NFL draft experts name their favorite fit for Notre Dame product Kyle Hamilton

NFL Network draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah answered questions from media Friday afternoon via Zoom to preview the 2022 NFL Draft, and has some exciting words to describe Notre Dame’s Kyle Hamilton.

“There’s a real debate going on around the league about just how high you take safeties,” Jeremiah said. “I don’t necessarily agree with the conventional wisdom on that, of how high you take a safety. I think this kid’s pretty unique. He’s so tall and long and rangy. The ability to make plays from the deep middle as well as the ability to drop down low and be a physical player, he can erase tight ends. … 

“I would have no issues whatsoever with them taking Kyle Hamilton and saying this is a plug and play guy who’s going to give them something they desperately need, and that’s somebody who can make a play.”

Unlike most years, the quarterback position isn’t hogging the top of the draft boards as most mock drafts have the top four quarterbacks going anywhere between the middle of the first round all the way through the beginning of the second, which means Hamilton has a chance to be this year’s No. 2 overall selection, which would go to the Detroit Lions.

Likewise, ESPN’s own draft expert Todd McShay is all in on Hamilton, and he has him going third overall to the Houston Texans in his mock draft 2.0. Hamilton is McShay’s only projected first round safety.

“Number three, I’ve got Kyle Hamilton, safety from Notre Dame,” McShay said. “You might say it’s a little bit high, he had an injury, yeah I get it. But this guy is a freak. You don’t see many guys at safety with this length, and the range and the ball skills that he has. Eight interceptions since 2019. You look at the Texans, they could go in a different direction. Could be offensive line, could be pass rusher. They’re losing Justin Reid. I think Nick Caserio is going to look for a foundation piece, and Hamilton should be that.”

In three years at Notre Dame, Hamilton established himself as one of the top all-around defensive backs in college football. He racked up 138 total tackles in his collegiate career, adding 7.5 tackles for loss, 8 interceptions, and 16 passes defended. This past season, Hamilton was limited to seven games, but he still had 34 tackles with two tackles for loss, three interceptions, and four passes defended.