John Walters

NEW YORK - If you want to assess the past weekend's NFL draft as a step backward for the Notre Dame program, you have an argument. The Fighting Irish had just four players drafted this year as opposed to seven last April. Then again, how many 3-9 football teams can boast two players selected in the top 47 picks?

You need not be Todd McKipers to watch Irish game film the past two seasons and see that John Carlson, Trevor Laws and Tom Zbikowski were standout talents. While Laws was the only one among the trio to have a better season in 2007 than he did in 2006, all three figure to be impact players as rookies with their programs. As for center John Sullivan, he can take solace in knowing that two teammates from 2006 who were drafted in the 5th (Derek Landri, Jacksonville) and 7th (Chinedum Ndukwe, Cincinnati) rounds a year ago are now valued members of their teams.

John Carlson, TE
Seattle Seahawks, 2nd Round, 38th pick
The two-year starter proved to be a worthy replacement to Anthony Fasano, himself a 2nd-round pick of the Dallas Cowboys in 2006. While Carlson's numbers were better in 2006 (47 receptions, 4 TDs) than in 2007 (40 catches, 3 TDs), there's a huge difference between having 4-year starter Brady Quinn under center as opposed to true freshman Jimmy Clausen.

Carlson, 6-6 and 260 pounds, was Charlie Weis' designated "Two Tampa" buster, running deep middle routes and punishing linebackers who attempted to cover him. "We love everything about the intangibles," said Seahawk coach Mike Holmgren of Carlson, who graduated magna cum laude and is engaged to be married. "How he conducts his life, how he works in practice, all those things."

Last year's Seahawk tight end, Marcus Pollard, finished 6th on the team in catches with only 28 receptions. Holmgren hopes Carlson can raise that production immediately.

Trevor Laws, DT
Philadelphia Eagles, 2nd Round, 47th pick
The only one of the four Notre Dame selections who was not a team captain in 2007, Laws, by season's end, was the unquestioned leader of the Irish. In 2006 Laws played the interior alongside future NFL defensive tackle Derek Landri, but the graduation of defensive end Victor Abiamiri forced Weis to moved Laws to defensive end.

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Good move; perhaps the best Weis made all year. Laws had a historic season for the Irish, amassing 112 tackles, four sacks, five passes broken up and three blocked kicks (the last stat being the specialty of the surprisingly elusive and agile 6-1, 303-pounder). Not since Steve Niehaus (113 tackles) in 1975 had an Irish defensive lineman had so many tackles, a stat even more impressive considering that Laws was the only returning starter on the line and was either double-teamed or run away from on nearly every play.

Easily the most well-liked player (by students and teammates alike) on last year's team, Laws will be reunited in Philly with his former linemate and roommate, Abiamiri. An ideal situation for this high-energy playmaker.

Tom Zbikowski, S
Baltimore Ravens, 3rd Round, 86th pick
There was a signature moment for Zbikowski, one of the most prolific and popular defensive backs in Notre Dame history, at February's NFL Combine. As Zibby was doing his 225-pound bench-press reps the spotter, Arizona Cardinal strength and conditioning coach John Lott, began to exhort him by shouting, "Come on, Rudy!"

Zbikowski, in mid-press, replied, "Don't…call…me…that…again." Or, perhaps he used more colorful language. After doing 24 reps of the weight, the Fighting Irish folk legend began to walk away, then turned to Lott and extended a curt two-word salutation.

A two-time All-American with a streak of Pat Tillman's "Go ahead and doubt me" to him, Zbikowski will surprise people at the NFL who deem him too slow, too short, or overrated. This is a player who started four seasons, finished with 300 tackles, eight interceptions, and five touchdowns via punt or interception return. All he does is make plays.

John Sullivan, C
Minnesota Vikings, 6th Round, 187th pick
How would you like to have been Sully in interviews with prospective employers this past winter? "So, you were the leader of an offense that allowed 20 more sacks than the previous worst amount in school history and finished last in the nation in that stat? And from what we saw in the Michigan game, your shotgun snaps need a little work as well. Why should we select you?"

Difficult questions to answer, and who knows how Sullivan replied. Still, Sully started 43 games at Notre Dame and the word is that Weis stumped for him big-time with NFL execs. He will at least get a shot in Minnesota.

Immediately following the conclusion of Sunday's draft, three Notre Dame seniors signed free-agent contracts. Linebacker Joe Brockington, always steady if not spectacular (he finished second on the team in tackles last season with 108), signed with the Buffalo Bills. Two-time captain Travis Thomas, a running back/linebacker whose major attribute was his special teams play, signed with the Cleveland Browns. And long snapper J.J. Jansen, a former walk-on who was awarded a scholarship prior to his senior season, signed with the Green Bay Packers.

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