Wheatley Jr. 2019 First round NFL pick?

Submitted by GhostofJermain… on

Like most of you I'm bored without football (18 days) and was poking around on the web.  I found a few mock drafts and was surprised to see Wheatley Jr. projected as a first round pick in 2019.

I wanted to see what everyone thought about this?  

I know the whole NFL dna thing, and that he's got the size but still first round?!   My belief was he was our best blocking TE, and was shredding some weight to get faster.  Also that he has great hands, and a smart player.  Also more TE's have been going in first round the past few years (Engram, Njoku, Ebron, and Eifert among others).  

Are we sitting on a gold mine?  Is he going to blow up this year, and come back his senior year to be the top TE in 2019 and an NFL draft pick?  My guess is if he goes first round it will mean the next 2 years he plays very well.  Before reading this mock draft I was thinking our TE group would produce around 30-40 catches, 4-8 TD's and maybe 400 yards.  Now I'm starting to think coach Harbaugh knows something we don't, and I like it!

http://walterfootball.com/draft2019_1.php

Night_King

August 15th, 2017 at 3:35 PM ^

Mike Weber was also included in that mock you pasted, pick #32. I immediately closed my window and decided it is a very shitty mock draft. Mock drafting two years out is weird. 

Ali G Bomaye

August 15th, 2017 at 3:54 PM ^

A lot of projection this far out is looking at teams, coaches, and players' roles, especially for mock drafts put together by guys who aren't actual scouts.

Ezekiel Elliott was the previous OSU RB and was drafted 4th overall? Hmm, maybe we should pencil his successor in as a first-rund pick. It's probably the same story with Wheatley - Jake Butt would have been an early-round pick if he didn't mash up his knee, and Wheatley is even bigger and faster, so this guy thinks that maybe he'll be picked even higher. I don't think there's any more science to the process than that.

814 East U

August 15th, 2017 at 3:36 PM ^

NFL mocks this early are pointless IMO. I remember when Damontre Moore out of TAMU was in the top #3 across many mocks. He went 2nd round.

Thread hijack: what is the full story behind Wheatley Sr. leaving (if there is one)?

 

Blueblood2991

August 15th, 2017 at 3:51 PM ^

I agree with your hypothesis. We are in the era where guys like Dabo Swinney, PJ Fleck, Ed Oregeron, Willie Taggart have jumped right from position coaches to head coaches and have been relatively successful without being coordinators.  

I think he might have been a little bummed that he didn't get the WMU job and decided the NFL might be a quicker route.

Or he just likes being in the pros more, but internet speculation is more fun.

GhostofJermain…

August 15th, 2017 at 3:58 PM ^

But there are stories being told on why he left.  Maybe  Mantis, or umbig can share, but I will say this.  There were some coaches at powerhouse MI high schools who were talking about it well before it was offical.  Also, rumors of beef with Isaac and not seeing eye to eye with coach towards the end of the season.  Then of course the whole twitter cryptic posts and selfies at Denby/Detroit.  Jay did a great job recruiting the top TE's in country, so my guess is giving Jay this opportunity with the rb's will be no different.  Coach Wheatley is my favorite player of all time, and I think he will be a great head coach one day, but there was certainly more when it came to why he's gone.

Perkis-Size Me

August 15th, 2017 at 3:48 PM ^

The dude has talent but he's barely played. It's ridiculous to assume what his NFL prospects are at this point because there is almost no data to go by. 

Ask again this time next year. 

MGoShorts

August 15th, 2017 at 3:49 PM ^

Lorenz continues to assert that Wheatley will lead all Michigan TEs in yards this season. He's the kind of guy who only makes predictions when he has real information to back it up (i.e. someone inside the program is confident Wheatley is about to blow up), so I wouldn't be shocked if Wheatley's usage and production go through the roof.

There's no reason why he can't be just as good as OJ Howard. Wheatley isn't quite as smooth or explosive, but he could end up being a much more powerful blocker.

MGoShorts

August 15th, 2017 at 4:22 PM ^

He still has a huge amount of receiving upside we haven't seen. Who knows how much faster he plays after dropping 20 pounds? Between that and the value he could bring as a run blocker, he definitely has first-day potential.

BlueWon

August 15th, 2017 at 6:31 PM ^

and love TJ (my kid went to school with him for seven years when he lived in A2) and thought McKeon looked really, really good. He has better wheeels than does TJ.

Maybe they'll both make it to the NFL (along with Bunting).

Cdat33

August 15th, 2017 at 3:57 PM ^

He has Gary at 6 in this mock. Pointed out that he wasn't very productive his freshman year. He clearly just looks at counting stats. IMO Gary is a top 5 pick and a viable candidate for top 3. 

Aged Wolverine 68

August 15th, 2017 at 4:21 PM ^

Not saying coach would let him get away with it, but some of these college kids coast thru their third yr as to not get hurt for draft. Not that I blame them. Huge money careers await these blue chips.

 

That for sure wont be an issue this yr. Good god that kid looks like someone from your worst nightmares. Just a machine that can chew you up, and spit you out. Then ask for more. Good thing he is a blue terror. :)

 

I almost feel sorry for O linement that have to face him. Almost.

MichiganStan

August 16th, 2017 at 4:48 PM ^

Gary will be the #1 overall pick

His combine will be insane. He is already faster than Myles Garret and Myles Garrets 40 time was a big deal. His bench press in high school was already good enough for the NFL combine. He has extremely high character. He is smart.

Its going to be exciting to see him get drafted. No way he falls out of the Top 3. His measureables are too amazing

Lastly look toward the future, Michigans Defensive Line is going to be one of the best the school has ever had with Solomon and the rest of the 2017ers maturing. This will allow for Gary to rack up the sacks, pressures, and tfls which will just add more to his resume

 

Mongo

August 15th, 2017 at 9:01 PM ^

Wheatley is not athletic enough to be a 1st rounder. Gentry has higher upsize in the NFL given his speed, but that is only possible if Gentry gets serious and puts on 25lbs of pure muscle while maintaining his speed and gets a mean-streak like a pro.