On Friday night, Notre Dame cornerback Benjamin Morrison heard his name called in round two of the NFL Draft. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers selected Morrison with the 53rd overall pick, making him the highest-selected Irish player in the 2025 Draft. He becomes the highest Irish defensive back selected in the NFL Draft since Kyle Hamilton in 2022. He is also the eighth Notre Dame player drafted by Tampa Bay all-time, with the most recent being tackle Robert Hainsey in 2021. This year, he was the fifth cornerback off the board, with Travis Hunter, Jahdae Barron, Maxwell Hairston and Will Johnson going before him.
During a three-year career at Notre Dame, Morrison played in 31 games and started 26 of them. As a junior, he was placed on the Preseason All-American First Team by ESPN and Sporting News and the Second Team by USA Today and the Associated Press. He served as one of five team captains and started in six games before a hip injury sidelined him for that season. Morrison burst onto the scene in South Bend as a freshman, securing six interceptions, including an iconic full-field pick-six against then-top-five-ranked Clemson. His efforts earned him a place on several 2022 Freshman All-American teams. He followed up his breakout rookie year with a strong sophomore campaign, logging 10 pass breakups and three interceptions, finishing as a Thorpe Award Semifinalist. In that season, he took on the Marvin Harrison Jr. assignment against Ohio State and helped hold the future No. 4 overall pick to 53 yards on only five receptions.
The Phoenix, Arizona, native entered draft night with a 6.20 prospect grade according to the NFL’s Next Gen Stats profile, which projected Morrison to “eventually be an average starter.” At the combine, he checked in at 6-foot, 193 pounds, earning him an estimated Athleticism Score of 76, as he did not run or test. Combined with a Production Score of 80, he averaged out to a Total Score of 79, which ranked sixth among cornerback prospects in the class.
Morrison played 86.7% of his snaps on the outside and adapted well to Notre Dame’s heavy press-man coverage, showing his versatility in a variety of schemes. He also shows great confidence at the catch point, a strength reflected by his prolific stat sheet. His competitiveness in coverage despite a smaller frame has drawn comparisons to Kendall Fuller and Marlon Humphrey, two smaller corners who win with sound technique and fluid athleticism.
His lack of size has caused play strength issues at times, however. Teams have had success running to his side, as evidenced by several missed tackles on his tape in the 2024 Louisville game. He can also get hung up on perimeter blocks and outmuscled by physical wide receivers early in the route. The biggest concerns for Morrison center on his injury history. In addition to a right shoulder injury that required surgery in the spring before his junior season, he has had two hip surgeries in the past four years, the first coming in his junior year of high school and the second causing him to miss the majority of his final season in college.
While on the sidelines, Morrison showcased his maturity and leadership, staying loyal and invested in his Irish teammates during their magical run to the National Championship. He comes from a family of elite athletes, with all four of his older siblings playing D1 sports and his father spending four seasons in the NFL as a safety with Washington.
The Buccaneers came into the draft with questions in the secondary, especially without a viable replacement on the roster for the aging Jamel Dean, who missed five games in 2024-25 and has yet to play a full season since getting drafted in 2019. Attempting to fill that need on the perimeter, the selection of Morrison is a bet on outstanding tape, which won out over his checkered injury history in the end.
