Gil Brandt Top 150: Five Notre Dame Prospects Make The List
Long-time NFL scout and current NFL.com senior analyst Gil Brandt ranked six Notre Dame players in his final Top 150 prospects board for the 2020 NFL Draft.
None of Notre Dame’s six prospects on this list were able to crack the Top 50.
The highest ranked Irish player is tight end Cole Kmet, who ranked No. 54 in Brandt’s final big board. Kmet is the No. 2 tight end on Brandt’s board, ranking behind Missouri’s Albert Okwuegbunam, a standout at the combine that had a disappointing junior season on the field.
Kmet hauled in 43 passes for 515 yards and six touchdowns this past season. His catch and yards numbers are the sixth best single-season numbers for a Notre Dame tight end, and his touchdowns tied for first.
Wide receiver Chase Claypool is the next former Irish player on the list, checking in at No. 59 overall. Claypool ranked as the 12th best receiver on Brandt’s board.
Claypool had an outstanding senior season, catching 66 passes for 1,037 yards (15.7 YPC) and 13 touchdowns.
Brandt has defensive end Julian Okwara ranked as the 78th overall player. The former Irish end is listed as the sixth best edge player on the board for the former Dallas Cowboys top scout.
Okwara had just seven tackles for loss and five sacks in nine games this past season, but as a junior he racked up 12.5 tackles for loss, registered eight sacks and ranked seventh in the nation in total quarterback pressures according to Pro Football Focus.
Right after Okwara is cornerback Troy Pride Jr., who ranks 79th on the Brandt board. Pride is ranked as the ninth best cornerback in this draft class.
Pride allowed fewer catches and yards as a senior than Julian Love gave up during his All-American season.
At the No. 133 overall spot is defensive end Khalid Kareem, who is ranked as the 12th best edge player in the draft. The Irish end made 88 tackles, 20.5 tackles for loss and 10 sacks the last two seasons.
The final former Notre Dame player on the Brandt board is safety Alohi Gilman, who is ranked as the 147th overall player on the 150-prospect list.
Gilman played just two seasons for Notre Dame, registering 168 tackles, seven pass break ups, three interceptions and six tackles for loss in an Irish uniform. In 2018 he was a Pro Football Focus second-team All-American.
Last year Brandt was spot on with more Notre Dame prospects than he was wrong. The NFL.com senior analyst ranked defensive tackle Jerry Tillery No. 40 overall, and the former Irish standout was picked with the No. 28 spot.
He had wide receiver Miles Boykin ranked No. 100, and Boykin was selected with the No. 93 overall pick. He had linebacker Drue Tranquill ranked 139th and Tranquill was picked at No. 130.
Brandt had cornerback Julian Love ranked 55th, but the former Irish All-American wasn’t selected until the New York Giants took him with the 108th overall pick. He had running back Dexter Williams ranked 116th, but Williams wasn’t taken until the No. 194 overall pick. Linebacker Te’von Coney was ranked 121st, but the former Irish backer went undrafted.
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