Notre Dame Football: 3 biggest depth chart surprises heading into 2020

1. Braden Lenzy on the sidelines

Perhaps one of my greatest assumptions for the 2020 season was that junior Braden Lenzy would easily lead the Irish receiving corps in all-purpose yards. After compiling 454 total yards and four touchdowns on 24 touches last season, it seemed as if Lenzy had all but solidified a prominent role for himself in the following season.

Instead, Irish fans were shocked to find him behind fifth-year senior Javon McKinley on the Irish’s official depth chart. While McKinley was a more productive receiver last season, Lenzy’s contributions in the screen/run game make him a versatile threat all over the field.

However, it’s important to remember that Lenzy’s current position on the depth chart is far from final. It’s very plausible that the Irish want to use Lenzy in more of a specialist role and therefore don’t have a definitive position for him as things stand right now. Our minds are free to wander, but we should avoid thinking that this is a result of Lenzy underperforming until proven otherwise.

With McKinley getting the nod over Lenzy, the Irish are slated to start college football’s positional nomad Avery Davis at slot with Northwestern graduate transfer Ben Skowronek rounding out quarterback Ian Book’s starting weapons. With two graduate students and a senior starting, it’s possible that the Irish wanted to avoid some season opening jitters. We’ll see.