Ben
Skowronek.
Ben
Skowronek.
Notre Dame· 6'3"· 224 lb· 4.58s 40
"A 6-foot-3, 224-pound Notre Dame grad transfer from Northwestern with a run-heavy senior tape and pedestrian long speed — a late Day-3 blocking/possession X projection dependent on special teams value."Pre-draft read
Big-bodied X receiver who aligns primarily as a boundary Z or in-line big slot. He gets off press with a strong two-hand shiver rather than a release package, stemming verticals with heavy strides that stack cornerbacks by mass. He uses his frame to shield on slants, comebacks, and back-shoulder throws, tracking the ball late over the outside shoulder, securing contested targets through contact with strong hands and a reliable catch point. His route tree is compressed: hitches, digs, over routes, and vertical clear-outs.
He separates from peers on the perimeter run game, with sustained blocks on cornerbacks and safeties on the second level, finishing reps at the whistle. His special teams profile as a gunner and jammer is real, with functional strength winning those rotational reps.
The ideal scheme for Skowronek is a modern West Coast timing system that implements frequent play-action and uses 12 personnel to isolate mismatches.
Year 1: Active special teams contributor as gunner/jammer and rotational perimeter run-scheme blocker with minimal offensive targets but high offensive snap count; Ceiling: reliable 12 personnel slot/X receiver/blocker for playoff team.
An Air Raid or pass-heavy spread RPO scheme that relies on five-wide formations and burst at the top of the route to generate separation from off-man at all three levels.
Skowronek's value as a legitimate perimeter blocker and special teams contributor carves him an immediate role as a rotational player in a 12 personnel-heavy offense that values power slots and run after catch ability in the short area.
Notre Dame WR Ben Skowronek Scores 3 Touchdowns
Game film cut-up of Ben Skowronek's Notre Dame tape.
Skowronek explains decision to transfer to Notre Dame
Game film cut-up of Ben Skowronek's Notre Dame tape.
Thorson to Skowronek for 58-YD TD vs. Bowling Green
Game film cut-up of Ben Skowronek's Notre Dame tape.
Skowronek projects as a big-slot or boundary possession receiver, valued for his blocking prowess, ball skills through contact, and special teams contributions. He offers a specific role to an NFL team, leveraging his physical frame and willingness as a blocker.
He arrived at Notre Dame as a graduate transfer from Northwestern, converting from a productive, high-volume Big Ten career to a run-first Irish offense that limited his receiving opportunities. His senior tape confirmed previous evaluations, showing a player whose contributions extended beyond target share. He consistently demonstrated reliability within his defined role, with 29 receptions for 439 yards in his final season.
Evaluators consistently placed him as a Day 3 selection, highlighting his blocking and special teams as key assets. Concerns about route quickness and top-end speed were noted flags. Ultimately, he was selected as the 249th pick in a class deep at receiver, fitting the expectation for a special-teams and short-area target with a clear ceiling.
- 01
Perimeter blocking
Genuinely willing and technically sound run blocker on the edge, sustains through the whistle and buries corners and safeties on stretch and outside zone; a legitimate starter-caliber trait at the position.
- 02
Frame at the catch point
His 6-foot-3, 224-pound build plays to size on slants, back-shoulders, and jump balls, shielding defensive backs and finishing through contact with strong, reliable hands.
- 03
Contested-catch strength
Wins 50/50 balls with body position and late hands, securing the ball through wraps and ripping contested targets away from press corners in tight boundary windows.
- 04
Special-teams demeanor
Legitimate gunner and jammer profile with functional play strength, willingness to run the alley on kickoff, and physicality on punt coverage that immediately translates to a Day-3 role.
- 05
Football character and versatility
Full four-year starter before a grad-transfer year, playing every alignment from X to big slot, and drawing consistent praise for preparation, film study, and coachability.
- 01
Long-speed ceiling
A 4.58 forty at 224 pounds confirms what tape suggests: he cannot separate vertically on top of NFL safeties, and defenders who play his shoulder erase him on nine routes.
- 02
Out-breaking route quickness
Gathered footwork and heavy hips on comebacks, curls, and out-cuts show on tape; press-man corners with recovery quickness can drive on the break and undercut targets.
- 03
Limited route tree
College usage was compressed to hitches, slants, digs, and vertical clear-outs, with minimal reps against off-man leverage in a full pro tree, suggesting a significant developmental gap.
- 04
Modest senior production
His 29 receptions for 439 yards and 5 touchdowns in his Notre Dame year left evaluators projecting on traits and blocks more than on separation reps against man coverage.
— — — positional median (p50)
- 40 yd
- 4.58sp50
- Vertical
- —in
- Broad jump
- —in
- Three-cone
- —s
- Shuttle
- —s
- Bench
- —rep
| Yr | Team | G | Rec | Yds | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Northwestern | 13 | 8 | 70 | 0 |
| 2017 | Northwestern | 13 | 45 | 644 | 5 |
| 2018 | Northwestern | 14 | 45 | 562 | 3 |
| 2019 | Northwestern | 3 | 12 | 141 | 0 |
| 2020 | Notre Dame | 11 | 29 | 439 | 5 |
| Career | — | 54 | 139 | 1856 | 13 |
A dash means the figure is not published by a source we trust — never a zero we invented.
Frame-and-blocking Day-3 receiver whose NFL role is anchored by special teams and run-game value rather than target volume — the honest projected role.
Bigger-body possession X with elite perimeter blocking and contested-catch feel — the ceiling if the route tree expands and he becomes a functional inside-outside third receiver.
Late-round Big Ten body-type receiver whose lack of long speed and route quickness capped him as a rotational bottom-of-roster player who churned through practice squads.
Everything above is the pre-draft evaluation. This section is what actually happened — updated year over year.
Pre-draft context. Skowronek came out of Notre Dame as a fifth-year grad transfer from Northwestern, a 6-foot-3, 224-pound boundary receiver whose Big Ten career peaked at 45 catches in 2018 and finished with a modest 25-348-3 line in a run-heavy 2020 Irish offense. He did not attend the scouting combine — the 2021 cycle was heavily disrupted by COVID protocols — and his pro-day forty in the 4.58 range confirmed a size/strength profile without vertical juice. Boards ranked him as a late Day-3 special-teams and possession-target flier whose blocking, contested-catch strength, and football character were the case, with long speed and route quickness the ceiling flags.
NFL fit — Rams. Los Angeles selected him at 249 in a receiver-heavy class specifically for his blocking demeanor and special-teams profile behind Cooper Kupp, Robert Woods, and Van Jefferson. He carved out a genuine rotational role: over multiple seasons in Los Angeles he lined up as the in-line/big-slot blocker on outside-zone concepts, functioned as a possession target on third downs when injuries hit the room, and played meaningful snaps on coverage units. He earned a Super Bowl LVI ring on the 2021 championship roster, and his tape as a run-blocking receiver became reference material inside the building.
Retrospective. Skowronek later moved on to Houston and Baltimore, sustaining an NFL career as exactly the profile the pre-draft board projected: a fourth or fifth wide receiver whose value is anchored to blocking, special teams, and situational possession snaps rather than target volume. He is a fair Day-3 outcome — a role player who hit the ceiling of the archetype but did not break out beyond it.