TheRinger's Title Game Players To Watch
JJ, Corum, Edwards, Jenkins, Rod Moore, Mike.
Pretty surface-level analysis, generally, but I did like this:
I don’t care that Sainristil is small by NFL cornerback standards. I would want him on my football team.
Same, bruh. Same.
January 5th, 2024 at 10:23 AM ^
Sainristil must be doing some work for his draft grade with all the attention the 2nd half of this season. Idk how far he can climb but I hope his intangibles can push him before day 3.
January 5th, 2024 at 11:06 AM ^
He has the makings of a long term special teams leader who also happens to be a team Captain. Matthew Slater comes to mind.
January 5th, 2024 at 11:35 AM ^
While I definitely see him as a patriots type of player (Slater). I think this premise severely downplays how the league views him. Nickel is a starting position in the NFL, and Mikey is going to start for an NFL team. He may play some special teams as well due to versatility but he doesn’t make it past Baltimores 3rd pick. He’s 5’10 not 5’7 and explosive/playmaker.
January 5th, 2024 at 11:41 AM ^
I hope you’re right and I’m wrong! I’d love nothing more than to see Mike battling all those NFL slots and TEs who think he’s mismatched on them.
January 5th, 2024 at 1:37 PM ^
Slater...No
Maybe a decade ago there'd be no every down spot for a player like Mikey.
With today's offenses, Mikey is the ideal slot corner / Nickel. He can cover slot receivers while playing the run incredibly well for his size. Most slot WR road runner types are under 6 ft.
An outside corner in the NFL he is not, but he's absolutely much more than a special teams player, specifically when going up against pass heavy offenses.
January 5th, 2024 at 11:36 AM ^
Not sure why he gets written off so much as only a ST contributor in the NFL, as I can see him possibly seeing some snaps at nickel in the NFL. He's obviously not the ideal measurements, but he's got the same listed height as Jourdan Lewis (now in his 7th year!), albeit 10lbs lighter. DJ Turner is about the same weight and only an inch taller. Antoine Winfield is only 5'9" and won a Super Bowl.
Maybe it's my Rose (Bowl) colored glasses, though :)
January 5th, 2024 at 11:35 AM ^
Day 2 seems guaranteed at this point. He plays a premium position with solid tape covering future NFLers, tackling, blitzing, and creating turnovers. He won't run a 4.26, but he's the same size as DJ Turner.
January 5th, 2024 at 12:14 PM ^
I do mock drafts during Lions games as a stress reliever. I always have Detroit picking Sainristil b/c he's so undervalued. I'd say his avg draft position depending on which site was about 145 a couple months ago and is now about 115 and continuing to rise. I've seen him slotted in the 90s recently which puts him Day 2.
But he won't fall. His size will turn some teams off but his other intangibles will make him a target for some teams (possibly Detroit). He's also a versatile DB and has no fear. I think he'll be more than just special teams player just b/c I don't think Sainristil will ever be denied his goal
January 5th, 2024 at 10:32 AM ^
Odd article. The author is going to look silly after Michigan has 10+ players drafted.
January 5th, 2024 at 11:37 AM ^
Eh probably more like 14-15+. There are a lot of guy who have NFL positional versatility on this team and maybe not superstars at that level but will play above replacement grade for many years.
January 5th, 2024 at 10:41 AM ^
One of the reasons I've loved reading this blog's content is it's allowed me to be able to not just ball watch on a play. It really is intriguing keeping your eyes on a certain player and seeing where they go and how they affect the play, or if you watch just the OLine/DLine to see how they reset the line of scrimmage. It's going to be fun regardless and I am very excited for the 8th to get here!
January 5th, 2024 at 11:19 AM ^
Maybe they didn't mention him because he's only a sophomore, but Mason Graham is as important as anybody else on the Michigan defense.
January 5th, 2024 at 12:24 PM ^
I think the article was only covering players who could be draft eligible.
January 5th, 2024 at 11:43 AM ^
I think Mason Graham has a good argument for being the most underrated player in the country. I don't think any national media even knows his name
January 5th, 2024 at 11:43 AM ^
Pretty surface-level analysis
It wouldn't be a Ringer article about college football if it wasn't.
I don't really get the claim that Jenkins's role has diminished because he's not developed as a pass rusher. I think Mason Graham is a bit ahead of him but Graham looks like an NFL first-rounder and an All-American; Jenkins is still a really good pass rusher and interior lineman who's just doing what the defense demands of him. He had one sack against Alabama and probably could have had more but he (and the rest of the line) kept gap integrity and limited Milroe's ability to escape from the pocket. That's schematic, not talent. Also, nobody on the line plays a ton of snaps and that's, again, by design. Last year they didn't have as much depth and so everyone played more.
In general the article seems to paint Michigan as less talented than they are and yet UM somehow has overcome it. This was mentioned in the podcast but recruiting rankings stop being relevant after a while, and so saying that Donovan Edwards was a former 4* (he was in fact a 5* and the #1/#2 back in the country depending where you looked) doesn't mean he's playing like one now, and by comparison the fact that Penix was the #247 player in the class isn't really important in evaluating them now. These are two really talented teams and Michigan, in particular, has just showed that coaching up the #115 kid in the composite will make him way better than the #94 kid who wound up going to Miami and has been through 3 different offensive coordinators in 3 seasons, for example.
January 5th, 2024 at 11:54 AM ^
There was an article over at TMI around the PSU game or so that Jenkins had been dealing with some type of high ankle sprain, which does correspond a bit to a slight dip in production and UFR scores. I thought was a bit suspect because I hadn't heard of many guys playing through something like that, but maybe it's different for DL vs skill position players. It does seem like he has sort of hit about his college ceiling, where Graham is still ascending.
Very interesting to me in general that we supposedly have a bunch of B+ pass rushers...but as soon as we have an opponent in a position where we know they are going to throw (3rd and long, the entire final OSU possession, Maryland's final possessions) we're generating a ton of pressure with 4 or 5 man rushers seemingly at will.
January 5th, 2024 at 12:59 PM ^
Graham still has the “chubby” high school heavyweight wrestler build. I can’t imagine what he’s gonna do when he grows into that body. Tbh, I don’t want the dude to change, he’s a wrecking ball as is and as an ex wrestler he’s been my hands down favorite player since I watched him.
January 5th, 2024 at 1:47 PM ^
Yeah, I agree Jenkins is probably a bit lower potential-wise than Graham but he's still one of the best defensive tackles in the conference, and by extension, the country, especially given the fact he's a plus pass rusher. I do suspect he had a bit of an injury he was dealing with, as it sounds like a lot of guys were.
January 5th, 2024 at 11:47 AM ^
The Ringer only cares about college football through the lens of the draft, so their stuff is always nonsense. Because the head honcho is from New England and they could not care less about this sport.
January 5th, 2024 at 12:33 PM ^
I do enjoy listening to Ryen Russillo's podcast. He covers CFB pretty extensively on it and I find his takes pretty palatable most of the time.
January 5th, 2024 at 1:03 PM ^
This reads like someone hasn't been watching us very long. They were just like "the captains and the quarterback and the 5* RB we've heard about from last year. And the guy that made that interception against Ohio State." No mention of KG/OMG or the rest of our D-Line? Loveland? Any blockers at all? Wilson? I'm very confused.
January 5th, 2024 at 3:16 PM ^
The only mention of our DL being to call Jenkins one dimensional and limited is a travesty. I know it's from a draft perspective and the rest of the guys are young, but still.
I also think saying Mikey needs a great championship performance and combine performance to *maybe* go high day 3 seems low, but the draft isn't about who is best ig. But I think if Mikey tore up the combine he would be a day 2 pick.
January 5th, 2024 at 7:51 PM ^
Any moron on the street would list those players. Not terribly incisive.