The Notre Dame football team clearly had a robust rushing attack in 2025, with not one but two running backs – Jeremiyah Love (no. 3) and Jadarian Price (no. 32) – getting drafted in the first round on Thursday night. On Saturday, the Buccaneers grabbed a piece of that Fighting Irish ground game for themselves, snaring guard Billy Schrauth with the 160th overall pick in the fifth round of the 2026 NFL Draft.
The Buccaneers acquired that pick from the Green Bay Packers on Friday night when they accepted a trade to move down in the third round from no. 77 to no. 84 before selecting wide receiver Ted Hurst. That led to a pair of rapid-fire selections from the Tampa Bay draft room on Saturday afternoon, with the team selecting Clemson defensive tackle DeMonte Capehart just minutes earlier at no. 155.
Like Capehart, Schrauth was a prospect the Buccaneers were a bit surprised to find available in the fifth round.
"We think he has a chance to at least be a backup interior guy who will fit in our room from a character and mentality standpoint," said Vice President of Player Personnel Mike Biehl. "We think he has a future to stick around and help us in a lot of ways. He's a road-grading, big-time finisher who's going to play with an attitude and a demeanor that we like our O-lineman to play with."
Schrauth started at both right and left guard during his three seasons at Notre Dame, logging 32 games and 22 starts overall. Though he was limited to seven starts at right guard in 2025 due to injury, he helped the Irish average 203.4 rushing yards per game and 5.7 yards per carry. Notre Dame's attack piled up 485.5 total yards per game.
The 6-5, 310-pound Schrauth has a powerful upper body and strong hands and enough lateral agility to block on the run. He also strains to finish blocks and plays to the whistle on every snap. The Bucs think he can compete for a job and be active on game day as a rookie.
"We're not expecting him to come in and immediately take over a starting spot, but by all means we want him to compete for the backup jobs with some other guys that we have on the roster already and we'll see how it all shakes out," said Biehl.
View images of University of Notre Dame G Billy Schrauth, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Fifth-Round Draft Pick
Notre Dame offensive lineman Billy Schrauth (45) runs a drill at the NFL football scouting combine in Indianapolis, Sunday, March 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Notre Dame offensive lineman Billy Schrauth (45) runs a drill at the NFL football scouting combine in Indianapolis, Sunday, March 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
Notre Dame offensive lineman Billy Schrauth (45) runs a drill at the NFL football scouting combine in Indianapolis, Sunday, March 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
