Notre Dame football has the bones of a potent offense under head coach Marcus Freeman, offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock, and star quarterback CJ Carr.

The Fighting Irish slot position, however, has been quiet through four games of the 2026 college football season, and finding a way to jumpstart production from the middle of the field could be the key to unlocking the full potential of this passing attack. Without that presence, there are some limitations to the ceiling.

There have been some great breakouts for Notre Dame’s offense, including wide receiver Micah Gilbert on the boundary, who leads the team in receiving yards with 334 through four games. Jordan Faison has also been dependable as the Z field receiver, creating plays after the catch as a route runner and even hauling in a contested grab this past weekend against Purdue.

With a rushing attack making incremental steps each week, there is a very strong argument that this Fighting Irish offense could be a really good one when the games start mattering most.

The slot and tight end production is a concern

There is one spot that Notre Dame needs to figure out, and that is the slot position, where Jaden Greathouse and Mylan Graham have been pretty quiet. As a duo, they have managed to haul in just nine receptions for 122 yards through four games.

While that isn’t the end of the world, it becomes especially troubling when you consider that the tight end position has also been an underwhelming group in terms of pass game production. As a unit, the tight ends have also hauled in just nine receptions for 69 yards and three touchdowns.

There was increased volume to Cooper Flanagan and James Flanigan during the most recent 49-10 victory against Purdue. That volume, however, is not what we have seen in years past. Barring something unforeseen, it appears that the tight end position is going to serve more as a blocking foundation with seldom pass-catching use outside of maybe some red zone targets.

With both interior pass-catching positions quiet, Carr and company need to find ways to consistently attack the middle of the field, or at least present a threat there.

The potential fix on the horizon

There is a potential answer that could jumpstart the slot position. Gilbert has been used inside a little bit at times in the last couple of games, and Faison is a player who would profile perfectly in the slot. The problem there, though, is that moving either one inside would require finding another pass catcher who can be a weapon outside the numbers.

The most obvious answer is Quincy Porter, who transferred over from Ohio State this offseason. At 6-4, 215 pounds, Porter is a tantalizing combination of size and athleticism. With the injury recovery, it’s just uncertain how much Notre Dame will be able to depend on Porter throughout the 2026 season.

If he can come back and provide any type of impact, that could allow the Irish to work him and Gilbert on the two outside positions while focusing Faison more in the slot. You could also flip it, utilizing Faison more on the outside and throwing Gilbert into the slot.

It doesn’t matter where the production comes from. What matters is that the Greathouse-Graham duo has not given Notre Dame a tremendous amount of production early on, and Carr is clearly not comfortable leaning on that pairing.

Being able to utilize Faison or Gilbert in the slot more would open up the entirety of this passing offense and the intricacies it can potentially bring.

Could younger players also factor in?

While Porter is the obvious answer, Notre Dame could also look to some younger options.

There have been flashes from Jerome Bettis Jr. and Elijah Burress when they’ve been on the field in South Bend, although that has been more in a blowout capacity. Does one of these younger players start to get more opportunities? Down the stretch of the season, could a true freshman like Devin Fitzgerald provide some needed reps?

No matter what the answer is, the easiest path to jumpstarting the slot position is to find more outside-oriented wide receiver options so that players like Faison and Gilbert can be utilized in the slot.

That could allow for some very fun alignment versatility and make it much harder for defenses to key in on Gilbert and Faison on a snap-to-snap basis. That feels like the clearest path toward getting the slot position going.