University of Notre Dame football All-American Kyle Hamilton was selected in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft by the Baltimore Ravens with the 14th overall selection, becoming the 70th first round selection from Notre Dame and the first since 2019.
Kyle Hamilton. Defensive Back. 𝐍𝐨𝐭𝐫𝐞 𝐃𝐚𝐦𝐞.
📺 April 28-30 on ESPN/ABC/NFL Network@kyledhamilton_ | #GoIrish pic.twitter.com/KF55TCuwPB
— Notre Dame Football (@NDFootball) April 29, 2022
Hamilton was a consensus All-America selection as a junior safety in 2021 while being limited to seven games due a knee injury. He made 34 tackles in those seven contests with three interceptions and piled up 138 tackles and eight interceptions in his three years on the Irish roster.
Hamilton is the first defensive back from Notre Dame selected in the first round since perennial all-pro safety Harrison Smith was taken by the Minnesota Vikings with the 29th pick in 2012. It is the highest an Irish defensive back has been selected since Todd Lyght went fifth overall in 1991. He also is the highest drafted Notre Dame defensive player since defensive tackle Bryant Young, a member of the 2022 NFL Hall of Fame class, was taken seventh overall in 1994.
Welcome to Baltimore, @kyledhamilton_ ❗️ pic.twitter.com/tKe0LtzjkH
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) April 29, 2022
The Atlanta, Georgia, native joins former teammate Daelin Hayes on the Ravens roster. Hayes was selected in the fifth round by the Ravens in the 2021 draft. He is the highest Baltimore draft pick from the Irish since all-pro Ronnie Stanley was selected sixth overall in 2016.
Notre Dame now boasts 521 all-time NFL draft selections, the most of any college football program.