A buddy and I were chatting... And while the question that was brought up doesn't really help at all.. It did give me some good insights as to how I feel about this team.  The question that was posed to me, if you could add one current NFL Irish to this year's team, who would it be?  And I immediately went to two guys... Kyle Hamilton or Isaiah Foskey.  Which tells me.. I really don't have any concerns at all on the offensive side of the ball. I mean I guess Mayer would be cool, but I don't think he makes the team any better.  The only thing I'm really wanting to see is a game changer on the defensive side of the ball... Someone who can flip a game on its head by making an elite play.  Am I on the right track here?  What would your guys addition be?

With this kind of question, for most teams, the answer is DL. Just such a game changed in college

I'd probably have to add Mayer.  An embarrassment of riches to compete in a playoff.

It is an interesting question and you can go a few different ways but for me its down to two guys

1 - Kyle Hamilton.  Pair him with the Elite Corners and this defense is scary.  Elite cover corners can sometimes hide a weak pass rush and even make that pass rush better.

2 - Jaylon Smith (Before Injury) - He was a difference maker but in my opinion wasnt used to his full potential.  The dude would have been a force had he done more blitzing than covering.

You make a good point that the offensive fire power with Mayer would be insane... And playoff worthy.

 

Jaylon is a great one.  His athleticism in that level with Marcus' scheme would have been a great pair.  But yeah, DL controls so much of the game.  One guy can wreck a gameplan.

Honestly, I am fine with DL as it is; while it may not have a star on it, it does seem like it could be very deep with good talent.

I think I will have to go with Kyle Hamilton, I am high on Watts, but not DJ or Henderson. Put Hamilton next to Watts and I think that solidifies the back end (the one hole I believe ND has on defense)

Gut reaction (subject to change):

1. Kyle - He was a transformational player (good becomes great, great becomes elite). I also feel robbed that he had injuries like he did in his final season. 

2. Mayer - This offense would be close to unstoppable with a guy that got the numbers he did despite being bracketed a lot of the time. He may not have the best pro career of recent ND TEs, but he had the best college career.

3. JOK - The LB group may not need the help (the kids should raise the ceiling if they continue to develop), but (like Kyle) he was a unicorn player. 

JOK is a solid choice.. I guess because of his injury last year with the Browns I kind of forgot about him... But yeah, I'm on board.. Seems like I just want one game changer on defense really bad.  But the thing about D is that if you have 11 solid pieces, then you're setup to play great team defense and get the results.  To which I think as the year progresses we can see someone like Watts develop into that back end star with more reps and confidence.

Hamilton or JOK would be my top two probably.  Foskey is close too.  We'll see how the DL does against more traditional offenses.  I'm a firm believer that a strong and disruptive DL makes the back 4-5 shine because the QB is getting pressured and will make more mistakes.

I would love to have JOK shadow Williams in the USC game.  I think he would negate Williams ability to extend plays with his escapability against slow DL.  Jaylon Smith was another great LB who could take that away from dual threat QBs.

Chase Claypool.

He was a monster in 2019. I think ND's WRs are getting better. But ND still lacks a true #1. Imagine how much better Claypool would make Jayden Thomas, Jaden Greathouse, Chris Tyree, Tobias Merriweather, etc. 

1 hour ago, tneun89 said:

Chase Claypool.

He was a monster in 2019. I think ND's WRs are getting better. But ND still lacks a true #1. Imagine how much better Claypool would make Jayden Thomas, Jaden Greathouse, Chris Tyree, Tobias Merriweather, etc. 

That's a great shout. He wrecked teams his final season, and he would be even more effective now. 

Really cheating here. 

S- Harrison Smith  the guys been All-Pro for how many years?

LB- JOK - you don’t turn away a Butkus finalist (he didn’t win it, right?)

DL- Romeo Okawra - Foskey disappeared a lot  Okawra presented pressure constantly even if he didn’t get the sack.  Maybe even Hinish because he was a load and this team needs that type of guy and size  

 

Screw it  Hinish and the lunch pale  

 

you are right coltssb, I change my answer from Hamilton to Harrison Smith. lol

One other, have Q come back at OG.  

23 minutes ago, jessemoore97 said:

One other, have Q come back at OG.  

Imagine Alt and Q next to each other...   

48 minutes ago, jbrown_9999 said:

Imagine Alt and Q next to each other...   

Yep might as well stack 11 on the right side of the center cause we ain't getting through there.

Technically I think Will Fuller is in the NFL…

Part of me wants to be different and say Jack Coan. But another pick would be Okwara. If you needed bigger and Stronger Romeo, Faster Julian

5 hours ago, jbrown_9999 said:

Imagine Alt and Q next to each other...   

How about a line from Lt to Rt of 

Alt, Nelson, Heggie, Martin, Stanley?

50 minutes ago, coltssb said:

How about a line from Lt to Rt of 

Alt, Nelson, Heggie, Martin, Stanley?

Who would be the best center in the last couple decades?

2 hours ago, coltssb said:

How about a line from Lt to Rt of 

Alt, Nelson, Heggie, Martin, Stanley?

Heggie?  Had to throw a weak link huh.