Seahawks select riley mills in 5th round
Defensive lineman Rylie Mills was selected in the fifth round with the 142nd overall pick of the 2025 NFL Draft by the Seattle Seahawks on Saturday. Mills is the 11th Notre Dame player all-time to be drafted to Seattle and the first since 2016 C.J. Prosise in 2016. He joins former Irish safety Julian Love on the Seahawks roster.
Mills will continue to rehab his injured knee, but the similarity to the Fighting Irish scheme should make for a smooth transition to the Seahawks' defensive scheme. He is expected to learn from veteran players like Leonard Williams and is expected to return by the end of the 2025 NFL season if all goes well with rehab.
He was an undeniable force on an Irish defense that finished the season first in pass efficiency defense (104.4), first in turnovers gained (33), first in defensive touchdowns (6), first in blocked kicks (6), second in fumbles recovered (14), second in blocked punts (3), fourth in passing yards allowed (169.4), fourth in scoring defense (15.5), fifth in passes intercepted (19) and 11th in total defense (307.4).
Mills importance was evident in the CFP matchup against the Indiana Hoosiers when he dominated for two and a half quarters before suffering a season-ending injury while collecting a sack early in the third quarter of Notre Dame’s 27-17 victory. The Fighting Irish advanced to the national championship game, but their inability to consistently stop the run game against Penn State in the Orange Bowl and Ohio State in the CFP national championship game highlighted Mills’ absence as a leader and force in the middle of the defensive line.
Mills ranked tied for ninth all-time in career sacks in Notre Dame records with 17.0 on his career. He was the 14th Notre Dame player to record 15 or more sacks in his career. He was named a second-team All-American in 2024 by The Sporting News and ESPN.
In 2024, Mills played in 13 games and totaled 7.5 sacks and 8.5 TFL, with 37 tackles total. His season highlight came in the win vs. Florida State, when he posted three sacks, two coming on back-to-back plays. Mills was twice named to The Athletic’s “Freaks List” in 2023 and 2024.
Jack Kiser Selected in fourth round by jaguars
Notre Dame team captain Jack Kiser has been selected in the fourth round with the 107th overall pick of the 2025 NFL Draft by the Jacksonville Jaguars on Saturday. Kiser is the sixth Notre Dame player all-time to be drafted to Jacksonville and the first since Sheldon Day in 2016. He joins former Irish OL Robert Hainsey on the Jaguars roster.
Kiser completed his sixth season playing for the Irish in 2024 and led the team to wins in the Sugar Bowl and the Orange Bowl, as well as a National Championship appearance. He holds the record for most games ever played at Notre Dame with 70 games played. Former Notre Dame QB Malik Zaire is amazed with what the defensive leader has accomplished and talked about it on Lucky Lefty Podcast.
“This will never be done again,” Zaire shared. “Seventy games is crazy. It just shows how committed he is to being the best version of himself and how he puts the program and team before everything. That record is going to stand forever. No one is going to eclipse that.”
Kiser notched 275 career tackles, 16 tackles for loss, six sacks, four interceptions (two pick-sixes), 11 passes defended, six forced fumbles and a blocked kick over his career.
He was the leader of a dominant Notre Dame defense this past with 90 tackles and comes on the tails of his 65 tackles in the 2023 season placed him third among Irish defenders and his 58 tackles in 2022 ranked him second on the team. He has been a model of consistency for a Notre Dame defense that peaked as one of the best defenses against the pass ranking fourth in passing yards allowed (169.4), fourth in scoring defense (15.5), fifth in passes intercepted (19) and 11th in total defense (307.4).
Kiser led and participated in several community-facing initiatives during his time at Notre Dame. He twice served as the player committee chairman for the program’s Cleats For a Cause initiative, and he served as the Fighting Irish Fight for Life football team lead for the past three years. Additionally, Kiser worked with local low-income families to perform tax returns this past spring on a weekly basis leading up to Tax Day. He has also made an impact in his home community, as he visited his former youth football team to surprise local kids from his area, spend time with the team, and give them tickets to a Notre Dame Football game.
Xavier Watts Selected in 2nd round of nfl draft by falcons
Xavier Watts was selected in the third round with the 96th overall pick of the 2025 NFL Draft by the Atlanta Falcons. The 2023 Bronko Nagurski Trophy winner and team captain joins former Irish players JD Bertrand and Khalid Kareem in tlanta, and he is the second player drafted in two years by the Falcons (Bertrand). Watts is the 13th Notre Dame player all-time to be drafted by Atlanta.
This gives Notre Dame two players drafted in the top 100 picks of the NFL Draft, and makes them one of two teams to have two defensive backs selected in the top 100 along with Texas. The last time the Fighting Irish had the same success was in 1994 with Jeff Burris and Willie Clark.
Watts did nothing to dispel his 2nd round projection at Notre Dame's Pro Day. He participated in three events and cemented his status as a Day 2 pick. He ran the 40-yard dash in 4.56 seconds.
The talented safety is one of the most decorated Notre Dame football players in program history, Watts won the 2023 Bronko Nagurski Trophy recognizing the best defensive player in college football, and is a two-time consensus All-American.
Over his career, Watts totaled 13 interceptions, the most by a Notre Dame player since 1996. His 13 interceptions over the last two seasons were the most by any FBS player during that span; the next closest players had nine.
Watts started his 33rd consecutive game at the CFP National Championship, the second-most for an Irish safety in program history (Jalen Elliott, 39 from 2017-19) and the 11th-most for any defensive player in Notre Dame history.He ranked ninth among active FBS players in consecutive starts in the secondary with 33.