This past season, the Notre Dame football team sent off six players to the NFL Draft, including cornerback Benjamin Morrison, safety Xavier Watts, linebacker Jack Kiser, defensive end Rylie Mills, tight end Mitchell Evans and quarterback Riley Leonard, all of whom found success with their new teams in the league. With these six players, Notre Dame now has 538 all-time NFL selections, making the Irish the program with the most NFL drafts in history.
Here is how the Irish rookies’ first seasons panned out:
Cornerback Benjamin Morrison — Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Morrison went to the draft following his junior year at Notre Dame. Morrison finished his Notre Dame career with 61 solo tackles, 23 assisted tackles, one touchdown and 31 total games played.
Picked in the second round and as the 53rd pick overall, Morrison found his way to Tampa Bay to kick off his NFL career. With an appearance in 10 games for the Buccaneers, Morrison rounded out his first season in the NFL with 18 solo tackles, seven assisted tackles and four passes defended.
Safety Xavier Watts — Atlanta Falcons
A stud on the field for the Irish, Watts made his name known in the NFL world. Competing for five years with the Irish, he had one 100-yard touchdown against USC, 13 interceptions, 117 solo tackles and 71 assisted tackles for a total of 188 across 55 games played.
Picked in the third round of the draft and 96th overall, Watts was the second Irish player to go, following Morrison. Appearing in 17 games as a rookie, Watts did not fail to put up stats with five interceptions, 11 passes defended, 32 fumble recovery yards, 59 solo tackles and 37 assists for a total of 96 tackles.
Linebacker Jack Kiser — Jacksonville Jaguars
After spending six years at the Golden Dome, Kiser made his way down south to Florida. Over the six years, he finished with 166 solo tackles, 109 assisted tackles, four interceptions, two touchdowns and six sacks over the 70 games that he appeared in.
As the fourth-round pick and 107th overall, Kiser competed in 14 games for the Jaguars. Throughout the 14 games, he finished his first NFL season with five solo tackles and nine assisted tackles.
Defensive end Rylie Mills — Seattle Seahawks
After five years with the Irish, Mills decided to go to the draft. Mills finished his time with the Irish, appearing in 62 games and starting in 36. Overall, Mills had a total of 59 solo tackles and 72 assisted tackles for a high total of 131. The rookie also had 17 sacks and 25 tackles for loss.
Drafted in the fifth round and 142nd overall, Mills is on his way to the Super Bowl to face off against the New England Patriots. Unfortunately, Mills did not see as much time on the field in comparison to his fellow drafted Notre Dame teammates. Only appearing in four games for the Seahawks, Mills recorded only one solo tackle and two assisted tackles.
Tight end Mitchell Evans — Carolina Panthers
Competing for four years with Notre Dame, Evans showed consistency over his time under the dome. Overall, before finishing his time with the Irish, Evans appeared in 45 games while starting 25, had 77 receptions for 903 yards, five touchdowns, one rushing touchdown and 13 rushing yards.
After being drafted in the fifth round and 163rd overall, Evans navigated his way to Charlotte, North Carolina, for his rookie season with the Panthers, where he had no problems putting up numbers. As a rookie, Evans appeared in 17 games for the Panthers with 19 receptions for 171 yards. Additionally, on two receptions, Evans found his way into the end zone twice for the Panthers.
Quarterback Riley Leonard — Indianapolis Colts
Anchoring the Irish offense in the 2024-25 Irish football season, Leonard stayed in the Midwest and was a star rookie quarterback late in the season for the Indianapolis Colts after being the final pick of the sixth round and 189th choice overall in the draft. After transferring from Duke, Leonard competed for one year with the Irish, but he led the team to the 2025 National Championship. At the end of the season, Leonard competed in all 16 games for the Irish, going 14-2. Leonard completed 269 out of 403 passes for a total of 2,861 yards and 21 passing touchdowns. Additionally, Leonard was known on the field for his running as he finished his season with the Irish with 906 rushing yards and 17 rushing touchdowns.
With the Colts, despite suffering an injury, Leonard came in later in the season, competing in four of the last five games of the season to keep the Colts' offense afloat. Leonard finished his season in Indiana’s capital, appearing in five games and starting in one, completing 39 out of 67 passes and having two touchdowns.
