to a 3-year $29 million deal from Philadelphia last off-season following a terrible 2023 with the Titans at left tackle. Like most teams, Tennessee has other needs to address but probably nothing where they’d be throwing top 10 draft money at when they have such a major weakness on the offensive line.

Could Alt go higher?

You could make the case the Bears could easily upgrade for Alt over Braxton Jones but the team likely isn’t entertaining anything other than a quarterback with the 1st overall pick. It’s the same situation for Washington who have a below average 2nd year player at left tackle but should be looking only at the quarterback position 2nd overall. Or, so the pundits believe.

The Patriots are yet another high picking team in 3rd without a franchise left tackle. The Cardinals recently cut D.J. Humphries but signed Jonah Williams from the Bengals on a 2-year $30 million deal so Arizona is out of the Alt sweepstakes.

The Chargers have recent 1st round pick Rashawn Slater playing well at left tackle so they will pass. So too will the Giants in the 6th spot after inking former 4th overall pick Andrew Thomas to a mega 5-year $117.5 million extension last off-season.