Notre Dame 2025 NFL Draft recap: Who was picked, who signed as free agents?

For the second straight NFL Draft, at least half a dozen players out of Notre Dame heard their named called. This year, the Fighting Irish had six draftees on the dot after totaling seven in 2024. The program is up to an all-time record of 538 draft selections.

Here’s a look at who all was drafted in 2025, when and where they went plus information on a trio of former Notre Dame student-athletes who signed with franchises as undrafted free agents.

2025 NFL Draft picks from Notre Dame

CORNERBACK BENJAMIN MORRISON
• Years at Notre Dame: 3
• Round: 2
• Overall: 53
• Team: Tampa Bay Buccaneers
• Quotable: “Obviously, every kid’s dream is to go first round. But look — that wasn’t my story. My story’s second-round pick. Fifty-three. I’m proud to say that. I’m very proud to say that. It’s a blessing I’m in one percentile of guys who play football in the whole world. At the end of the day, it’s a blessing. A draft pick doesn’t really matter because at the end of the day, it’s an opportunity. And I got to go and seize that.”

SAFETY XAVIER WATTS
• Years at Notre Dame: 5
• Round: 3
• Overall: 96
• Team: Atlanta Falcons
• Quotable: “It was a crazy feeling. It was crazy. I mean, I waited all night. It was good to get the call from the Falcons. I’m just really excited to be a part of the team.”

LINEBACKER JACK KISER
• Years at Notre Dame: 6
• Round: 4
• Overall: 107
• Team: Jacksonville Jaguars
• Quotable: “Honestly, I wasn’t nervous. I was just really excited to figure out where I get to go and start that next chapter of life. The biggest thing for me, I have a fiancé, so the biggest thing for me was, all right, we got to figure out a bunch of logistics for the two of us. It’s very nice to have that pressure, like, all right, we’re going to Jacksonville, Florida. Where is more beautiful than that? So we’re really excited. Just being here with family, enjoying the process, it’s been a great time.”

DEFENSIVE TACKLE RYLIE MILLS
• Years at Notre Dame: 5
• Round: 5
• Overall: 142
• Team: Seattle Seahawks
• Quotable: “Me and my family were just sitting there, and just getting the call, it’s a dream come true. Since I was a little kid I’ve been dreaming of being a professional athlete and playing at this level. I think Seattle is where I feel like I was meant to be and I knew it was a great fit. I got that call, I was pumped. I was excited.”

TIGHT END MITCHELL EVANS
• Years at Notre Dame: 4
• Round: 5
• Overall: 163
• Team: Carolina Panthers
• Quotable: “I’ve never been as in-tune with watching the draft and what not. But obviously this year, I was in it. It was a little more stressful, I would say, but fun nevertheless. The one thing Coach Freeman, our Notre Dame head coach, he would always say is right foot, left foot. Stay right where your feet are and keep moving forward. And I tried to do that this whole process; never get too high, never get too low. Just try to be where my feet where. Eventually, if my name was to get called, it was to get called. It was meant to be. Got called today to a great organization, great team, great people, and I’m excited.”

QUARTERBACK RILEY LEONARD
• Years at Notre Dame: 1
• Round: 6
• Overall: 189
• Team: Indianapolis Colts
• Quotable: “This has been really fortunate for me to have an inner circle, specifically in relation to Coach Steichen. Throughout this whole process, there is no place I would rather be than back in Indiana. Even when I was at the combine in Indianapolis, it kind of just felt like home. To have him around was really cool.”

Fighting Irish undrafted free agent signees

• Defensive tackle Howard Cross III: Cincinnati Bengals
• Wide receiver Beaux Collins: New York Giants
• Defensive back Jordan Clark: New York Jets