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.