2022 NFL Draft: Kyle Hamilton goes through his pre-snap progression

Former Notre Dame star Kyle Hamilton has seen his 2022 NFL Draft stock fall in recent weeks. Still, he’s sure to be an impact player in the NFL, and he opened up about what goes through his mind prior to the snap.

During an appearance on The Rich Eisen Show on Tuesday, Hamilton walked listeners through his pre-snap progression. He described what he looks for prior to the play, especially as the play gets started.

“First, formations. What they like to line in, I get that … watching film,” Hamilton said. “What they like to line in, are they in a formation where they can motion to another formation that they like and they kind of hide it, who’s where in the formation, is there a receiver in the backfield … stuff like that. Quarterback demeanor. Shotgun, under center. There’s a bunch of stuff that goes on pre-snap, honestly.

“Communicating with everybody else in the back end and in the back seven to make sure we’re on the same page … who’s up, who’s down, all that good stuff so we can play well. That’s one thing I learned about college, and I’m sure it’s the same thing in the pros. I would say pre-snap’s harder than post-snap most of the time.”

Mel Kiper defends Kyle Hamilton along with other falling draft prospects

Mel Kiper has had some of the draft’s elite defensive prospects pegged since last summer. However, some of his top athletes — including Notre Dame’s Kyle Hamilton, Oregon’s Kayvon Thibodeaux and LSU’s Derek Stingley Jr. — are seeing their draft stock slide ahead of Thursday’s 2022 NFL Draft.

In ESPN’s First Draft special prior to the huge night, Kiper defended the defensive prospects that have been falling throughout the process.

“Kyle Hamilton, to me, is going to be the player we’re going to be talking a lot about,” Kiper said. “Ironically, Todd [McShay], and I’ve looked at this since August. I had it right then lined up. [Kayvon] Thibodeaux one, Derek Stingley Jr. two, Kyle Hamilton three. Here we are talking about Kayvon Thibodeaux may be droppping just a bit. Derek Stingley Jr. dropping — and maybe going nine, in that nine range. Minnesota [at] 12 being as far as he can drop.

“Kyle Hamilton maybe dropping down to that 11 spot. Seven to 11 area. So, there’s three defensive players that were the elite of the elite. … We know Kyle Hamilton. Todd, I’ll ask you this — at any point in time when you were watching Kyle Hamilton in his career, did you ever question his speed? I didn’t. So, do we really care? … At any point in time, did you see No. 14 and think, I don’t think he’s that fast. I don’t think he’s that rare. I don’t think he’s that unique. Did you ever say that, Todd?”