Houston Texans pick Notre Dame OT Blake Fisher in NFL Draft's second round
Blake Fisher left Notre Dame early to pursue his NFL dream. The two-year starter at right tackle learned Friday night that his NFL career will start in Houston.
The Houston Texans selected Fisher in the second round of the NFL draft with the No. 59 overall pick. He became the second former Notre Dame player drafted this year following left tackle Joe Alt, the No. 5 overall pick in the first round. The Irish are the first program to have two offensive linemen drafted this year.
"This is a dream come true," Fisher said in a video call with reporters Friday night. "This is all I ever wanted. This moment and going to a great team like the Texans. I’m excited. Just excited to come in and go to work.”
Fisher and Alt became the first pair of Notre Dame offensive lineman selected in the same NFL Draft since the Irish had three selections in the 2021 draft: Aaron Banks and Liam Eichenberg in the second round and Robert Hainsey in the third round.
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The 6-foot-6, 310-pound Fisher started a game at left tackle for Notre Dame before Alt did. The two signed with Notre Dame's 2021 class with Fisher as the heralded five-star recruit from Avon (Ind.) High and Alt as a three-star recruit completing a transition from tight end at Fridley (Minn.) Totino Grace.
Fisher started the 2021 season opener at Florida State but suffered a knee injury in the game that kept him sidelined until the Fiesta Bowl to conclude the season. That's when Fisher made his first career start at right tackle, where he spent the rest of his Notre Dame career. He started 26 consecutive games before opting to sit out the Sun Bowl to close the 2023 season.
Fisher played a key role on an offensive line that paved the way for a rushing offense ranked 35th (189.1 yards per game) and 27th (185.7) in the FBS following the 2022 and 2023 seasons, respectively. Notre Dame's pass protection improved from 40th in sacks allowed per game (1.62) in 2022 to 19th in 2023 (1.23).
That pass protection improvement coincided with better performances by Fisher. Per Pro Football Focus, Fisher allowed five sacks and 17 pressures in the 2022 season. He allowed three sacks and 15 pressures last season.
PFF graded Fisher as a better run blocker (71.8 grade) than pass blocker (68.9) in his sophomore season. Those grades flipped as a junior: 72.5 pass blocking and 69.1 run blocking.
Notre Dame has now produced 10 offensive line draft picks in the last 10 drafts. Nine of them have been selected in the first three rounds: Alt, Fisher, Banks, Eichenberg, Hainsey, Quenton Nelson, Mike McGlinchey, Ronnie Stanley and Nick Martin. Alt, Nelson, McGlinchey and Stanley were all top-10 picks. Jarrett Patterson, a sixth-round pick in 2023, is the only third-day selection in the last decade from the Notre Dame offensive line.
Fisher will join Patterson on Houston's offensive line. Patterson started seven games at center as a rookie before a fractured leg ended his season. The Texans, who finished 10-7 last season with a divisional round loss in the playoffs, also have former Notre Dame defensive tackle Kurt Hinish and cornerback Troy Pride Jr. on their roster.
Fisher didn't get any serious signs that the Texans were interested enough in him to draft him.
“I met with them during the combine," Fisher said. "I had a formal visit with them. Then I had a couple Zooms with them. But I didn’t know the interest was this high.
"Love this opportunity, especially being able to be back with one of my OGs from college, Jarrett Patterson. Then a young and upgrowing team, being able to contribute, bring what I bring to the game to this organization.”
The Texans return starting left tackle Laremy Tunsil as the team's highest-paid player at $25 million per year, according to Spotrac. George Fant, who was the starting right tackle last season, signed a deal with the Seattle Seahawks earlier this offseason. That likely will lead to a competition between Tytus Howard and Fisher at right tackle. Howard, whose 2023 season was cut short by injury, has started at tackle and guard for the Texans.
Howard signed a three-year contract reportedly worth $56 million prior to last season.
"You can't have enough tackles in your building," said Houston general manager Nick Caserio. "I mean, right now we have really four, including Charlie [Heck] and David Sharpe, who signed. Blake is another tackle. We're going to carry probably four tackles. You're going to need three. You all have seen his play. At some point they're going to have to play."
Caserio would like to keep Fisher at tackle at first, but he also called Howard one of the better tackles in the league.
"You always want to put a player in a position to accentuate the things that he does well and not just force feeding a guy," Caserio said. "There's too many examples too many times that you do that, it's not fair to the player. We'll see how it goes. Blake's experience specific to him is as a tackle. Treat him as a tackle. We always say they're a tackle until they're not.”
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