In researching the top 35 players on the 2020 Notre Dame roster, it’s clear that the Fighting Irish have the overall talent and depth to put up a fight against just about anyone in the college football world, but what remains to be seen is if the program has the required top-end talent to beat the tier-one programs.
For instance, in the last two NFL Drafts, Notre Dame and Clemson have produced an equivalent number of draft picks, yet Clemson has a national championship in 2018-19 and was the national runner-up in 2019-20. On the flip side, the lone Fighting Irish CFP appearance resulted in a 30-3 defeat at the hands of the Tigers.
The difference is that in the 2019 and 2020 NFL Drafts, Clemson had five first-round selections (all taken with one of the top 18 picks), two in the second round and one in the third. Notre Dame had just one first (Jerry Tillery at No. 28 to the Los Angeles Chargers) two seconds and two thirds.
This isn't a hard-fast rule. For instance, cornerback A.J. Terrell was the No. 16 overall pick out of Clemson in 2020, but that doesn’t mean he was a better player than consensus All-American and 2018 Thorpe Award Finalist Julian Love (taken in the fourth round in 2019).
Still, it is difficult for a team like Notre Dame to beat a team with so much talent across the board, even with an exceptional amount of depth on the roster.
As it stands now, Kyle Hamilton, Liam Eichenberg and Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah have all received some attention as first-round picks in either the 2021 or 2022 NFL Drafts, but if Notre Dame is to compete against Clemson Nov. 7 and make a run to the College Football Playoff, other players with NFL talent are going to have to emerge.
Here are my best bets on the offensive and defensive players that can emerge as potential first or second-round picks over the next two seasons (meaning incoming freshmen are not in contention).
Offense
OG Aaron Banks
On radio broadcasts and to other members of the media, former Notre Dame offensive lineman and Super Bowl champion Ryan Harris stated that Banks was NFL-ready as a junior.
While there may be some hyperbole in this sentiment (he was the only starting offensive lineman to render a sack in 2019), there is some truth behind his words. Banks does have aspects of his game to clean up, especially as a run blocker, but when evaluating his size (6-5 and 325 pounds) and athleticism, it is clear he poses the talent of a potential first-round pick.
With two years of eligibility remaining, it is unclear if Banks will return for his fifth year of eligibility in 2021, but if he does it seems reasonable for him to develop into a high-end offensive guard because he has shown the ability and willingness to improve.
His best game of the 2019 season came in the Camping World Bowl, when he posted an overall grade of 81.9 and a pass-blocking grade of 86.8 per Pro Football Focus. The Fighting Irish need this type of performance to be the norm.