Joel Klatt predicts two familiar landing spots for Michigan football stars in 2025 NFL Draft

Day 1 of the 2025 NFL Draft is two days away and the Michigan Wolverines could have four players go on Thursday night in the first round. Michigan saw J.J. McCarthy go 10th overall last year to the Minnesota Vikings, and it's more than likely DT Mason Graham goes before then. After Graham, the Wolverines have guys like CB Will Johnson, TE Colston Loveland, and DT Kenneth Grant who are all projected to go somewhere in the first round.

One analyst who knows Michigan quite well is Fox commentator Joel Klatt. On his podcast, Klatt revealed his final mock draft ahead of the big day. He commentates several Michigan games every year on Big Noon Fox, and he believes all four players will go in the first 32 picks on Thursday.

Here is where Klatt see's all four Wolverines going in Round 1.

DT Mason Graham: No. 6 overall to the Las Vegas Raiders

"I think having a dominant defensive lineman, in particular in the interior, that can push the pocket into the lap of those quarterbacks is advantageous," Klatt said. "This is what this kid can do. I think he's going to be an outstanding player.

"In a lot of ways, he's been, at least in my estimation, as I've evaluated college football, he's been one of the most disruptive interior defensive linemen since Ndamukong Suh. Heck, I mean, he basically beat Ohio State last year with the help of maybe a banged up quarterback and some interesting play selections. But he's amazing.

"Got Geno Smith on offense. Pete Carroll comes in, gets this organization back on track. How?

"Front to back, inside out. That's how you build defense. Front to back, inside out.

"Who's that? Mason Graham. He's like a cornerstone piece.”

CB Will Johnson: No. 11 overall to the San Francisco 49ers

“No. 11, San Francisco. They need help all over. They need to rebuild the roster in a lot of places," said Klatt.

"They lost a ton of guys in free agency. And so in some ways, I think that they can just take best player available. And there's a guy that has slipped to this point in the draft that otherwise would have gone probably in the top five or six, save for some injuries that he had and specifically an injury to his toe.

"And that's Will Johnson, the corner from Michigan. I look at Will Johnson as kind of a perfect San Francisco 49er. I think he fits what John Lynch wants to do. He's long. He's tough. He's got great instincts, great ball skills, and he's a terrific corner.

"Again, if he wasn't hurt, he'd definitely be off the board at this point. But he has struggled with that turf toe to stay on the field. That kept him out, really, majority of the season.

“But when you looked at when he was healthy, even when he was playing great offenses and wide receivers like Ohio State with Marvin Harrison Jr., man, this guy is a dog. He's making plays early in his career as a freshman. He's making plays on the football, taking them back for six.”

TE Colston Loveland: No. 18 overall to the Seattle Seahawks

“Mike McDonald sees Michigan tight end, Colston Loveland, and he's like, yep, boom. Colston Loveland goes to Seattle. The offense will look different this year," Klatt said.

"Sam Darnold at quarterback, Cooper Kupp at wide receiver to pair with Jaxon Smith-Njigba. Why not give him a guy who, like I said, creates his own space? Doesn't exploit the space on the field like a Tyler Warren, creates his own space with awesome routes. Very good route runner. Again, he can go out and be a single wide receiver. He can line up in line.

"He's very versatile in terms of that. And I think Loveland is too good to pass up and reunites with Mike McDonald right there, who of course was the defense coordinator at Michigan just a couple of years ago.”

DT Kenneth Grant: No. 22 overall to the Los Angeles Chargers

“Kenneth Grant will get selected if he's still on the board by the Chargers," said Klatt. "There's no doubt in my mind. Jim Harbaugh, Jesse Minter, they both love this guy.

"They've told me since he was a young guy that he's going to be the best of all of them, that he's going to be a dominant NFL player. He's just scratching the surface of his potential. He's explosive.

"He was hawking down Nic Singleton from Penn State. He's disruptive. He will continue to get better and better and better and more polished as it relates to being a pass rusher as he gets more experience.

"He doesn't have a ton of experience, but man, he is strong. He is big and he's a guy that can be disruptive. And mark my words, if he's on the board, Minter and Harbaugh are going to run and select him.”

- Enjoy more Michigan Wolverines coverage on Michigan Wolverines On SI -

More Michigan News:

NFL Draft: Where Michigan football stars are predicted to go in this ESPN final mock draft

Michigan basketball veteran announces return for 2025-26 season

Michigan Football: Spring Game takeaways, how Bryce Underwood fared in 'live' action

For additional coverage of University of Michigan athletics:

Subscribe to our YouTube channel: @WingedHelmetMedia
Follow us on Facebook: @TheWingedHelmet
Follow us on Twitter: @TWH_chris | @TrentKnoop | @JerredJohnson