2025 NFL Draft: Why Notre Dame's Lack Of High Round Picks Is Good & Bad

It might not have been the draft weekend many Irish players wanted, but there's an upside to the slight disappointments.

Pick 25- Seattle Seahawks - Benjamin Morrison, CB, Notre Dame / Matt Cashore / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Benjamin Morrison & Xavier Watts come off the board

After having no players selected in Round One of the 2025 NFL draft, Day Two was far better.

Benjamin Morrison, a projected first-round pick before suffering a hip injury, was taken off the board in the second round with the 53rd overall pick by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Xavier Watts was selected with the 96th overall pick in round three by the Atlanta Falcons.

Is it a red flag that more Irish players weren't selected in the first three rounds?

Undoubtedly, college teams want to have as many players drafted in early rounds as possible. Not only is this great for those individual players' futures, but it is also a great free and national recruiting promotion. It's no secret that top high school recruits want to play at schools that have a history of having players drafted from their position in early rounds.

Schools that appear often in the early rounds of the draft have "proof of concept" appeal for developing players who turn into top picks.

Despite a deep playoff run and title game appearance, Notre Dame was not well represented in the top draft rounds this year. This is not ideal when it comes to the NFL profile appeal, but it isn't the end of the story. In fact, this dynamic may lead to better things to come for the Irish.

The future is bright in South Bend

While nobody can deny it's not the greatest program promotional look to not be heavily involved in early draft rounds, think about what this means for the future of the Notre Dame program.

The Irish just made it to the national championship game without a bunch of upperclassmen all-stars. While this results in a frustrating draft weekend, on the college playing field, it's a different story.

Notre Dame is succeeding at an elite level with a younger and quickly maturing Freeman-era roster. This is a big deal and says a lot about the talent level and developmental arc of the Freeman era.

As Kelly-era players continue to phase out of the program, I expect to see both an increase in future top-round Irish draft picks and a lot more high-end success on the college field.

The 2025 Irish draft dynamic is largely up to fan interpretation. Are you frustrated at the lack of top-end talent coming out of South Bend, especially coming off a title-contending team, or are you immensely encouraged about what this portends for the future of the program, given the high-level results achieved without top draft picks?

It's okay to say yes to both.

For more Irish news & notes follow John on Twitter @alwaysirishINC, Always Irish on Youtube and or your preferred audio podcast provider.

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