Notre Dame's NFL Best By Rounds
Now that the first round of the 2017 NFL Draft has been completed with no Notre Dame player represented, we’ll look at the best Fighting Irish players selected from rounds 2 through 7.
We will limit it to 7 because that’s how many rounds the NFL reduced it to starting in 1994. Tomorrow, we will look at the greatest Notre Dame “steals” in the draft, most of whom went beyond Round 7.
Round 2: Dave Casper (1974)
In the “Year of The Tight End,” Casper was the sixth one taken (No. 45 overall), but the four-time All-Pro would go on to make the Pro Football Hall of Fame after a prolific 11-year career as a receiver and blocker that had many league experts classify him as maybe the greatest all-around player ever at his position.
Runner-Up: Ricky Watters (1991) — Like Casper, also taken at No. 45. One of two backs in NFL history to rush for more than 1,000 yards with three different franchises, and his 10,643 yards rushing rank No. 23 on the all-time chart.
Notable: Multiple Pro Bowl players (at least three times) included tackle Bob Toneff (1952), center Dick Szymanski (1955), who hiked the ball to Johnny Unitas for a decade, and linebacker Myron Pottios (1961).
Defensive back Dave Waymer (1980) has the most interceptions ever (48) by an Irish alumnus in the NFL.
Round 3: Joe Montana (1979)
The fourth quarterback taken in his draft, eight-time Pro Bowl player Super Joe became one of the game’s all-time icons, including four Super Bowl titles.
Runner-Up: Dave Duerson (1983) was a four-time Pro Bowl pick at safety, including for the impregnable defense of the 1985 Chicago Bears, and was chosen the 1987 NFL Man Of The Year.
Notable: Rush end Bertrand Berry (1997) played 12 years in the NFL and recorded 65 career sacks.
Round 4: Bob Kuechenberg (1969) and Joe Theismann (1971)
Kuechenberg played defense his last two years at Notre Dame but was a six-time Pro Bowl pick at guard, where he won two Super Bowls at Miami while playing there 14 years. The seventh QB taken in his draft, Theismann played four years in Canada before becoming a Super Bowl champion and the 1983 NFL MVP.
Runners-Up: Justin Tuck (2005) and Mark Bavaro (1985) — Two-time Pro Bowl pick Tuck starred in two Super Bowl victories and recorded 66.5 sacks during his 11-year career. Tight end Bavaro was a two-time Super Bowl champion like Tuck and Kuechenberg, and also made two Pro Bowl teams while catching 351 career passes, 39 for TDs.
Notable: Guard Tom Thayer (1983) started every game seven straight years for the Chicago Bears, plus started for the 1986 Super Bowl champs.
Round 5: Bill Walsh (1949)
No, this isn’t the head coach who won three Super Bowls with the San Francisco 49ers in the 1980s. This one played center six years in the NFL and made the Pro Bowl three times — including first-team All-Pro in his final season in 1954. Talk about going out on top.
Runner-Up: Bob Dove (1946) — Two-time consensus All-America at Notre Dame played nine years at end and made the 1950 Pro Bowl.
Notable: Tackle Bob Wetoska (1959) and offensive lineman Jordan Black (2003) each lasted 10 years in the NFL.
Round 6: Dick Lynch (1958)
Best known for scoring the fourth-down TD in the epic 7-0 upset of Oklahoma in 1957, Lynch led the NFL in interceptions in 1961 and 1963 (nine apiece) during a nine-year career with the New York Giants, including first-team All-Pro.
Runner-Up: John Sullivan (2008) — The center had 93 career starts at Minnesota and is currently at Washington, where he played last season.
Notable: Arnaz Battle (2003) began his career at quarterback for the Irish before moving to receiver as a senior. He snared 178 passes during his nine-year NFL career.
Round 7: Pete Holohan (1981)
Would you believe that in his 12 seasons as a tight end his 363 regular season catches almost matched Casper’s (378) and were more than Bavaro’s (351)?
Runner-Up: David Givens (2002) — An argument can be made that even though he played only five years, Givens had the better career because he won two Super Bowls at New England while catching seven touchdowns from Tom Brady in the playoffs (166 overall receptions in his career).
Notable: Punters seldom get drafted, but Hunter Smith (1999) had a 12-year career and included a 43.0-yard average per punt.
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