NFL Draft Roundup 8.5: Where Notre Dame Players Not Named Kizer Will Go

For eight weeks, we’ve told you where former Notre Dame Fighting Irish quarterback DeShone Kizer is trending on mock draft boards across the country. But the Toledo, Ohio product isn’t the only former Irish player looking to hear his name called during the 2017 NFL Draft, which will be held April 27-29 in Philadelphia.

Here’s a look at where five additional players may end up:

JARRON JONES

The defensive tackle returned for his fifth year and turned in a career-defining game against the Miami-Florida Hurricanes, recording six tackles for loss — the most by a Notre Dame player in a single game in 20 years.

However, Jones appeared in just 13 snaps the following week against the option-oriented Navy Midshipmen. When he took just 20 snaps against the Army Black Knights a week after that, Jones earned a reputation for being afraid of being hurt.

“Mixed opinions around the league on Jarron,” said NFL Network analyst Mike Mayock on March 23. “I mean, you look at him and he’s 6-foot-5 1/2, 310 pounds. He’s got really long arms, which is important in a defensive line. And he flashes on tape. And if he could have replicated the way he played against Miami every week, we’d be talking about him a different way today. But he didn’t. He’s a highly inconsistent player that flashes on tape.”

Of the few analysts that are predicting past the first round, Jones has fallen in all of their eyes.

Charlie Campbell of WalterFootball.com had Jones going to the Baltimore Ravens with the 15th pick of the fourth round on March 20, three days before Notre Dame’s Pro Day. Now Campbell has Jones as the 7th pick in the sixth round, going to the New York Jets. That’s the difference between a $3.02 million contract ($621,112 signing bonus) and a $2.56 million deal ($159,356 signing bonus), according to OverTheCap.com.

Two sites have Jones as high as No. 127 overall to the Detroit Lions, while Campbell is the least optimistic about the lineman, slotting him No. 191 overall.

ISAAC ROCHELL

The Irish senior defensive end was a major player during a disappointing season. He took 679 snaps, most among defensive linemen, and recorded 56 tackles and one sack.

“Coaches and scouts like him because he works,” said Mayock. “He’s got a long body. He can play defensive end in your base package. Some teams may even kick him in on sub packages. But he’s a worker bee. He’s a long body, good size, worker and those guys typically play in the league for a while. So I’m rooting for Isaac Rochell.”

Mock draft analysts really have no good sense of where Rochell fits in the NFL Draft.

The DraftTek.com staff currently like him as a fourth-round selection of the Houston Texans (No. 130 overall), while D.J. Boyer over at DraftSite.com doesn’t see Rochell being drafted during the three-day, seven round event.

Rochell is generating interest from a “bunch of teams,” who apparently worked out the defensive end last Wednesday. He was previously scouted by representatives from the Atlanta Falcons, Carolina Panthers and Chicago Bears, according to WalterFootball.com.

The 130th pick in the draft will earn a $2.98 million contract with a $580,244 signing bonus. The last pick in the draft garners a $2.18 million deal with a $64,032 signing bonus, according to OverTheCap.com.

JAMES ONWUALU

“He presents well,” said Mayock of the senior captain and inside linebacker. “He plays hard. What’s his fit in the NFL? He probably won’t get drafted. If he does, it will be late — sixth, seventh round. But if he doesn’t get drafted, I still think he’s going to make a team. The reason is: I think he’ll be a core special teams player. And I think he can play sub linebacker. I think he’s the kind of guy that one way or another, he’s going to get into camp and stick.”

Rotoworld’s Josh Norris is quite a bit higher on Onwualu than anyone else. The analyst believes the Houston Texans will take him with the 142nd overall pick, which is in the fourth round.

Onwualu is a late seventh round pick of the Oakland Raiders or Dallas Cowboys at two other sites. Most mock drafts don’t include him at all, as Mayock predicted.

Onwualu has worked out privately for the Chicago Bears and Los Angeles Chargers and met with representatives of the Minnesota Vikings and Tampa Bay Buccaneers during East-West Shrine Game week, according to WalterFootball.com.

The 142nd pick is worth $2.53 million to the player, including a $419,348 signing bonus. If Onwualu was taken by the Cowboys with the 246th pick in the seventh round, he’d get a $2.47 million contract with a $67,244 signing bonus, according to OverTheCap.com.

COLE LUKE

The senior cornerback was the Irish’s iron man in 2016, logging 791 snaps — the most of any player on the defense. He had a career-high 48 tackles and also snagged two interceptions on the year.

“Will he get drafted?” asked Mayock. “Borderline. Sixth or seventh round at best, probably a priority free agent. But again, he’s going to have to get into camp, play special teams and compete.”

The DraftBlaster.com staff are incredibly high on the 5-foot-11 defensive back, believing he will go 113th overall to the Los Angeles Chargers (fourth round). Slap the Sign’s Noah Strackbein sees Luke more as a sixth round pick, while other analysts don’t include him in their deep mock drafts.

I haven’t read of any teams bringing in Luke for workouts or meetings. The Chargers’ fourth round pick is worth $3.06 million with a $661,888 signing bonus. If Luke goes at No. 208 -- as Strackbein predicted — his contract will be worth $2.54 million and include a $139,932 signing bonus.

TAREAN FOLSTON

A lot of fans — myself included — were surprised that Folston opted not to use his final year of eligibility and instead entered the draft.

“He’s going to struggle,” said Mayock. “He’s not going to get drafted. He’s going to have to be a priority free agent in a camp and he’s going to have to show people he can catch the football — which I think he can — and he’s going to have to play special teams. Right now, it’s a little bit of a long shot for him. But I hope he’ll show up and get an opportunity.”

I could find just one site that thought Folston would get picked during the three-day NFL Draft. The DraftTek.com staff believe the 5-foot-9 back will get picked near the end of the sixth round by the Cincinnati Bengals. If that came to fruition, Folston would receive a $2.22 million contract and a $109,764 signing bonus.

AVERY SEBASTIAN, CHASE HOUNSHELL AND SCOTT DALY

I haven’t found a single prognosticator who believes any of these three athletes will be picked during the draft.

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