Three more former Irish players reached their goal of becoming NFL players this weekend after the draft ended. Notre Dame had four players drafted, two in round one and two in round five leaving several former Irish looking to go the free agent route.
Initially, Ethan Johnson was not sure that he would make himself available for the draft and instead take a year to work out and develop into what he considered a NFL caliber player. Although Johnson started off playing all 13 games during his freshman year and looked as if he would be an all-time great in South Bend, personal issues and injury made for a rocky ride. Ethan was a more than solid contributor on defense and does have the potential to be a solid NFL defensive lineman as the Kansas City Chiefs sent him a free agent contract.
It was a bit surprising that Taylor Dever was not chosen late in the NFL draft, but what was not surprising was that after the draft was finished he had several teams vying for his services. The Buccaneers, Jaguars, Bills, Giants, Chargers and Cowboys were all interested but Dever felt that Dallas gave him the best chance to make the team.
Jonas Gray came to South Bend highly toughed but underachieved during his first three seasons. Gray’s senior season showed a lot of promise as he amassed 791 yards and 12 touchdowns before a season ending injury put his football future in jeopardy. Jonas said he was at 80% when interviewed at the annual Blue and Gold scrimmage earlier this month and felt he could contribute to a NFL team next season. The Miami Dolphins have told Gray they are going to be patient with him "It’s in the contract that they’re going to be patient with me. That was something that was huge for me, my family, my agent and my business manager to go to a team that would put it in writing."
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