Can Notre Dame's dominant pass protector overcome injury concerns and impress NFL scouts? His combine performance could redefine his draft stock.
The 2026 NFL Combine is set to kick off this weekend and will feature six former Notre Dame players who are looking to take their game to the next level. Now, every player has a different set of things they'll have their eyes set to work on throughout the combine. It's likely all six for Fighting Irish players participate in the media day, but it's up for debate whether all will compete in drills for various reasons. Left guard Billy Schrauth has put out some impressive film, ideally he'll be able to perform at the NFL Combine.
Schrauth's season came to an abrupt end in 2025 after injuring his MCL against USC in their 34-24 win over the Trojans. Up to that point, he was playing some of his best football. Schrauth ended the season as Notre Dame's highest graded pass blocker amongst the starting offensive lineman, and that wasn't due to a talent shortage in the trenches.
The 6-4, 310-pound guard didn't allow a single sack or hit on the quarterback this season which allowed redshirt freshman CJ Carr to breakout in 2025. In fact, Schrauth has only allowed one sack in the last two seasons and it came against USC at the end of the regular season in 2024. In their final three playoff games against Georgia in the Sugar Bowl, Penn State in the Orange Bow and Ohio State in the National Championship, Schrauth didn't allow a single pressure.
He carried that momentum into the 2025 season and only allowed two pressures throughout Notre Dame's first seven regular season games. It was likely Schrauth would have returned for a postseason run, but we all know how their season came to an end. The biggest question for Schrauth is his ability to stay healthy and play for an entire NFL regular season.
In back to back seasons, the Wisconsin native missed significant time due to injury. In 2024, he missed four games before making his return in November against the Navy Midshipmen. This past season, he suffered another lower-body injury which held him out the entire month of November. When he's on the field, there's no question around his impact as a pass protector and a run blocker.
Schrauth projects along the interior at the next level and it wouldn't surprise me if an organization tried him out at center, a position he had the ability to play in South Bend as well. He's a strong blocker at the point of attack, but he'll have to perform well at the NFL Combine in all phases if he's deemed healthy enough to compete.
There's no question around his abilities as an offensive lineman and as a leader. Schrauth finished his career in South Bend as a team captain. Whichever organization elects to draft him will be getting an excellent football player and a strong leader. Where and when he'll be taken is up for debate, but a strong performance at the combine could impact that significantly.
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