Michigan Players Scattered Throughout Latest Mock Draft
Michigan might have a player drafted in each round of the upcoming NFL Draft per Dane Brugler of The Athletic. He has seven Michigan players getting selected with at least one Wolverine being picked in each of the first six rounds. Throw in the chance that long snapper Camaron Cheeseman is being projected as a 7th-round pick and you might have Maize and Blue representation in each round of this month's draft.
Versatile defensive end Kwity Paye is projected to go in the first round to the Minnesota Vikings. Brugler has Paye being selected with the 14th overall pick.
The Vikings haven’t drafted a defensive end in the first two rounds since 2005 (Erasmus James). So history says pass rusher won’t be the pick. But Minnesota ranked in the bottom five last season in sacks, and Paye has the athletic tools to be equally effective vs. the pass and the run.
Next is offensive tackle Jalen Mayfield, who Brugler projects to go to the Baltimore Ravens with the 58th overall pick (second round). This would obviously move Mayfield from one Harbaugh to another and would reunite the athletic tackle with former Wolverine standout Ben Bredeson who was picked by the Ravens last year.
Next up is wide receiver Nico Collins, who Brugler has going to the Kansas City Chiefs with the 94th pick (third round). Talk about an ideal situation for just about any wide receiver, especially for a guy like Collins, who would be a really interesting compliment to the smaller, speedy types already in KC. Collins would also join a slew of former Wolverines including Chad Henne, Frank Clark, Taco Charlton and Mike Danna.
Brugler has a pair of former Michigan players going in the fourth round.
He has the Detroit Lions taking cornerback Ambry Thomas with the 112th overall pick. That would pair Thomas up with Detroit's first-round cornerback selection from last year's draft, Ohio State's Jeff Okudah. The Cleveland Browns are slated to take linebacker Cameron McGrone with the 132nd overall pick.
In the fifth round, Brugler has fullback Ben Mason coming off the board. Fullback is definitely a dying position in the sport of football, but for teams who still use one, Mason could really excel. Per Brugler, the New York Jets are a team who could use Mason and he's sees them picking the bruiser with the 154th pick.
His final Michigan player selected is running back Chris Evans, who Brugler projects to go in the sixth round with the 197th overall pick to New England. Evans is a really interesting prospect because his skill set fits perfectly in today's NFL. He wasn't overly productive at U-M, and will have to answer questions about his academic suspension, but on the field he has enough skills to take a flier on. Evans would join Michael Onwenu, Josh Uche and Chase Winovich as former Wolverines on the Patriots roster.
Brugler's predictions stop there, but Cheeseman, along with defensive tackle Carlo Kemp, tight end Nick Eubanks and kicker Quinn Nordin are also potential picks and could land somewhere in the seventh round giving U-M a pick in each round.
