Measurables
UNIVERSITY- Notre Dame AGE- 21 CLASS- JR
HEIGHT- 6’4” WEIGHT- 219 ARM LENGTH-
40 Time- 3 CONE- VERTICAL- BROAD JUMP- BENCH PRESS-
Overview
Kyle Hamilton was originally born in Greece where his father played professional basketball. After his father retired from basketball they moved to Georgia where Hamilton eventually played his high school ball for Marist, a catholic school in Georgia. There he played both WR and safety and was considered one of the top 10 prospects in the state. In 2019 as a true freshman he played in all 13 games and made 1 start. He finished the year with 41 tackles, 1 TFL, 10 PBUs and 4 INTs returning 1 for TD. In 2020 Kyle started in all 11 games, recording 63 tackles, 4.5 TFL, 7 PBUs and 1 INT. He earned First and Second team All-America honors by multiple publications, All-ACC First team and was also named Bednarik Award semifinalist. In 2021, Hamilton was voted by his teammates a team captain and started 7 games before falling to a knee injury. Before his injury he totaled 34 tackles, 2 TFL, 7 PBUs and 3 INTs(two of which in their season opener). He again earned First and Second team All-American honors, was deemed a Bednarik Award finalist and a Jim Thorpe Award semifinalist.
Strengths
Kyle Hamilton is just a rare specimen for his position with his height, length and athletic ability. Have you ever created a player in Madden? Well that created player would likely come out to something similar to what Kyle Hamilton gives you as a prospect. Rare will be a common theme with this guy but his fluidity to shift his hips and stay locked on with big WRs or TEs in man-to-man coverage is just phenomenal for his size. If you want him to take away your opponent’s star TE, no problem. Kyle has incredible short range burst and his long strides allow him to cover great distances across the field in a hurry. For example there’s a play against Florida St where he quite literally starts out the play on the opposite hash, he then finishes the play toe drag swagging for an int on the sideline. His recognition of routes underneath not only allowed him to cover guys in his area, it forced QBs to completely disregard it as a possibility to throw it over there. His height/length combo makes it terrifying to throw his way because even if he can’t intercept it, he can fly in there and tip the ball, which leads to his teammates getting interceptions. He is extremely fluid in his back-pedal and his lateral movement in underneath zone to stay on top of routes is fantastic. I felt Hamilton was a much improved tackler in 2021, he developed into a sure wrap-up tackler. At the catch point though, he has the ability to jar a ball loose from a pass catcher with a hit. He’s so quick to diagnose a play that he’s having to avoid his teammates to get to the ball behind or at the line of scrimmage. He wasn’t used much as a blitzer in the pass game, but the potential is certainly there. His body may seem a little slim on tv but he has great functional strength and was an issue to block. This is a bit of a projection on my part but I felt his ball skills were proficient enough. Teams didn’t try him very often, I believe some cocky NFL QBs will think they can test the guy and it’ll lead to more ints for him than he got in college. He certainly has the range and ability to play single high but for me personally you’d be wasting his talent. I want him closer to the line of scrimmage, making every single play underneath or taking away a team’s best TE option in man-man. Honestly though, I wouldn’t bet against him playing CB, he has that kind of ability. I would have to say the best safety prospect I’ve seen.
Weaknesses/Room for Improvement
Hamilton is such a young player with a lot of room for growth that he can likely fix most of these areas. Kyle is better at reading the field when he’s coming downhill attacking a play, when he has to sit back and read the play from a deep safety spot it doesn’t seem as quick. Right now I wouldn’t say he’s a player who can read deep progressing routes before they happen and cut off the play like you would see from the great center fielders of all time. This left opportunities for QBs to attack the open zone that he left. When Kyle is covering receivers in man-to-man he struggles to turn and locate the football, this led to some awkward DPIs and guys making back shoulder catches on him. Although Kyle was a well improved tackler this year, there’s still improvement to be had there, he could take better tackling angles at times and not be so dependent on his speed. He has some plays where he may overshoot or undercut a play and miss the tackle because of a bad angle. I also wouldn’t say Kyle is a thumper of any sort when coming down-hill. The question about his ball skills are certainly there, I saw some incredible interceptions from him though. I didn’t see very many opportunities to high-point the ball when watching Kyle and I think he could do a better job with his hands to fight the catch point and knock down balls. In coverage he more so just shuts a play down rather than try and jump a route. What I mean by this is you don’t see him baiting a QB naturally for an interception. Overall I want him to be the first guy to the ball and not the last player with a chance at the ball. What I mean by this is his tackling angles down the field could potentially allow for a big play to turn into a TD. Also I don’t particularly think I would trust his processing as a center field safety at this point in time to cover the whole field.
Scheme Fit
Quite literally just get him on the field and figure it out later. He can play in two high schemes as either a Free or Strong Safety, he can play some nickel or dime CB when lined up on the bigger WRs or TEs. He can play LB in certain packages coming down hill.
Round Grade
Early First Round; Elite Talent