Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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57 NOV. 8, 2025 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED BY TODD D. BURLAGE T he opportunity and effort were cer- tainly in place those previous two Sundays for former Irish team captain and star linebacker JD Bertrand to en- joy his NFL coming out party. Unfortunately for the second-year Falcons reserve, the chance to finally start at middle linebacker and/or play extended reps in consecutive losses to the 49ers and the Dolphins didn't nec- essarily go as Bertrand had planned or hoped for. On the good side, the former 2024 fifth-round draft pick tied for the team lead and posted a career-high 10 tack- les in a 20-10 loss at San Francisco Oct. 19, logging 58 defensive snaps with 14 more on special teams. A week later in a 34-10 loss at home to Miami Oct. 26, Bertrand made his first career start and finished second on the Falcons with 9 tackles and 1 pass broken up while playing 68 of 69 snaps on defense, and 12 more on spe- cial teams to easily lead all players in participation. The downside, playing in place of injured starting linebacker Divine De- ablo, Bertrand looked overmatched in pass coverage against the Dolphins and allowed 8 receptions on 9 targets for 78 yards and 2 touchdowns. Falcons head coach Raheem Morris said after Bertrand's mixed performance that no- body is going to feel sorry for the team or the player. "You're always going to miss those players," Morris said in regard to De- ablo. "But nobody cares. It's always go- ing to be the next-man-up mentality." And when Deablo was officially m ove d to t h e i n j u re d re se rve l i s t Oct. 25, with a forearm fracture, Ber- trand was expected to play extensively — and perhaps start again — for at least three more games. "[Bertrand] is going to get a great op- portunity to play some more again," Falcons defensive coordinator Jeff Ul- brich said. "There's some other guys, too, that are going to step in and do some of what [Deablo] does." ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT Perhaps asked to do too much too soon as a starting linebacker, Bertrand still showed plenty of promise during his rookie season in 2024 and through the early going in 2025, mainly on spe- cial teams. The Falcons drafted the Alpharetta, Ga., native in no small part because of his foot- ball acumen and ability to learn and apply lessons in short order. "From the very first mo- ment [Bertrand] came in, he didn't seem like a rookie mentally," teammate and fellow linebacker Kaden Elliss said during the pre- season. "He was smart. He picked things up quick. He was asking very detailed questions that you nor- mally only hear vets ask, or nobody in the room asked because they didn't think about it." Bertrand increased his workload as a rookie and when thrust into more ex- tensive action late last season because of injuries, he finished 2024 with 23 tackles and 1 sack on 395 snaps across defense and special teams. "He had to play some really mean- ingful ball for us," Elliss added. "He had some really good clips, really good games, really good moments." ✦ FIGHTING IRISH HEADLINERS Kyle Hamilton, (Played at Notre Dame from 2019-21), S, Baltimore Ravens, NFL After vacating his free safety position following some early defensive struggles for the Ravens this season, the former Irish All-American has thrived. Playing closer to the line of scrimmage, the 2022 first-round draft pick (14th overall) recorded 8 tackles and notched an athletic quarterback hit that led to an intentional grounding penalty in a 30-16 win over the Chicago Bears Oct. 26. In seven starts (he missed one game due to an injury) for the 3-5 Ravens through Oct. 30, Hamilton had 49 tackles with 2 passes defended and 1 forced fumble. Cam Hart (2019-23), CB, Los Angeles Chargers, NFL The 2024 fifth-round draft pick allowed 2 receptions for 12 yards on 5 targets in pass coverage, and broke up three passes in a 37-10 win over the Minnesota Vikings Oct. 23. His performance — arguably the best of his two-year NFL career — earned him a 92.4 overall defensive grade from Pro Football Focus and a 91.5 mark in coverage from PFF. Both were the highest marks among all cornerbacks in the NFL. Through seven games this season, Hart had 22 tackles (19 solo) and 5 passes broken up. Quenton Nelson (2014-17), OG, Indianapolis Colts, NFL The 2017 Irish unanimous All-American and 2018 first-round draft pick (sixth overall) helped the first-place Colts to 164 rushing yards and 8.1 yards per play in a 38-14 win over the Tennessee Titans Oct. 26. He also allowed no pressures in pass protection to earn a stellar 87.4 pass blocking grade from PFF. Through the first eight weeks of NFL play, PFF rated Nelson as the top overall guard (88.8) and the top run-blocking guard (91.6) in the league. JD Bertrand Is Getting His Shot, Taking Some Lumps I R I S H I N T H E P R O S Bertrand made a career- and team-high 10 tackles in the Falcons' 20-10 loss at San Francisco Oct. 19. PHOTO COURTESY ATLANTA FALCONS