The 2019 NFL Draft is upon us, with round one kicking off tonight at 8:00 PM eastern and can be viewed on either ESPN or the NFL Network. Round one will be tonight, rounds two and three will be tomorrow and rounds four through seven will be on Saturday.
Notre Dame has a number of eligible players, and at least seven could end up being selected over the next three days. Below is a breakdown of each player and what the latest is on their draft stock.
JERRY TILLERY, DEFENSIVE TACKLE
Pro Football Focus Mock: 1st Round (10) – Denver Broncos
Dane Brugler Mock: 1st Round (21) – Seattle Seahawks
Chad Reuter Mock Draft: 2nd Round (60) – Los Angeles Chargers
Todd McShay Top 300: No. 32
Mel Kiper Jr. Top 300: No. 56
Daniel Jeremiah Top 100: No. 35
DraftCountdown Position Rank: No. 6 DT
Tillery is Notre Dame’s highest projected player due to his combination of size, athletic skills and pass rushing production. Pro Football Focus ranked Tillery as the nation’s second best interior pass rusher this past fall, a coveted trait in the NFL.
Tillery finished with the best three-cone and pro shuttle number of any defensive tackle at the combine, and he had the second best 40-yard dash time and third best vertical jump.
It is a deep defensive line class and Tillery had offseason shoulder surgery, two things that could knock him out of the first round. What will keep him in is a team needing an impact pass rushing big man.
On top of being a projected first round pick by Pro Football Focus and Dane Brugler of The Athletic, Tillery is also projected as a first rounder in the mock drafts of Cris Collinsworth (Pro Football Focus), Chris Trapasso (CBS Sports), Ryan Wilson (CBS Sports) and Eric Edholm (Yahoo Sports).
