Houston Texans take persevering Patterson in NFL Draft's sixth round

Jarrett Patterson’s presence at the center position on the first day of Notre Dame football spring practice in 2019 was supposed to be the first part of a mass audition at the position.

So convincing was Notre Dame’s No. 2 left tackle as a freshman in 2018 at a position he had never played before, the competition ended that day.

Over the next three years he became one of college football’s top centers, then unselfishly moved to offensive guard for his fifth year in 2022 to make room for Zeke Correll in the starting lineup.

Patterson’s medical history eroded some of his draft equity over the past couple of seasons, though, but not enough to knock him completely out of the NFL Draft. The Houston Texans selected the 6-foot-5, 310-pound Laguna Hills, Calif., product in round 6, No. 201 overall — as a center.

He'll join former Irish teammate, nose guard Kurt Hinish, who heads into his second season with the Texans.

He’s the third Irish player to be selected in the three-day seven-round affair, following tight end Michael Mayer (second round, overall pick No. 35) and defensive end Isiah Foskey (second round, overall pick No. 40), and the 10th Notre Dame offensive lineman in the last 10 draft cycles to be selected.

All 10 played at least one season under vaunted Irish offensive line coach Harry Hiestand, who retired in February after a second — and brief — tour of duty with the Irish.

Patterson just missed Hiestand the first time, initially pledging to Arizona State in the 2018 recruiting class as a three-star prospect then backing off that commitment and choosing the Irish between Hiestand’s departure for the Chicago Bears and Jeff Quinn’s promotion from offensive analyst.

He returned for a fifth season to ND, in large part, to get a chance to play under Hiestand in 2022. By then the injuries had started to pile up, though. He suffered a Lisfranc fracture in his left foot on Nov. 14, 2020 against Boston College that required surgery that month and another in March of 2021.

And yet he finished the game against BC and planned to play the following week until team doctors intervened.

Patterson suffered a torn pectoral muscle during winter workouts ahead of spring practice in 2022, then a sprained right foot in mid-August that knocked him out of Notre Dame’s season opener at Ohio State and caused him considerable pain throughout the season that he ended up playing through.

Patterson performed 1,652 pass block sets in his career without allowing a single sack and only allowed seven pressures in 2022 from his left guard position. The two-time team captain garnered second-team All-America honors from the American Football Coaches Association.

Rookie Free Agent Signings

DL Justin Ademilola - Jacksonville

DL Chris Smith - Detroit

S Brandon Joseph - Detroit

K Blake Grupe - New Orleans

Camp Invites

OL Josh Lugg - Chicago

DL Justin Ademilola - Green Bay

LB/LS Bo Bauer - Seattle

TBD

CB TaRiq Bracy

WR Avery Davis

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