Notre Dame Football Mailbag: Keon Keeley's potential, CJ Carr's NFL Draft timeline, and the Fighting Irish running back room

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The latest Notre Dame football mailbag brings heavy debate amongst the Fighting Irish fanbase. That included several interesting questions.

Notre Dame football fans have plenty to chew on during the college football offseason, and the Fighting Irish mailbag is here to tackle the biggest questions surrounding head coach Marcus Freeman’s2026 roster.

From Keon Keeley’s defensive end transition to CJ Carr’s 2027 NFL Draft prospects to the crowded Notre Dame running back room, there is a lot of ground to cover. Questions were submitted via Twitter each week through a thread on @RiseNDraft.

Let’s get into it.

Keon Keeley’s transition from Alabama

Keeley, a former five-star recruit in the 2023 class, famously decommitted from Notre Dame before signing with Alabama. The interesting part of his career with the Crimson Tide is that he fell into a tweener role. Alabama historically works between even and odd fronts, and Keeley was used more as a 4i technique after being a true outside-track defensive end coming out of Berkeley Prep in Florida.

For Keeley’s upside to fully materialize, he needed a defined role that fit his skill set. Notre Dame has clearly chosen the path of trimming him down, with Keeley already reportedly dropping 10-plus pounds since transferring. He is going to be a strongside defensive end for the Fighting Irish, and I think that’s the right call for the rest of his career.

His film from late in the Alabama tenure showed promise. When he got reps down the stretch, Keeley was impactful. The length is still there. The first step is still there. The improvements need to come from physical development, conditioning, and the ability to string counter moves together on a snap-to-snap basis. Everything seemed disjointed at Alabama, partly because of the role he was asked to play.

I am excited to see what Keeley does in Notre Dame’s defensive end rotation. He still has a ton of potential to tap into with two years of eligibility remaining.

2027 NFL Draft offensive tackle depth

I don’t love the offensive tackle class for the 2027 NFL Draft right now. Some people are bought into Jordan Seaton’s rise at LSU after transferring from Colorado, and all of that is possible. But the interior offensive line group has a chance to be very good, while the offensive tackle pool leaves me searching for guys I truly like.

One name I do like is Trevor Lauck from Iowa.

He is not the flashiest athlete in the group, and some will question his ability to stick outside, but that kid just wins reps. He reminds me a lot of Jake Matthews, the longtime Atlanta Falcons starter. Lauck plays with a good base and consistent hand usage, and when he loses reps, he loses slowly. That is something we don’t talk about enough. Everyone loses reps at offensive line. It is a position designed for failure to a large degree. But when you lose slowly, your offense still has a chance. That skill set projects as a long-term NFL starter at offensive tackle.

Adon Shuler’s draft stock and perceived undervaluation

I think Adon Shuler is actually pretty well recognized in the college football landscape. The thing that makes him underrated in general is that he is not a flashy player. He is physical, relentless, and always in the right spot, but he doesn’t have the God-given gifts of Tae Johnson in terms of pure elite athleticism.

In the NFL Draft space, safety athleticism is heavily debated, and elite range raises your ceiling significantly. Shuler is also a victim of situation. He plays alongside All-American cornerback Leonard Moore in probably the deepest cornerback room in the country and next to Johnson, who could be a first-round pick. You don’t have the flashiest style in that group, and that contributes to the perception. But Shuler is going to play NFL football for a long time.

CJ Carr and the 2027 NFL Draft

I want to see more from CJ Carr. He played well as a redshirt freshman, but for people mocking him as a top-10 pick next year as a redshirt sophomore, we need to slow our roll. He needs to show substantial improvement, and he is in a deeper quarterback class on paper. I always recommend this to quarterbacks specifically: experience matters at the position. If he has a remarkable year and projects as a top-5 pick, absolutely go make your bag. But if he is just a tick better than last year, I think he should consider returning for the 2027 college football season. Age is not a significant issue for quarterbacks entering the draft a year later. This would just be a fourth-year player in the 2028 NFL Draft. I would always recommend quarterbacks get as much experience as possible to be sustainable long-term.

Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa vs. Drayk Bowen as draft prospects

I don’t think Bowen has a chance to be one of the first linebackers drafted. He is physical, downhill, experienced, and a good communicator, but he is not a great athlete in terms of change-of-direction ability and pass coverage versatility. Viliamu-Asa is a different story. Whether he declares for 2027 or stays for 2028, as long as he is healthy, I think he will be one of the first linebackers taken. Length, athleticism, and versatility all sell in the NFL. He is already well regarded in NFL circles.

The running back room numbers game

Notre Dame probably will not carry seven running backs into the fall, but they could potentially carry six because of the scholarship number rising from 85 to 105. The five backs with remaining eligibility plus incoming freshmen Isaiah Rogers and Latham Whisenton create a roster crunch. I do think one running back probably moves on after the season, whether that means someone has a big year and heads to the NFL, an older back seeks a different opportunity, or a younger player gets passed on the depth chart. How that roster makeup shakes out remains to be seen.

This article was originally published on A to Z Sports. Read the full story here: Notre Dame Football Mailbag: Keon Keeley’s potential, CJ Carr’s NFL Draft timeline, and the Fighting Irish running back room

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