Notre Dame Football: Draft stock update for Irish prospects after Senior Bowl
By Jacob Wilson
Chase Claypool
Realistically, there are three Irish prospects who could find themselves selected before Claypool in this year’s draft. Ineligible to play in the Senior Bowl was junior Cole Kmet, who projects to go in the first or second round as the first tight end off the board. Defensive ends Julian Okwara and Khalid Kareem were also missing due to varying injury concerns.
As a result, Claypool is likely to be the third or fourth Notre Dame player selected by the time his name is called. Naturally, there are some differing opinions as to where he’ll fall with NFL Draft Analyst Scott Wright grading him as a second round pick and CBS’s Ryan Wilson as a fourth rounder.
Despite a quiet first half behind quarterbacks Jordan Love (Utah) and Shea Patterson (Michigan), Claypool capped off a third-quarter drive with a short touchdown catch from Washington State’s Anthony Gordon. Claypool was inches away from getting his feet down on what would’ve been a phenomenal catch and his second score of the day.
NFL Network’s Lance Zierlein listed Claypool as one of his top five stars of day three of Senior Bowl week, and the latter’s in-game effort did little to discourage that sentiment. After a strong week, it appears that Claypool is a strong combine showing away from an early-round pick thanks to his high floor and special teams proficiency.