Notre Dame struck early in the first-round when the Baltimore Ravens chose offensive tackle Ronnie Stanley with the sixth-overall pick in the 2016 NFL Draft.
A Las Vegas native, Stanley began his collegiate career as a right tackle for the Irish before moving to the left side following Zack Martin’s NFL departure. Stanley would become a staple on that side and cement himself as a team leader through the rest of his playing time in an Irish uniform.
Stanley nearly left for the NFL in 2015 – predicted to be a first round pick then – but ultimately opted to stay one more year with Notre Dame. The 6-foot-6, 319 pounder started 39 games for the Irish.
Irish Head Coach Brian Kelly shared his excitement for Stanley on Twitter, calling him an anchor of the Irish offensive line for four years.
RONNIE!!
He anchored our OLine for 4 years & now he’ll anchor the Ravens for the next decade.
Congrats, Ronnie! pic.twitter.com/Prdy42zUUV
— Brian Kelly (@CoachBrianKelly) April 29, 2016
Stanley was helped in the draft after Ole Miss OT Laremy Tunsil had a tweet sent out just before the draft went live with a video showing him wearing a marijuana gas mask. Tunsil was thought to be the first offensive lineman to get picked but fell the to 13th overall pick, being drafted by Miami.
The Stanley pick is the first first-round pick for Notre Dame since 1994. The Irish haven’t had much success in the draft since then, but could see a handful of players getting drafted in the first three rounds this year, including Jaylon Smith, Will Fuller and KeiVarae Russell.
