Another edition of the NFL Draft is in the books with 4 Notre Dame players hearing their names called over the 3-day extravaganza. Let’s recap the weekend activities but first remember that very few players are receiving fully guaranteed contracts. Such is life in the NFL. It’s great news for the top picks who get most of their money and not all that great for the remaining picks.
OG Quenton Nelson, 1st Round, 6th Overall, Indianapolis Colts
$23.88 million value
$15.45 million signing bonus
It doesn’t get much better than this for a guard. Nelson ties Ronnie Stanley as the highest Irish draft pick since Rick Mirer in 1993. Even better, Nelson will be close to campus and should be a fixture around the program for years to come. Perhaps the best part of the weekend was this little anecdote that in some NFL circles Nelson was known as “Earl Grey” because of his, ahem, playing style.
OT Mike McGlinchey, 1st Round, 9th Overall, San Francisco 49ers
$18.34 million value
$11.41 million signing bonus
The whole coming back for a 5th year for Irish linemen thing is really working out well. It’s a bit unbelievable how high McGlinchey got picked given some had him falling out of the first round. The Niners traded right tackle Trenton Brown during the draft which should open up immediate playing time for McGlinchey, plus most expect him to flip to the left side when Joe Staley (33 years old) retires.
TE Durham Smythe, 4th Round, 123rd Overall, Miami Dolphins
$3.05 million value
$640,000 signing bonus
There can’t be any argument that Nelson, McGlinchey, and Smythe maxed out their draft positions given their respective careers. It’s a relatively wide open depth chart at tight end for the ‘Fins with just under $2 million in cap money tied up in contracts. Although, that doesn’t include Penn State’s Mike Gesicki who was selected in the early part of the 2nd round and should be a priority ahead of Smythe. Still, you can expect Smythe will have a good shot at making the final roster if not in 2018 then certainly in 2019.
WR Equanimeous St. Brown, 6th Round, 207th Overall, Green Bay Packers
$2.53 million value
$119,000 signing bonus
ESB took a bit of a tumble in the draft but falls into a very manageable situation for a 6th round pick. The Packers have a $23 million cap hit tied up in Randall Cobb and Davante Adams but cut Jordy Nelson in March and the next most catches from 2017 was Geronimo Allison ($630,000 cap hit) with 23 receptions. Green Bay did take Missouri’s J’Mon Moore 133rd overall and South Florida’s Marquez Valdes-Scantling 174th overall ahead of St. Brown. They’re all very similar in profile which should be interesting to watch play out for roster spots.
RB Josh Adams, UDFA, Philadelphia Eagles
Unfortunately, we didn’t see Adams get picked (super bummed about it by the way) and among the players who came out early he was maybe the most high-profile who were left out. He heads to the Super Bowl champs where there’s already 4 running backs on the roster but only $3.8 million is tied up at the position so there’s a sliver of hope for a team that rotates backs quite often. Adams’ lack of special teams expertise could be a problem–it feels like if he makes an impact in the NFL it could be in a couple years with a different team.
LB Nyles Morgan, UDFA, Chicago Bears
Like, Adams we see Morgan signing with his local team. The Bears took Georgia’s Roquan Smith with the 8th overall pick so an up-hill climb will be even more difficult for an undrafted free agent.
OLB Andrew Trumbetti, UDFA, Chicago Bears
The Bears also signed Trumbetti who they will take a look at as an outside linebacker.
News & Notes
I predicted 5 players from Alabama going in the first round but they only made it to 4 in the 1st. I had Ronnie Harrison in the first but he fell to the Jaguars in the 3rd round. Overall, the Tide broke their school record and had 12 players selected in the entire draft.
Brian Kelly notched his 7th and 8th first round selections since being at Notre Dame. Remember when Jeff Faine and Brady Quinn were the only 1st round picks from 2000 through 2011?
The Eagles spent their last pick on 20-year old Samoan rugby player Jordan Mailata who stands 6’8″ 345 pounds and runs like someone half that size. It will be fun to see how he’s handled when equipment and helmets are used on the field.
Every year there are a bunch of really good college players who don’t get picked. This year’s crop included Iowa State WR Allen Lazard, Virginia S Quin Blanding, Stanford CB Quenton Meeks, Texas CB Holton Hill, Auburn DE Jeff Holland, and Florida State LB Matthew Thomas.
Georgia’s Trenton Thompson was the No. 1 overall recruit in the 2015 recruiting class and left a year early from Athens following a very disappointing career. He became the first ever No. 1 recruit in the modern era to not get picked in the NFL Draft.
Nice rundown, thanks! I have an irrational love for the draft…
What were the knocks on Adams? I was really surprised he wasn’t picked up. Then again, his best years he ran behind some of the best lines we’ve seen at ND in two decades.
Mostly injuries combined with his running style. I know he needs (needed?) foot surgery at some point after the off-season workouts. Plus, probably a dozen other nicks to go along with his high school knee injury.
His style of play doesn’t fit a ton of NFL offenses. I was really hoping somebody like Gruden would take him. Jordan Howard has had a great career so far for the Bears with John Fox, and Adams basically reminds me of a Howard clone.
I know a lot of people say he was smart to come out now because of the physical pounding he saved by not playing another year in college. However, I wonder if he didn’t pull a Darius Walker, who came out a year early, and obviously overestimated his draft status.
Looking at those numbers of the value of the contracts the guys who got drafted get, just think about how much he almost gets guaranteed if he gets drafted next year, even if he never plays a down in the regular season, vs. how much he’s going to get as an undrafted free agent. Just that initial payout is worth a lot of money (ask EQM).
I wish the guy the best, since he seems like a good man, but I’m still not enthused with his decision to come out a year early.
I’m happy for all the of them but I miss Q already. That dude was fun to watch.
Eagles just re-signed Darren Sproles, too. Adams pretty unlikely to make that roster.
FWIW, most pundits in Philly think he has a decent shot to make the team. LeGarrette Blount is gone and Adams seems like he could be that kind of runner. Plus, he’s a local guy and that counts for a lot in Philly.
8 first round picks (which is really 9 with jaylon) since 2011 is pretty impressive and kind of underrated barometer at how far the program has come. Can’t inagine many programs with more: obviously bama and Ohio state, probably LSU and then I’m not sure. Maybe stanford
http://www.businessinsider.com/alabama-nfl-draft-first-round-picks-roll-tide-2017-4
Bama
Florida
tOSU
USC
LSU
FSU
Tennessee
aTm
Clemson
Georgia
This would have shifted a bit since it is 2007-2016. But I would imagine USC, FSU, Georgia, and Clemson are still ahead of us. If 8 over 10 years gets you 8th place, 8 over 8 years is probably good for 5th or so.
After seeing the draft results, our wins over USC and NC State were that much sweeter. They had deep classes this year.
It’s really too bad the undrafted kids don’t get to go back to school for another year, especially if it’s to graduate. Is it baseball where you can get drafted out of high school, but if you don’t like where you go, then you can head to school and enter again in the future?
I hope Adams is on pace to graduate, because it is very unlikely he will stick with a team beyond a couple years of a practice squad. Won’t be that much money.
Baseball and hockey both have amateur drafts. Even in basketball, we’re seeing some guys declare for the draft but not hire an agent in order to preserve amateur status.
Pretty bummed about Adams and Morgan, thought for sure they’d be taken in later rounds.
I kinda figured the writing was on the wall for Morgan when he wasn’t invited to the combine. That surprised me, I thought he played pretty well and has the measurables down of a really good looking player.
I guess Adams didn’t have much a choice. If they had injury questions on him this year, it likely would only be worse next year with more mileage on him. Especially for the RB position it seems like if you want to make a career out of it you have to go as early as possible and hope for the best. That would be a great idea if they could somehow allow undrafted players with eligibility left to return.
i could be wrong, but i don’t see why schools couldn’t give a kid a full ride to finish their degree. If they aren’t playing a varsity sport anymore such an act shouldn’t be affected by NCAA bylaws.
Does anyone do this? That’s a good point. Nothing is stopping the school from letting a non athlete go for free.
I believe it’s been talked about a lot in the recent players rights stuff along with many other issues.
I saw Keivarae Russell was on campus this spring, which I thought was really cool since he’s still in the league. I’m obviously no privy what the arrangement was for who was picking up the tab on it.
So, are the salary and signing bonus figures that always seemed to be attached to draft place approximations? Or are they negotiated in the NFLPA contract?
Both, technically.
That rugby highlight film is insane! Speaking of, anyone know how James Aldridge’s rugby career went?