Seattle Seahawks Draft Notre Dame Defensive Tackle Rylie Mills In The 2025 NFL Draft

The Seattle Seahawks have selected former Notre Dame defensive lineman Rylie Mills in the fifth round of the 2025 NFL Draft. Mills was taken with the No. 142 overall pick.

Mills played a lot of football during his Notre Dame career, finishing with 61 career games played. Mills never took a redshirt, but his freshman season was in 2020, so like the rest of the players in college football he was granted an extra season of eligibility. 

Mills took full advantage by having the best season of his career. He finished the season with a career-high 8.5 tackles for loss and a career-high 7.5 sacks despite missing the final three games of the season with a knee injury. According to Pro Football Focus, Mills finished the season with 34 quarterback pressures, including 13 hits plus sacks on the quarterback. His 14.3-percent win rate was sixth best among all interior defenders who had at least 100 pass rush snaps.

A captain for the Irish in 2024, Mills really good off beginning in the team's 31-24 win over Louisville. He had 25 total pressures in the final nine games of the season. His final play in a Notre Dame uniform was a sack of Indiana quarterback Kurtis Rourke in the Irish playoff victory over the Hoosiers. Mills was injured on the play and missed the remainder of the playoffs. 

Mills was a standout for the Irish in 2023 as well when he set a career-high with 47 tackles to go with six tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks. He also has 32 total pressures (PFF) and his 15.1% win rate was even better than he had in 2024. The difference in 2024 is that Mills finished better at the quarterback, which is why he had more total sacks.

The Illinois native was a regular in the Irish defensive line rotation for his entire career, and he was a starter for his final three seasons. He set a career high with three tackles for and three sacks in the 52-3 win over Florida State this past season. 

Mills is the first Notre Dame defensive tackle to be drafted since Jerry Tillery went in round one back in 2019.