Notre Dame Players Rising In Latest NFL.com Mock Draft
If the latest mock draft from NFL.com holds true the second round of the 2020 NFL Draft is going to be incredibly busy for Notre Dame fans.
NFL.com Draft analyst Chad Reuter has four former Fighting Irish players going in round two of his latest three-round mock draft.
According to Reuter, tight end Cole Kmet will be the first former Irish player off the board. He has the Indianapolis Colts taking Kmet with the No. 34 overall pick. Indianapolis returns Jack Doyle at tight end but it must replace Eric Ebron, who is likely to depart via free agency.
Reuter had Kmet going in the first round (No. 20 overall) to the Jacksonville Jaguars in his previous mock draft.
Up next is cornerback Troy Pride Jr., who Reuter has going No. 57 overall to the Houston Texans, where he would join former Notre Dame players Will Fuller and Nick Martin. Reuter actually moved Pride up 11 spots after having him slated for No. 68 (New York Jets) in his previous mock draft.
The biggest riser is wide receiver Chase Claypool, who wasn’t in Reuter’s previous three-round mock draft. After a dominant performance at the NFL Scouting Combine, Reuter now has the former Irish standout going No. 60 overall to the Baltimore Ravens.
This is quite an intriguing selection, as it would pair Claypool with Miles Boykin, a third-round pick of the Ravens last year and former position mate of Claypool. Boykin and Claypool combined for 109 catches and 1,511 yards in 2018.
His final Notre Dame player in the latest mock draft is defensive end Julian Okwara, who Reuter has slated to go No. 61 overall to the Tennessee Titans. That is up eight spots from where Okwara was picked in his last mock draft and would give the Titans one of the best edge rushers in the draft.
Reuter had Irish safety Alohi Gilman going in the third round to the Cleveland Browns in his last mock draft, but Gilman is not in his latest.
