Three Notre Dame players included in ESPN’s preseason top 50 NFL Draft prospects

After several upperclassmen elected to return to Notre Dame for senior or graduate seasons following the 2022 campaign, the Irish are poised to post a monster NFL Draft class come April 2023. Included in that group are multiple potential first-round talents, and Todd McShay of ESPN recognized three of them in his preseason top 50 prospects list released on Wednesday.

PROMOTION: Sign up for just $1 for your first year at Blue & Gold

TE Michael Mayer: No. 9

Mayer is Notre Dame’s best player. You’d be hard pressed to find someone who disagrees, and barring catastrophe, he will go among the first 32 selections. McShay agrees.

“Mayer’s best traits are his toughness and strength after the catch,” the ESPN draft expert said. “He’s a bulldozer with the ball in his hands, and he generates yards by breaking tackles and carrying defenders — 365 of his 840 yards last season came after the catch.”

The only Irish player with more yards after the catch in 2021 was running back Kyren Williams (380).

“Mayer shows a lot of route-running savvy in setting up defenders at the top of the stem and locating soft spots in zone. He does a very good job adjusting to the ball outside his frame, and he shows strong hands in traffic and on contested catches, helping him score seven TDs in 2021. Mayer also has an edge as a blocker, though his technique is still a work in progress.”

The 6-4, 235-pound tight end lined up in the slot more than any other spot in 2021 (49.1 percent), while 37.2 percent of his snaps were in-line.

Mayer is the top tight end in this draft, per McShay. Georgia’s Arik Gilbert trails just behind at No. 16 overall. The Irish will rely heavily on Mayer this fall given a lack of depth at receiver, so expect his profile only to grow.

EDGE Isaiah Foskey: No. 15

McShay’s top defensive player out of Notre Dame is Foskey, a 6-5, 260-pound pass rusher entering his senior season. He was given a second-round grade last season and elected to return to Notre Dame.

“Foskey has a quick first step and does a good job of using length and momentum to get offensive tackles on their heels, and he excels at chopping the ball loose when he gets home as a pass-rusher,” McShay said. “He had five forced fumbles last year, tied for second most in the FBS. However, he lacks ideal torso flexibility, and if he can’t win with pure strength, he struggles at times to advance his rush while engaged. Foskey finished the 2021 season with 11.0 sacks, tied for 11th. Against the run, he has the length to lock out and locate the ball, and he does an above-average job of disengaging.

After posting 11 sacks in 2021, Foskey has his eye on former Irish pass rusher Justin Tuck‘s single-season sack record (13.5) and career sacks record (24.5). Clemson’s Myles Murphy is the only EDGE McShay ranked above Foskey on the top 50.

S Brandon Joseph: No. 31

Like former Irish safety Kyle Hamilton, Joseph could be a first-rounder this spring. He has a few areas upon which to improve, but his coverage skills are certainly attractive to any NFL team.

“Outstanding instincts are Joseph’s top trait,” McShay said. “He has fast eyes and reads route combinations quickly. A transfer in from Northwestern, Joseph is very adept as a single-high safety, two-high safety or as a robber, but he also has experience working in the slot and has enough length and fluidity to hold up one on one.”

Of his 816 defensive snaps in 2021, Joseph played 213 of them in the slot (26 percent), per Pro Football Focus. To compare, he lined up in the box for 346 snaps (42 percent) and as a free safety for 247 snaps (30 percent).

“And he’s rangy with very quick feet in his pedal and frequently gets early jumps on the ball — he has nine interceptions over the past two seasons,” McShay added. “He is aggressive as a run defender, diagnosing quickly, but his poor angles lead to a lot of missed tackles (16 last year).”

Joseph had a missed tackle rate of 20.8 percent in 2021, which was 12th on Northwestern’s defense among players who played more than 100 snaps.