NFL Draft
4/7/25
5 min read
Rylie Mills 2025 NFL Draft: Scouting Report For Notre Dame Fighting Irish DL
Height: 6053 (verified)
Weight: 291lbs (verified)
Year: Redshirt Senior
Pro Comparison: Zach Sieler
Scouting Overview
Notre Dame Fighting Irish defensive lineman Rylie Mills is a power player along the defensive front who wins with heavy hands, powerful knockback ability, and good instincts. He is not the most explosive or dynamic athlete on the front, but he illustrates good spatial awareness and anticipation while affording his linemates assists to knock free pass rushers and create complementary chaos in the pocket.
Mills’ availability for the early portions of his rookie season is in question after a late-season ACL tear, but he projects as a high-floor defender who can develop into a starter.
2025 NFL Combine Results
TBD
Positives
- Really powerful hands create notable knockback at the point and let him play stronger than his frame
- Showcases a strong football IQ for execution of assignments and abilities to jump a gap and flatten to the football
- Is a savvy rusher with his lean frame, hands to occupy throwing windows, and pinballs off of twists and stunts seamlessly
Negatives
- Will turn 24 years old in August of rookie season
- Coming off of a late-season ACL tear in 2024 that cost him the pre-draft process and Notre Dame’s CFB Playoff run
- Lacks ideal first-step explosiveness or burst to consistently without having to set the hook on hand counters
Background
Mills is from Lake Forest, IL, and played high school football for Lake Forest HS. There, he was also a shot put and discus thrower in addition to his play on the gridiron. As a 4-star recruit (247 Sports), Mills garnered interest as one of the best defensive ends in the country coming out of high school.
He enrolled early at Notre Dame as a member of their 2020 recruiting class and played in 10 games during the team’s COVID-19 pandemic-shortened season. He collected his first career start against Alabama in the Rose Bowl. As a result of the pandemic, Mills retained his four seasons of eligibility entering into 2021.
Mills was again a rotational defender in 2021 before assuming a more prominent role with the team in 2022. He would start 35 of the next 39 games for Notre Dame, including a breakout fifth-year senior campaign in 2024 that saw him claim Second Team All-American honors from both ESPN and Sporting News for his play.
Mills suffered a season-ending ACL tear against Indiana in the College Football Playoff and missed the physical portions of the pre-draft process as a result.
Tale Of The Tape
Mills’ profile is not hard to sniff out on tape. He’s a blue-collar grinder with good instincts for the position and notable power in most phases of the position. He’s not built to handle the rigors of double teams and anchoring the A-gaps, but he’s got good pop in his hands to create knockback against solo assignments. He is reported to have good lower-body power to aid in his anchor and drive-back abilities as a power rusher.
Twice listed as a member of Bruce Feldman’s annual Freak’s List for The Athletic, Mills is credited with a 32-inch vertical jump, a 9-foot broad jump, and nearly a 600-pound squad. He’s “country strong” and is capable of bullying guards back into the backfield for disruptive reps.
He is tall, however. The height works against him at times, and he will be forced to bubble and give ground to reset his hands and play off the block if he’s caught too tall at the point of attack.
Mills is not the most fluid lateral player, and he doesn’t have the tightest cornering ability when rushing on the interior, but he helps to make up for his limitations here by anticipating creases and, even more importantly, playing with anticipation off of contact.
When he’s crashing or serving as the pick man on the point, Mills pinballs through blockers while creating displacement and potentially freeing up multiple gaps. He showcases good slashing lean when trying to play around blockers and capture a hip and illustrates an awareness to elevate his hand and occupy a throwing window if he’s not going to get home.
Mills is a high-effort player who embraces the dirty work to elevate his impact on passing downs. If left structurally protected from taking double teams, he should have little issue stacking blocks at the point of attack as an odd front end.
He does not have the ideal length to press and extend, but his savvy with his hand usage to manipulate blocks and get himself clear to try to make tackles through contact and utilize his core strength to stay anchored while throwing an arm out to secure a ball carrier.
Mills has the feel of a draft gem that, if drafted to a destination capable of defensive line development and a team willing to offer him patience as he recovers from his season-ending knee injury, will far outperform his projected draft slot.
Ideal Scheme Fit, Role
Mills is a well-developed and instinctive player whose unfortunate injury may ultimately cut into his rookie season and force him into a fringe role early on.
When he’s fully recovered, Mills projects as a rotational talent as his floor with the upside and continued technical growth to be an NFL starter. He’d be best served slotting in as an odd-front end or a movable piece inside on rush packages while playing in a stunt-heavy scheme.
Grade: 73.00/100.00, Fourth Round Value
Big Board Rank: 127
Position Rank: IDL15
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