Rylie Mills NFL Draft 2025: Scouting Report for Notre Dame DL

HEIGHT: 6'5"

WEIGHT: 291

HAND: 9⅞” 

ARM: 32⅝”

WINGSPAN: 79¾”

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POSITIVES

— Good size for an NFL interior defensive lineman.

— Impressive upper-body strength to win at the point of attack and get extension on blocks as a run defender.

— Can stack and shed, has shown an arm-over move to escape blocks and can make tackles with offensive linemen hanging on him.

— Solid power as a pass-rusher to collapse the pocket with a bull rush or win with a hump move.

— Has flashed decent rip and swim moves as well as active hands to occasionally defeat the offensive lineman's hands.

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NEGATIVES

— Subpar overall athlete who lacks quickness and twitch.

— Doesn't accelerate off the ball well and has a habit of standing up out of his stance, especially when he gets tired at the end of games.

— Lack of agility makes him susceptible to getting reached in the running game.

— Struggles to stay in his gap or hold ground against double-teams/combo blocks.

— Has stiff hips, hurting his ability to clear his lower half and get clean wins with finesse moves and corner at the top of the pass rush.

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NOTES

— Born Aug. 20, 2001

— 4-star recruit in the 2020 class, per 247Sports

— Injuries: 2024 (Right Knee, missed 3 games in the CFP)

— 2024: Second-Team All-American

— Made Bruce Feldman's list of exceptional college football athletes twice

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OVERALL

Rylie Mills is an older prospect who spent five years at Notre Dame before heading to the NFL draft. He'll be a 24-year-old rookie.

Mills was originally an edge player, but he moved inside for the last two seasons after putting on weight to eclipse 300 pounds in 2023 and then cut to about 295 this past season. The latter seems to be the sweet spot for him.

In the running game, Mills is hard to move with one-on-one blocks. He recognizes blocking schemes well to put himself in a good position to take on blocks, has impressive strength at the point of attack to get extension and has shown several ways to make tackles.

However, he does struggle against double-teams due to a combination of subpar pad level and trying to take on both blockers instead of beating the man he's lined up across from.

The Notre Dame product primarily wins with power as a pass-rusher, but he added to his arsenal this season by showing decent rip, swim and hand-swipe moves. However, his lack of athleticism and tight hips will limit his ability to win with finesse in the NFL and make it difficult for him to take efficient paths to the quarterback or corner at the top of the rush.

Overall, Mills could be a solid run defender and occasional contributor as a pass-rusher in the NFL. His draft projection could vary based on how high teams view his ceiling given his age. Schematically, he'd be best as a 4i-technique in odd fronts.

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GRADE: 6.6 (Potential Role Player — 4th Round)

OVERALL RANK: 158

POSITION RANK: DL15

PRO COMPARISON: Dean Lowry

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Written by B/R NFL Scout Matt Holder

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Prospect workout numbers, measurables (40-yard dash, hand size, etc.) and 2024 statistics will be added at a later date.