Need 16 players drafted to break record held by Georgia
We need to have 16 players drafted, to break the record of most in a single year, set by Georgia in 2022. I think we have 18 at the combine and another 3 in Q.Johnson, Turner, and Goode who are draft eligible.
Notable on the list is 2017 was the year we best fared, with 11... and those were Hoke recruits.
I think it is gonna be close, and this will hold my interest to track the draft in the last round.
February 14th, 2024 at 11:58 AM ^
Having the draft an hour from campus is perfect. I can't remember if the draft is around finals, but it would be a great way to bookend the traditional school year.
February 14th, 2024 at 2:00 PM ^
The draft is April 25th - 27th....
Don't know how that aligns with Michigan Finals...
February 14th, 2024 at 7:25 PM ^
https://ro.umich.edu/calendars/final-exams/2024-winter
Winter 2024 Final Examination Schedule
April 25, 26, 29-May 2, 2024
Looks like it overlaps a lot
February 14th, 2024 at 11:59 AM ^
Is there a place that shows a full draft projection?
I think Michigan will end up falling short of the overall record by a few guys.
Also, I saw on The Ringer that JJ was projected to go 8th to the Falcons. That would be a great spot for him as Atlanta was really a good QB away from competing last year.
https://nfldraft.theringer.com/mock-draft?list=solak
February 14th, 2024 at 12:55 PM ^
I don't know why but I think he goes 9 to the bears. Hometown kid. Bears will trade top pick and get a ton in return and then come back at 9 to take JJ. But that implies moving on from Fields.
February 14th, 2024 at 1:58 PM ^
I sincerely hope the Bears aren't smart enough to do that, and instead go all in for Caleb.
February 14th, 2024 at 11:45 PM ^
Bears will trade their current QB and take Caleb #1.
February 14th, 2024 at 2:15 PM ^
If you Google "NFL Draft Big Boards" you'll get plenty of solid responses. There is also links to mock draft simulators if your a junkie and want to play GM. I use Pro Football Network site, but there are others. These sites have all the players ranked as well...
Pro Football Network site has Michigan players ranked as follow:
21 - JJ
97 - Blake
94 - Roman Wilson
280 - Cornelius Johnson
200 - AJ
168 - Henderson
400 - Barnhart
145 - Zinter
492!! - Keegan
162 - Nugent
423 - Trente Jones
61 - Jenkins
564 - Cam Goode
309 - McGregor
323 - Harrell
106 - Colson
565!! - Barrett
331 - Wallace
415 - Turner
Johnson is not listed...
The update their Big Board every other week. At least this one source is not as high on some of the players as we are (personally I believe 14 is a safe floor and 16 is possible) and the others would be scoped up as UDFA
February 14th, 2024 at 3:12 PM ^
if i had to guess
1) JJ
2-3) Jenkins, Sainristil, Colson, Wilson
4-5) Corum, Zinter, Nugent
6-7) Henderson, Barner, T. Jones, Keegan, Wallace, Barrett, CJ, (Harrell/McGregor)
UDFA) Turner, (Harrell/McGregor), Barnhart, Goode, Q. Johnson
makes ~16 with way more downside than upside
though the bolded i haven't seen consistently rated highly on scouting boards, were simply too productive this year to not be in demand for at least a plug & play specialist role somewhere
have to wonder if LAC, SEA, BAL scoops up some of the day 3 guys up knowing first-hand their makeup
February 14th, 2024 at 2:48 PM ^
What are you basing Michigan falling short on?
Everything appears like they will break it.
Let's not forget they will have Seattle, LA & the Ravens that could all favor Michigan players especially on defense.
February 14th, 2024 at 11:59 AM ^
Here are the players from another post who were invited to the combine. Here are some rankings of the players. I'm not sure who would be drafted or not.
February 14th, 2024 at 12:15 PM ^
I see a number of them going undrafted. They were good football players, but a lot of people confuse the draft for some kind of final college grade when it’s mostly gambling on elite measurables.
February 14th, 2024 at 12:27 PM ^
There are 259 picks. The link has 14 being drafted, Cornelius Johnson at 357 (undrafted), and does not list Trente Jones, Karsen Barnhart, and Josh Wallace.
I bet Trente gets drafted--the NFL won't care that he only had a few starts--making 15 with that adjustment.
February 14th, 2024 at 1:34 PM ^
I wouldn't be too surprised to see Barnhart drafted in the final couple rounds, being that he would much more likely project as a guard rather than tackle. And if he does slip through undrafted I'm certain that teams will line up with free agent offers.
There's only two reasons he hasn't been playing guard all along and both of them are sure-fire NFL draft picks (Zinter and Keegan).
February 14th, 2024 at 12:57 PM ^
Eligible but not at combine is QJ, Turner, and Goode. After Moody succes I'm gonna guess someone takes Turner, who did really well for us.
February 14th, 2024 at 1:05 PM ^
i think we match their 15.
February 14th, 2024 at 1:06 PM ^
That's cool, but they had 5 taken in the first round, including #1 overall and 2 more in the 2nd and 2 more in the 3rd. Its cool on the overall count, but we aren't gonna have that kind of draft. Rings hollow a bit when OSU has 4 guys in the first round and we have 4 in the 4th, and we say.. see we had the same as them!
February 14th, 2024 at 1:42 PM ^
42-27
45-23
30-24
Nothing rings hollow right now amigo.
NFL teams are built through depth on draft picks between rounds 3-6, btw. It's where GM's make their money. Round 1 is the GM killer - how they lose their jobs. Further, the NFL is leaning towards offense these days, so OSU have a bunch of WRs going in round 1 the past few years is no surprise. Stroud was a great pick, and kudos to him for being a legit, potentially long-term elite NFL QB.
And if you're worried about "elite", Grant, Graham and Will Johnson are likely first rounders next year, despite being on the defensive side of the ball. Loveland has the talent to go full Bowers and go in round 1 next year as well.
Regarding UGA and Bama...yes, they have been on another level in terms of talent acquisition and NFL development, basically OSU level recruiting + UM level development.
February 14th, 2024 at 2:45 PM ^
And all that is awesome, but saying 16 is better than 15 is what rings hollow when their talent level in that draft was simply higher. Its not a knock on us, its arguably a +1 because of how well we developed guys. But its still true
February 14th, 2024 at 1:54 PM ^
Rings hollow? I think setting the draft record with most of the players going mid-rounds would be the perfect encapsulation of this team’s legacy.
Michigan bucked convention and won by achieving the highest success rate on player development in recent memory.
February 14th, 2024 at 2:44 PM ^
WHEN COMPARED TO GEORGIA. Not in life. Not forever. My goodness. We only have 2 modes here.
Blind Devotion and Utter Doom/Fire Everyone. There is something in between.
You can't objectively say that the Georgia team (btw, which had picks distributed over 2 years) was ridiculous and that 5 first round picks and still having 15 total, isn't probably a different tier than our likely 15-16 picks that will be mostly later picks?
It doesn't diminish shit - I agree - we developed players amazingly. That's not what was in question.
We're comparing our draft class to theirs and a "count" isn't considering all the factors.
February 14th, 2024 at 2:59 PM ^
Picks and rounds have as much to do with the needs of the teams doing the drafting as they do with the quality of the player. There's also different priorities between the college and pro games; plenty of great pro players were meh in college, and plenty of Heisman winners have flamed out in the pros.
In addition, certain players being in high draft locations matter more than others. Georgia may have had more 1st rounders than we did overall, but we have more 1st round QBs than they did, and that is an area of extreme individual importance.
February 14th, 2024 at 3:32 PM ^
Tesla Red,
I wasn't disagreeing with you when looking at UGA or BAMA....but OSU is very much a paper tiger the last few years. Also, most draft picks ever is still impressive, even if not comparing apples to apples due to the round selected.
If we look at OSU First Round lately
2021 - Justin Fields QB
2022 - Wilson (WR), Olave (WR),
2023 - Stroud (QB), Paris Johnson (OT), JSN (WR)
2024 - MHJ (WR)
There's a trend here, 4 receivers, 2 QBs, 1 OT. I get the NFL is stressing offense rn, but these are no longer the days of OSU having Young and Bosa and Apple and Okudah, Hooker, Lattimore, Conley, Warde going in the first round.
JTT and Sawyer played themselves out of the first round the past 2 years. Point is, UGA now and Saban Bama are the standard due to BOTH player acquisition/recruiting AND development.
2022 UGA is the standard indeed. 15 drafted, 5 first round.
2016 OSU (after choking away a repeat at a National Title, lol), close 2nd, 12 drafted, 5 first round.
As others have stated, UM's potential most draft picks ever off one team and maybe 1 first rounders (JJ) is a testament to the player development, depth and a balanced roster. Maybe someone reaches on Wilson or Jenkins as well, but probably only into the 2nd round.
February 14th, 2024 at 3:03 PM ^
This is where a chart would be handy. Recruit rankings versus draft position at the various schools. I'm guessing, if you're a high ceiling guy, but are lowly ranked relative to the average GA/Bama recruit, you're going to want to go to Michigan where you won't be completely berried on the depth chart all 3-6 years, but will get developed so that you can get drafted. Guys like DJ Turner and Benjamin St. Juste come to mind though the later isn't the best example.
February 14th, 2024 at 4:27 PM ^
Who will be drafted?
Based on the NFL-combined invited players:
Drafted (in no particular order):
McCarthy
Corum
Johnson
Wilson
Colson
Sainristill
Harrell
Barrett
Zinter
Keegan
Jenkins
I Think They're Going (again, no particular order):
Barner
Nugent
Wallace
It's a Maybe (still, no particular order):
McGregor
Jones
Henderson
Barnhart
I think we'll get there.
There are players not invited to the combine that are eligible for the draft (e.g., Q. Johnson).
February 14th, 2024 at 7:46 PM ^
DraftTek.com as of February 8, 2024 has 12 Michigan players drafted
J. J. McCarthy - 2nd round to Giants (39)
Kris Jenkins - 2nd round to Houston (59)
Blake Corum - 3rd round to Chargers (69)
Roman Wilson - 3rd round to Bears (75)
Mike Sainristil - 3rd round to Rams (83)
Zak Zinter - 3rd round to Ravens (93)
Drake Nugent - 4th round to Arizona (105)
Junior Colson - 4th round to Houston (128)
*Erick All - 5th round to Washington (138)
Jaylen Harrell - 5th round to Carolina (141)
Ladarius Henderson - 5th round to Arizona (161)
*Joe Milton III - 6th round to Chargers (183)
*Eyabi Okie-Anoma - 6th round to Houston (202)
Mike Barrett - 6th round to Jacksonville (211)
Trevor Keegan - 7th round to Tampa Bay (244)
UDFA - Braiden McGregor (24th rated DE), Cornelius Johnson (30th rated WR), A. J. Barner (13th rated TE), Karsen Barnhart (20th rated OG), Trente Jones (37th rated OG), Josh Wallace (32nd ranked CB), Cam Goode, Quentin Johnson, James Turner, William Wagner
* Players with Michigan connections
February 17th, 2024 at 3:29 PM ^
DraftTek.com as of February 15, 2024 has 13 Michigan players drafted
J. J. McCarthy - 2nd round to Vikings (42)
Kris Jenkins - 2nd round to Steelers (51)
Blake Corum - 3rd round to Chargers (69)
Roman Wilson - 3rd round to Jets (72)
Mike Sainristil - 3rd round to Rams (83)
Zak Zinter - 3rd round to Bucs (89)
Drake Nugent - 4th round to Seahawks (119)
Junior Colson - 4th round to Texans (124)
Ladarius Henderson - 5th round to Broncos (146)
*Joe Milton III - 6th round to Rams (154)
Jaylen Harrell - 5th round to Bills (159)
*Erick All - 5th round to Chiefs (172)
Trevor Keegan - 7th round to 49ers (214)
Mike Barrett - 6th round to Titans (219)
*Eyabi Okie-Anoma - 6th round to Texans (220)
Braiden McGregor - 7th round to Chargers (256)
UDFA - Cornelius Johnson (30th rated WR), A. J. Barner (13th rated TE), Karsen Barnhart (20th rated OG), Trente Jones (37th rated OG), Josh Wallace (32nd ranked CB), Cam Goode, Quentin Johnson, James Turner, William Wagner