Most of the offseason buzz around Notre Dame has centered on Jeremiyah Love and what he might do with the Arizona Cardinals. But another former Fighting Irish standout is already turning heads in a different NFL camp.
Malachi Fields, the wide receiver the New York Giants took with the No. 74 overall pick in the 2026 NFL draft, has drawn early praise as training camp begins. ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported that the Giants are “highly impressed” with what they’ve seen from Fields so far, a notable start for a player who didn’t arrive with the same level of hype as some of his draft classmates.
Fields put together a strong senior season at Notre Dame, finishing with 630 receiving yards and five touchdowns. At 6-foot-4, he brings a size advantage that stands out in the Giants’ receiver room, where he is currently the tallest wideout on the roster. He’s also viewed as a 50-50 deep-ball threat and is listed as the team’s WR4 behind Malik Nabers, Darnell Mooney, and Darius Slayton heading into the season.
His path to this point included four years at Virginia, where he totaled 129 catches for 1,849 yards and 11 touchdowns before transferring to Notre Dame.
The Giants have packed their receiver group this offseason, adding Darnell Mooney and Calvin Austin III in free agency while also bringing in veterans Odell Beckham Jr. and JuJu Smith-Schuster on comeback timelines. Jalin Hyatt and Isaiah Hodgins are still in the mix, too. Even with all that competition, Fields is the rookie making the strongest early push.
That doesn’t guarantee a bigger role right away, and the WR4 spot may be as high as he climbs for now. But if Fields keeps showing the kind of body control and strong hands that have already caught the Giants’ attention, he could keep building a case for more. For a New York team looking for positive signs on offense, that’s a development worth watching.
In Other News...
Brian Kelly Is Already Getting Roasted For His Latest Hot Take
Brian Kelly is wasting no time trying to settle into his next act, and the former Notre Dame and LSU coach has already put himself back in the spotlight with a bold prediction about the national title race. Now moving into broadcasting, Kelly publicly picked Texas as the team to beat in 2026, a take that was meant to sound authoritative but quickly turned into another online talking point for a coach whose public image has taken plenty of hits.
Instead of sparking respect, Kellys forecast drew heavy criticism and mockery from fans and analysts, many of whom questioned whether he was the right voice to handicap the SEC after the way his recent coaching run played out. For Notre Dame fans who remember plenty of Kelly-era debate already, it was another reminder that even off the sideline, he still tends to invite a reaction before he can finish a sentence. [Read more 🡒]
Notre Dame Suddenly Sits At The Center Of A Major Independence Fight
College sports realignment has found Notre Dame in a familiar but increasingly consequential spot. Big Ten presidents and chancellors have officially voted to back new language in the Protect College Sports Act, nudging the legislation closer to a Senate vote and putting fresh attention on one of the sports most talked-about independents. Notre Dame has already signaled support for the bill, in large part because it would preserve a path to join a conference right away if the situation ever demanded it.
The broader push is still very much unsettled, though, and that is where the intrigue for Notre Dame really begins. The SEC is holding meetings to weigh its own support, Congress remains divided, and the measure still needs 60 Senate votes to move forward. For a program that has built its identity around independence, the fact that its preferred fallback plan is now part of a major legislative fight says plenty about how much the ground beneath college sports continues to shift. [Read more 🡒]