Three Wolverines Declare For NFL Draft

After a very successful season, several Wolverines are looking ahead and focusing on the NFL.

Even though everyone in the football world expected it, it's now official that Aidan Hutchinson will enter the 2022 NFL Draft.

GO BLUE FOREVER〽️ pic.twitter.com/CuqtpYp537

— Aidan Hutchinson (@aidanhutch97) January 5, 2022

After an incredible season, Hutchinson is now viewed as one of the top overall prospects in the entire draft. It's a guarantee that he'll be drafted in the top five and there's a chance he goes No. 1 overall. After breaking the single-season sack record at Michigan, Hutchinson was invited to New York as a Heisman finalist and was instrumental to U-M's success this season. He's a captain, an insanely hard worker and very productive — he's going to make an NFL franchise very happy in a few months.

In somewhat surprising news given the fact that he wasn't overly productive at Michigan this year, wide receiver Daylen Baldwin has also announced that he'll be entering the NFL Draft.

Baldwin finished the season with just 17 catches for 256 yards and two scores. His snap count fluctuated throughout the year but he was solid for U-M as an FCS transfer coming from Jackson State. Baldwin might not be on many draft boards, but he's got the size and ability to make a roster even if he goes undrafted. 

Finally, the most surprising development is that defensive tackle Christopher Hinton will also forego his senior season and head off to the NFL.

It's not surprising from an ability standpoint, it's surprising only because Hinton hadn't really been mentioned as an early entry type of player. At 6-4, 310-pounds and with plus athleticism, Hinton has the skills to impress NFL general managers. Production wise he didn't light it up in 2021 finishing with just 32 tackles and one sack, but he's got the size-strength-speed combination that works in the NFL and he's got great bloodlines as the son of a former all pro. 

With David Ojabo, Hutchinson and now Hinton off to the NFL, along with defensive line coach Shaun Nua taking his talents to USC, that defensive unit is going to be very, very different next season. It's going to be fun to see who steps up and if Michigan makes any additions to its defense via the transfer portal. It's also going to be very interesting to see how Mike Macdonald pieces things together in year two.