Three i rish players selected in n FL draft, seven sign as free agents

By Observer Sports Staff

The 2023 n FL draft took place from Thursday-s aturday in Kansas c ity. Three i rish players were taken in the sevenround process, with seven more signing shortly after the draft’s conclusion as undrafted free agents.

TE Michael Mayer (Drafted No. 35 by Las Vegas Raiders) a fter a curious slip out of the first round, notre dame’s record-setting tight end landed in a strong situation in Las vegas. mayer set just about every notre dame tight end record while in s outh bend, including the single-season and career marks for receiving yards, receptions and touchdowns. he led the i rish in receiving yards the past two seasons, notching 67 catches for 809 yards and nine touchdowns this past season. mayer’s best game of the 2022 season actually came at the r aiders’ a llegiant stadium, when he collected 11 passes for 118 yards and two touchdowns in notre dame’s shamrock s eries win over bYU in Las vegas. despite his many accolades and being ranked the top tight end in the class by many ranking services, mayer was the third player drafted at his position, slipping to 35th overall. Utah’s dalton Kincaid (25th overall) and iowa’s sam Laporta (34th overall) heard their names called prior to mayer.

The r aiders traded starter darren Waller this offseason and signed veterans austin hooper and o.J. howard. mayer should compete for the starting role and the chance to become a top target for new quarterback Jimmy Garropolo.

DL Isaiah Foskey (Drafted No. 40 by New Orleans Saints)

a fter i rish fans had to wait until the second night of the draft to hear mayer’s name called, they didn’t have to wait much longer for the second i rish player to be selected. Just a few picks later, defensive end isaiah Foskey went to the new orleans saints with the 40th overall pick.

Foskey could easily have turned pro after his junior year, and was long projected to be a first-round selection after leading the team with 10 sacks to go along with 52 tackles in 2021. he elected to stay for his senior year, however in large part because of marcus Freeman’s promotion to head coach.

he originally joined the i rish as a four-star recruit from de La salle high school in c alifornia. Foskey played sparingly as a freshman, appearing in just three games and notching five total tackles. h is playing time increased substantially as a sophomore, collecting 20 total tackles including five sacks on the year, before bursting onto the national scene as a junior.

some pundits thought Foskey took a step back this year, but he still racked up 10.5 sacks to lead the team by a wide margin once again. he’ll have a chance to be a difference-maker on a s aints team that desperately needs pass-rush help. o utside of aging star cameron Jordan, the depth chart is thin at defensive end for the s aints. Foskey will have a great chance to make an impact in his first season in the superdome.

OL Jarrett Patterson (Drafted No. 201 by Houston Texans)

o n s aturday, offensive lineman Jarett Patterson became the third former i rish player off the board in the 2023 n FL d raft. The h ouston Texans selected him 201st overall in the sixth round. i n five seasons at n otre d ame, big number 55 played in 49 games, starting 46. Patterson served as a team captain in each of the last two seasons, transitioning from center to left guard in 2022. Finishing his college career without a sack allowed, Patterson collected a merican Football c oaches a ssociation s econd Team a lla merican honors after last season. With his selection, n FL teams have now drafted 10 i rish offensive linemen in the last ten years.

Looking to restock the offensive line, the rebuilding Texans also nabbed Penn s tate center Juice s cruggs in the second round. They also took their potential franchise quarterback, o hio s tate man c .J. s troud, at second overall. h is protection will be key as h ouston looks to add a new name to the already long list of young, starstudded a F c signal-callers. i n h-Town, Patterson will work with new offensive line coach c hris s trausser. h e spent the past four seasons with the i ndianapolis c olts and former i rish star guard Quenton n elson.

DL Jayson Ademilola (UFA to the Jacksonville Jaguars) a demilola joined the i rish in 2018, along with his twin brother Justin, and was an impact player on the interior defensive line for the next five seasons. The n ew Jersey native was a day-one contributor at n otre d ame, recording 17 tackles and helping the i rish reach the c ollege Football Playoff as a true freshman. h e continued to serve as a key rotation player over the next two seasons, combining for 36 tackles and 5.5 tackles for loss. a fter signing with the Jacksonville Jaguars as an undrafted free agent, a demilola has the opportunity to secure a roster spot on an exciting team that reached the playoffs last season and appears to be on the rise. d efensive line was an area of need for the Jaguars, and the high-end quickness and explosiveness that made him an effective pass rusher with the i rish gives him a chance to carve out a similar role at the next level in Jacksonville.

That production led to him becoming a full-time starter in 2021, a position he would hold for his final two seasons in s outh b end. a demilola took full advantage of his new role, posting 78 tackles, 13 tackles for loss and 6.5 sacks across his senior and graduate seasons. h e was a standout in n otre d ame’s 2021 s hamrock s eries win over Wisconsin, finishing with two tackles for loss along with a sack and a forced fumble.

S Brandon Joseph (UFA to Detroit Lions) a lso returning to d etroit for his third season is cb i featu m elifonwu, who played in ten games last year.

Though Joseph went through the draft without hearing his name called, the safety was quickly snatched up by the d etroit Lions. Joseph, who spent his first three years at n orthwestern before transferring to n otre d ame played 32 games in his collegiate career. h e amassed 10 interceptions and had one sack, according to c ollege Football r eference. Joseph was ranked the 19th overall safety by es P n , and the 224th prospect in the draft.

The n orthwestern- n otre d ame product will not be the only rookie to join the Lions secondary. d etroit also took a labama s afety b rian b ranch early in the second round. b oth b ranch and Joseph join a strong Lions secondary. Featured on the depth chart is ss c .J. Gardner-Johnson had a productive season with the e agles, netting six interceptions. r eturning to the F s Lions is Tracy Walker iii Walker iii only played three games before tearing his a chilles against the v ikings.

While Joseph will likely not start for the Lions, he is a solid backup and should expect to play throughout the season, while learning from veteran players ahead of him on the depth chart.

OL Josh Lugg (UFA to the Chicago Bears)

The c hicago b ears offered Lugg, a versatile and important part of n otre d ame’s defensive line, a rookie minicamp invitation. The invitation came shortly after Lugg went undrafted in the 2023 n FL d raft. Lugg spent 6 years with the Fighting i rish, joining the team in 2017. h e did not appear in any games his freshman year, and appeared in 13 games on special teams during his sophomore season. h e started 5 times his junior year, and made nine appearances (but only 3 starts) in a senior season that saw n otre d ame go to the c ollege Football Playoff.

a fter 4 years of changing roles, Lugg blossomed at right tackle in his final two graduate seasons with the i rish. h e started at right tackle in all 12 games he played in 2021, and did the same for all 13