Rylie
Mills.
Rylie
Mills.
Notre Dame· 6'5"· 291 lb
"A powerful interior lineman with explosive get-off and the versatility to align anywhere from 0- to 5-technique, Mills projects as a valuable rotational piece with untapped pass-rush potential."Pre-draft read
Mills is the rare interior lineman whose value is in the alignment chart. Notre Dame slid him from a shade over the center out to a five-technique and back inside on passing downs, and he did not lose anything at either extreme. At 6-5 3/8 and 291 pounds he is a get-off-and-hands player: quick out of his stance, heavy through contact, and comfortable converting the first step into a long-arm that stacks the blocker rather than trying to run around him.
The 2024 season is the version to evaluate. Seven and a half sacks and 8.5 tackles for loss in 13 games came from a rusher who finally married the pop off the ball with a plan -- club-swim on guards, bull-to-rip on tackles, and enough motor to finish reps that started dead. He is not a bendy edge and he is not a plugging nose. He is the movable piece a modern front wants: someone you can put anywhere on third down and get a real rush from a spot the offense did not prepare for.
The Seahawks typically use a 3-4 defense with a mix of one and two-gap principles, prioritizing versatility and players who can contribute to both pass rush and run defense.
Mills could immediately compete for rotational snaps as a 3-4 defensive end, eventually developing into a multi-gap starter.
He would be a poor fit for a pure 4-3 one-gap penetrating front that solely emphasizes quickness over power and read-and-react ability.
His size and strength are well-suited for the Seahawks' need for robust defensive line play, even if his immediate impact leans more towards run defense.
Rylie Mills | 2024 Notre Dame Highlights | 2025 NFL Draft
Final healthy season, the 7.5-sack year across multiple alignments.
Rylie Mills College Highlights | 2025 NFL Draft
Career cutup showing the interior get-off and long-arm.
Rylie Mills Notre Dame Highlights
Full-front versatility from zero shade to five-technique.
Rylie Mills spent five years at Notre Dame turning into a genuine prospect, and one December play turned him into a medical file. His career line reconciles exactly across seasons: 61 games, 122 tackles, 23.5 tackles for loss, 16.0 sacks and two fumble recoveries from 2020 through 2024, with production climbing every year -- 0.5 sacks as a freshman, then 3.0, 2.5, 2.5 and a second-team All-America 7.5 in his final season.
Then, on December 21, 2024, he tore his ACL sacking Indiana quarterback Kurtis Rourke in Notre Dame's first-round College Football Playoff win. It ended his college career on the exact play that best summarized why teams liked him, and it dominated every pre-draft conversation that followed. He attended the Combine but did not test, measuring 6-5 3/8, 291 pounds, with 32 5/8-inch arms and a 6-7 3/4 wingspan and nothing else on the workout sheet.
Without a workout, the evaluation was tape versus medicals. The tape said a versatile interior rusher with real 2024 production who could align from zero to five-technique; the medicals said a player who would miss most of his rookie year. That combination is precisely what pushes a Day 2 grade into the fifth round, and Seattle took him at 142 knowing the first season was a redshirt in everything but name.
- 01
Front-wide versatility
Notre Dame aligned him from a zero shade to a five-technique with consistent effectiveness.
- 02
Explosive get-off
His first step creates a half-body lead before the guard is out of his stance.
- 03
Scalable career production
He recorded 16.0 sacks and 23.5 tackles for loss over 61 games, earning second-team All-American honors in his best season.
- 04
Heavy, well-timed hands
He stacks and controls using a long-arm technique rather than relying on quickness.
- 05
Relentless motor
His second and third effort converts a meaningful share of stalled rushes into finished plays.
- 01
Torn ACL
A torn ACL on December 21, 2024, ended his college career and ensures a lost or heavily limited rookie season.
- 02
No athletic testing
There is no Combine or pro-day testing available, leaving teams without an athletic baseline for recovery.
- 03
Short arms
His arms measure 32 5/8 inches, which is short for an interior player, allowing longer blockers to reach his frame first.
- 04
Late production
He took four seasons to become a full-time producer, with his pass-rush plan developing only in his final year.
| Yr | Team | G | Tkl | Sk | Int | PD | FF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Notre Dame | 9 | 7 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2021 | Notre Dame | 13 | 16 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2022 | Notre Dame | 13 | 20 | 2.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2023 | Notre Dame | 13 | 42 | 2.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2024 | Notre Dame | 13 | 37 | 7.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Career | — | 61 | 122 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
A dash means the figure is not published by a source we trust — never a zero we invented.
Versatile rotational defender who plays 400 snaps a season across multiple alignments.
Long-developing interior lineman who becomes a full-time starter with double-digit disruption every year.
Post-injury interior player whose burst never returns and who bounces between practice squads.
Everything above is the pre-draft evaluation. This section is what actually happened — updated year over year.
Rookie year in Seattle: placed on reserve/NFI July 15 with the December ACL tear, activated December 13, debuted December 14 against Indianapolis on seven defensive snaps. Three tackles in the regular season, plus his first career sack in Super Bowl LX.
Seattle bought the injury and got paid for the patience inside a single season. Mills went on the reserve/non-football injury list on July 15, 2025 as one of six Seahawks rookies placed there, spent the entire fall rehabilitating the December ACL, and was activated on December 13. He made his NFL debut a day later against Indianapolis, playing seven defensive snaps in an 18-16 win, and finished the regular season with three tackles. Then, on February 8, 2026, he recorded his first career sack in Super Bowl LX, driving Patriots guard Jared Wilson into Drake Maye as Seattle won 29-13.
That is an absurd way to start a career, and it should not obscure how little we actually know. Seven regular-season defensive snaps and a postseason run do not constitute an evaluation; they constitute a clean bill of health and one very good rep on the biggest stage. What matters going into year two is whether the get-off returns at full strength, because that first step is the whole basis of his projection. If the knee holds and the burst comes back, the versatile interior rusher who put up 7.5 sacks in his last healthy season is a rotational starter inside a good front. If it does not, he becomes a heavy-handed base body without the length to compensate.