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Another talented former Notre Dame Fighting Irish player comes off the board on the last day of the NFL draft. With the 17th pick of the 7th round, going at 231 overall, the New Orleans Saints have chosen TE Alizé Mack. That’s the 6th Notre Dame Tight End to be drafted during the Brian Kelly era.
Mack is the first Notre Dame player to be drafted by the Saints in the Sean Payton era. Mack had an interesting but fruitful career at Notre Dame; he sustained a few injuries after coming in as a highly-touted recruit, and ended up flourishing as a vital part of Brian Kelly’s offense in his senior year: he had 36 catches for 360 yards and 3 touchdowns. Scouts note that he was incredibly versatile, as well:
New #Saints TE Alizé Mack lined up all over the place for Notre Dame in 2018. Here are his snap counts by position:
— PFF NO Saints (@PFF_Saints) April 27, 2019
Inline TE: 336 snaps (51.1%)
Slot Receiver: 201 snaps (30.6%)
Backfield (FB/HB): 110 snaps (16.7%)
Outside WR: 10 snaps (1.5%)#WhoDat ⚜
Alizé is also the first Fighting Irish player to be selected by the New Orleans Saints since Courtney Watson, who heard his name called by the organization in the second round of the 2004 NFL draft. Mack joins a roster with veteran tight ends Jared Cook and Josh Hill, hoping to compete for a spot with new guys like Dan Arnold and Garrett Griffin.
That’s six TE’s to be drafted to the NFL from Notre Dame in the Brian Kelly era. We hope Alizé will be immensely successful when he arrives in New Orleans. Here’s what Alizé himself had to say about the news, as well as some insider info on the fruit of Alizé’s labor from OFD’s own Jude Seymour:
Saints Nation I’m so emotional right now...I promise you, you’re going to get everything I got! I’m so thankful for this opportunity!
— Alizé Mack (@AlizeMack97) April 27, 2019
LETS GOOOOOOOOOO!!!!! #Saints
Alize Mack's four-year rookie contract will be worth $2,613,992, of which $93,992 is a signing bonus. #NDFB
— Jude (@andrewwinn) April 27, 2019
Source: https://t.co/0vOJiiDZVo
Congrats to Alizé, and go Saints!