Aamil Wagner Is A Potential 2026 NFL Draft Riser

Notre Dame has become arguably the nation's top producers of offensive linemen in the NFL Draft over the last 15 years and that should continue in coming years. Notre Dame's offensive line is expected to have five starters in the fall who all have eligibility beyond the 2025 season. A breakout season from one of those players could mean the 2026 NFL Draft has a strong Notre Dame presence up front.

One player to keep an eye on for the 2026 NFL Draft is Fighting Irish right tackle Aamil Wagner. In fact, Pro Football Focus ranked Wagner as one of the top potential draft risers in all of college football. Here is what PFF had to say about Wagner:

"The Fighting Irish continue to prove themselves as an offensive line factory. Immediately after losing two offensive tackles that were top-60 picks in Joe Alt and Blake Fisher, Notre Dame has another stud tackle in Wagner. He finished his junior year as the third-most-valuable Power Four tackle according to our WAA metric, trailing only Spencer Fano and Kelvin Banks. Wagner’s 78.1 run-blocking grade was also 17th among Power Four offensive tackles. He held up well as a pass protector as well, allowing just two sacks on 496 pass-blocking snaps." - Max Chadwick, PFF 

Wagner made his first career start against Texas A&M in the 2024 season opener. Despite having just 52 career snaps coming into the season, Wagner was Notre Dame's most steady offensive lineman all season. The Ohio native allowed 29 pressures on the season, which isn't a great number, but he did only allow two sacks according to Pro Football Focus. He also only allowed four hits on the quarterback in 16 games.

Wagner improved in the run game throughout the season as well. Heading into his second season the expectation is that Wagner will continue improving his game and will become a more dominant football player.