By The Numbers: Notre Dame and the NFL Draft. Who is Walt Patulski?
The 2021 NFL Draft begins with the first round at 8 p.m. Thursday in Cleveland. The second and third rounds will be Friday and Rounds 4-7 Saturday.
Notre Dame football has had a long and storied history of sending players to the NFL. Here are some notable NFL draft numbers for Notre Dame:
2
Notre Dame kickers taken in the draft (Bob Thomas 1974 and Craig Hentrich 1993).
3
ND players drafted by the Carolina Panthers, fewest by any NFL team.
5
Overall No. 1 picks from ND, tied for most all-time with USC and Oklahoma (DE Walt Patulski in 1972 being the most recent).
16
ND players selected in the 1946 draft, the most in program history.
42
ND players drafted by the Chicago Bears, the most of any NFL team (TE Cole Kmet being the most recent in 2020).
45
Total ND players drafted during Brian Kelly’s 11 years as head coach.
64
Total ND players drafted in the first seven rounds during the 11-year Lou Holtz era.
69
ND players drafted in the first round, behind only Ohio State (84) and USC (82).
84
Drafts ND has had a player selected, tied for most all time with Ohio State.
511
Overall ND players selected in the NFL draft, tied for most all time with USC according to DraftHistory.com.
1946 and 1993
Years in which four ND players were selected in the first round.
1982
The last time a Notre Dame linebacker was selected in the first round when Bob Crable was picked by the New York Jets with the No. 23 overall pick.