Atlanta Falcons select former Notre Dame LB JD Bertrand in the fifth round of 2024 NFL Draft
Alpharetta, Georgia’s JD Bertrand is headed back home. On Saturday, the Atlanta Falcons selected Bertrand with the No. 143 overall pick and in the fifth round of the 2024 NFL Draft. Bertrand is the fifth former Fighting Irish player selected.
Bertrand was a cornerstone of the Notre Dame football program on and off the field over the last three years. During that time, he led the Irish in tackles each season (259 total). The 6-foot-1, 233-pounder was also a two-time team captain and recipient of the Father Ted Man of the Year award.
“There is no Notre Dame defense in the last two years without JD,” former Irish cornerback Cam Hart told reporters about Bertrand in November. “He is the standard, and he’s the guy that we try to emulate. I don’t have anything bad to say about JD.”
A product of Roswell (Ga.) Blessed Trinity, it took Bertrand two seasons to break through the Notre Dame depth chart. After Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah declared for the 2021 NFL Draft, Shayne Simon entered the transfer portal and Marist Liufau hit the injured reserve, Bertrand emerged alongside veterans Drew White and Bo Bauer.
On Friday night, the Dallas Cowboys picked Liufau with the No. 87 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. Owusu-Koramoah went No. 52 overall to the Browns in 2021.
In addition to leading the Irish with 101 tackles as a redshirt sophomore, Bertrand totaled the most snaps (668) among linebackers in 2021. He also led the linebacker corps in snaps (613) and tackles (76) in 2023. Liufau saw the field on 81 more plays in 2022, but Bertrand had 31 more tackles (82).
Head coach Marcus Freeman named Bertrand the team’s defensive player of the year in 2022.
“JD plays with a tremendous physicality, tremendous production,” Freeman said in the past. “He gives you everything he has. You always appreciate a guy that plays the game and sacrifices his body no matter how he feels.”
Bertrand played 34 of 48 snaps in the Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl — the final game of his Notre Dame career — and suffered a plantar fasciitis strain. That injury prevented him from participating in on-field workouts at the 2024 NFL Scouting Combine. NFL analyst Lance Zierlein gave him a sixth-round grade.
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“Team leader with above-average production who carries good lean mass on his frame,” Zierlein said. “Bertrand’s stats are appealing, and he plays with a decent nose for the football, but his lack of speed and short-area quickness could be a major concern as teams project his ability to keep up with NFL skill players on the move.
“He needs to get much better at taking on or slipping blocks and finding a way to improve his angles and positioning to become a more consistent tackler. Bertrand could get a look on Day 3, but special teams might need to be his calling card.”
The Falcons can also expect community service to be one of Bertrand’s calling cards. He was a Wuerffel Trophy finalist in part because of his extensive work with Uplifting Athletes. Bertrand also donated part of his scholarship check and NIL earnings to charity, and he visited the Ronald McDonald House before every home game.
Bertrand was also an Academic All-American and Campbell Trophy Finalist. And according to Freeman, a model for the Notre Dame football program.
“He will always be the standard for me in terms of how to prepare, how to improve, how to work,” Freeman said. “And then off the field, he is such a selfless person. … He is just a great example of the total student-athlete.”
