Notre Dame Football: Where will the Irish’s draft prospects land?

1. Kyren Williams, late second to the late third round.

There is a lot to like about redshirt sophomore running back Kyren Williams. He is a tough runner between the tackles and can bounce outside. Williams is a slasher who can catch the football out of the backfield and even motion into the slot when asked.

Scouts have to be impressed with Williams’ improvement last season. The rushing numbers don’t tell the whole story of how Williams improved in the passing game both as a receiver and a blocker. Though he struggled early in the season, Williams got better as the offensive line congealed.

There are some concerning issues with his game. The forty-yard dash is not one of them. Running backs like Charlie Garner, Terry Allen, and Alfred Morris were not speed demons and managed to carve out long careers in the NFL.

Williams tends to go down on first contact when a defender has a clean shot; defenders don’t “bounce” off him. He is quick but not explosive in the open field. He was the featured running back at Notre Dame; that is likely not the case in the NFL.

Williams could flourish as a rotational running back or in a role similar to how teams used backs like Rex Burkhead, Dion Lewis, or Ronnie Harmon.