If you’re wondering what we’re doing, 18 Stripes is counting down the very best 1st Round NFL Draft picks to come out of Notre Dame. We’ve reached the final installment today. If you missed the first 2 articles you can read them here:

Part 1

Part 2

Today, we discuss the very best 1st Round picks the Irish have given to the NFL. We’ll cover some Hall of Famers as well as some potential future Hall of Famers, as well.

#19 TE Monty Stickles
San Francisco 49ers
1960
11th Overall

One of the pioneers of Tight End U for Notre Dame, Stickles played 8 seasons in San Francisco during his prime and finished his career in 1968 with New Orleans. Never a dominant force, he was nonetheless a steady performer completing his career with an impressive 222 receptions, 3,199 yards, and 16 touchdowns.

#18 WR Jack Snow
Minnesota Vikings
1965
8th Overall

Amazing football card. 

Snow had a prolific and quite long career but never broke into the elite among the NFL. He was packaged in a deal to Los Angeles shortly before his rookie season and spent his entire 11-year career with the Rams, making the Pro Bowl in 1967 after posting a gaudy 26.3 yards per catch on 735 yards and 8 touchdowns. For his career, Snow caught 340 passes for 6,012 yards and 45 touchdowns.

#17 OG Bill Fischer
Chicago Cardinals
1949
10th Overall

Fischer only played 5 seasons in the NFL but could lay claim to being one of the best offensive linemen of the early 1950’s. He actually played tackle more than guard as a pro, too. Fischer was named to the Pro Bowl for 3 consecutive seasons in 1950-52 and would return to be an assistant coach at Notre Dame following his playing days.

#16 FB Nick Pietrosante
Detroit Lions
1959
6th Overall

I’m not sure there’s a more forgotten Notre Dame 1st rounder than Pietrosante who played 7 years in Detroit before finishing his career in Cleveland for 2 more campaigns. He was especially effective early in his career leading the NFL in rushing average (5.9) as a rookie then making the Pro Bowl in 1960 and 1961. At the close of his career, Pietrosante gained 4,206 rushing yards, 1,391 receiving yards, and scored 30 total touchdowns.

#15 DE Ross Browner
Cincinnati Bengals
1978
8th Overall

Browner never became the superstar many believed he could be in the NFL after a dominating career in South Bend. But, his career was pretty impressive anyway. Many believe he would’ve been named Super Bowl MVP had the Bengals completed their comeback against the 49ers in 1981 after his 10-tackle performance against former teammate Joe Montana. Browner spent his first 9 years with Cincinnati piling up 59 sacks before 1 season with Green Bay to close his career.

#14 CB Todd Lyght
Los Angeles Rams
1991
5th Overall

Lyght showed promise early in his career with the Rams but struggled with injuries through 1993 missing a total of 15 games. By 1994, he started to blossom as a top corner in the league. By the time the Rams moved to St. Louis, Lyght found his groove. He’d win a Super Bowl in 1999 as well as make the Pro Bowl that season from 10 years overall with the club. After a couple seasons in Detroit he retired with 835 tackles and 37 career interceptions.

#13 OT Ronnie Stanley
Baltimore Ravens
2016
6th Overall

Stanley suffered a really bad broken ankle and additional ligament damage in Baltimore’s 6th game in 2020 but was coming off a First-Team All-Pro and Pro Bowl season in 2019 in just his 4th season. Days earlier, Stanley had just signed a 5-year $98.75 million deal to make him one of the most coveted linemen in the NFL. If he comes back healthy, he should move up this list by the time he retires.

#12 OT Frank Varrichione
Pittsburgh Steelers
1955
6th Overall

The top offensive lineman picked in 1955, Varrichione dealt with partial deafness in one ear to become an excellent player in the NFL. He’d spend the first 6 years with Pittsburgh prior to being traded to the Rams in 1961 where he played another 5 seasons before hanging it up. In total, he made 5 Pro Bowls and played in 133 games.

#11 TE Leon Hart
Detroit Lions
1950
1st Overall

Hart spent his entire 8-year career in Detroit and won 3 NFL Championships with the club in 1952, 1953, and 1957. A jack-of-all-trades player like he was at Notre Dame, Hart was a high-level pro as a tight end, fullback, blocker, and defender. When his career was over he finished with 174 receptions, 2,499 yards, and 26 touchdowns while being named First-Team All-Pro in 1951 with a Pro Bowl selection.

#10 S Harrison Smith
Minnesota Vikings
2012
29th Overall

Nearly a decade of dominance at the safety position. 

Smith has already completed 9 seasons in the NFL, all with the Vikings. It’s been an impressive career to date including 5 straight Pro Bowl appearances from 2015-19 and an All-Pro selection for 2017. He’ll be heading into the last year of his contract with Minnesota in 2021. So far, he’s totaled 747 tackles, 13.5 sacks, 39 tackles for loss, and 28 interceptions.

#9 DT Bryant Young
San Francisco 49ers
1994
7th Overall

Young was an iron man among Notre Dame draft picks, let alone 1st round selections. He would play 14 seasons (all with the 49ers!) and suited up for an absurd 208 regular season games with 11 more playoff games winning the Super Bowl during his rookie season. A 4-time Pro Bowler who was awarded 1 All-Pro selection in 1996, Young finished his career with 627 tackles and 89.5 sacks.

#8 OG Zack Martin
Dallas Cowboys
2014
16th Overall

Martin has completed his 7th season with Dallas and has been a mainstay at right guard from his rookie year when he made the All-Rookie, All-Pro, and Pro Bowl teams. In total, he’s played in 104 career games with the Cowboys and has 6 Pro Bowls and 4 All-Pro selections to his name. He is coming off an injury in 2020 that saw him miss considerable time but Martin has 4 years remaining on his contract in Dallas and should cement himself as one of the club’s best-ever guards.

#7 OG Quenton Nelson
Indianapolis Colts
2018
6th Overall

He’s like an apartment complex that moves like a running back. 

It’s only been 3 short seasons but Nelson is on his way to being in the conversation as the No. 1 player in this series. He has been a 1st-team All-Pro and Pro Bowler in every season, hasn’t missed a game yet, and is considered perhaps the best overall lineman in the league. He’ll be entering the final year of his rookie deal with Indianapolis in 2021 and should become the highest paid guard (if not lineman) in NFL history very soon.

#6 OT George Kunz
Atlanta Falcons
1969
2nd Overall

Kunz was one of the top linemen of the 1970’s and played his first 6 seasons in Atlanta before finishing his career with the Baltimore Colts. He’d make the Pro Bowl as a rookie in addition to 7 more Pro Bowl selections (7 straight from 1971-77) with an All-Pro season in 1975. In total, Kunz played 129 games and is considered one of the top players in league history who is still not in the Hall of Fame.

#5 LB George Connor
New York Giants
1946
5th Overall

The Giants selected Conner 5th overall based off his Holy Cross playing career, as he was coming out of the Navy in WWII, but instead he decided to enroll at Notre Dame for 2 more years. When he was done in college, he signed a deal with the Chicago Bears where he’d play his entire 8-year career. More of a hybrid defensive end and standup linebacker, Conner would make 4 consecutive Pro Bowls and be named All-Pro in every season from 1950-53. He was a 1974 Hall of Fame inductee.

#4 RB Paul Hornung
Green Bay Packers
1957
1st Overall

The Golden Boy recently passed away last year and spent his entire 9-year career (he was suspended for the 1963 season due to gambling) with the Packers. While occasionally throwing a pass, Hornung switched to running back in the NFL racking up 3,711 yards and 50 touchdowns on the ground to go with 130 receptions and 12 touchdowns through the air. He also kicked field goals and played defense. Hornung was a part of 3 NFL Championships as well as 1 Super Bowl victory. He was named an All-Pro and Pro Bowler twice, was the league MVP in 1961, while being inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1986.

#3 RB Jerome Bettis
Los Angeles Rams
1993
10th Overall

It didn’t take long for Bettis to make an impact in the NFL. He’d finish his rookie season with 1,429 yards earning All-Rookie, Pro Bowl, and All-Pro honors. After just 3 seasons with the Rams, he was traded to Pittsburgh where he’d remain for the last 10 years of his career. Bettis gained at least 1,000 yards in 8 out of his first 9 seasons and finished his career with 13,662 rushing yards (8th most all-time) and 91 rushing scores, plus 200 receptions and 1,449 yards receiving. A 6-time Pro Bowler, Bettis won a Super Bowl in 2005 and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2015.

#2 Tim Brown
Los Angeles Raiders
1988
6th Overall

Mr. Raider is a pretty elite nickname, IMO. 

Brown played 7 seasons with the Raiders in Los Angeles then 9 more seasons with the franchise in Oakland, just an incredible run with one team. His career as a receiver didn’t get off to a hot start but he was a key punt and kick returner before blossoming into his pass-catching role. Brown was a 9-time Pro Bowler, broke 1,000 yards in a season every year from 1993-2001, and led the league in catches (104) in 1997. After finishing one year with Tampa, Brown retired and is currently 7th all-time in receptions (1,094), 7th in receiving yards (14,934), and 9th in receiving touchdowns (100). He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2015.

#1 DT Alan Page
Minnesota Vikings
1967
15th Overall

Page won 2 National Titles at Notre Dame, is a retired associate justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court, and had one heck of an amazing NFL career. He played 11.5 seasons with the Vikings, featuring in 4 Super Bowls, and finished his career with 3.5 more seasons with the Bears. Page played in 218 consecutive games and is 1 of only 2 players (Lawrence Taylor the other) to win NFL MVP as a defender after he posted an unofficial 18 sacks in 1971. He was a 9-time Pro Bowl selection and made All-Pro 6 separate times. They didn’t keep sacks officially in his day but he’s credited with an absurd 148.5 sacks in his career as a defensive tackle.