NFL Draft Analyst Names One Michigan Football Player Whose 'Picking up Steam'

The NFL Scouting Combine is here and drills begin on Thursday. Prospects began interviewing on Wednesday and former Michigan Wolverines are hoping to show off their skills to boost their draft stock.

Edge rusher Derrick Moore is likely going to be the first Wolverine off the board in this year's draft, but according to ESPN's Field Yates, Michigan edge rusher Jaishawn Barham's stock is already rising.

"Michigan edge rusherJaishawn Barham is picking up steam in the scouting community, which I don't expect to slow down anytime soon. He began his college career at Maryland and was a stand-up linebacker for much of his college career, but at 6-foot-3 and 243 pounds, he played a hefty dose of edge snaps in 2025 and showed unique explosiveness. He's a Day 2 prospect now who will only create further intrigue with a big week," wrote Yates.

Barham's draft projection

Michigan Wolverines linebacker Jaishawn Barham (1) reacts. — Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images

Michigan moved Barham to edge rusher this season, and that fit his mold. He is a fast and physical player, and Michigan allowed him to put his ears down and fly after the quarterback. At times, it hurt Barham and he would run past the ball carrier or QB, but he was far more productive as an edge rusher.

However, he was also a sure-tackler at linebacker for Michigan. He played alongside Ernest Hausmann when he arrived at Michigan in 2024 and was a top tackler on the team. But that's where he played out of control at times and ran through the hole — not seeing the running back. The move to edge allowed Barham to feature his skills, but he could play either position at the next level.

As of now, Barham is viewed as a mid-round pick. We've seen mocks with Barham going anywhere from Round 3 to Round 5. We would expect Barham to have a really good Combine and test out extremely well with how physically gifted he is. Assuming he does, Barham should see his stock take a big rise.

Barham's two-year career in Ann Arbor

Barham transferred to Michigan ahead of the 2024 season after playing for Maryland. He was a two-time All-Big Ten award winner and started 24 of 25 games for the Wolverines.

In 2024, he started at linebacker and finished second on the team with 66 tackles. He had 3.5 TFLs and one sack. But as mentioned above, the move to edge allowed his skills to really come out in 2025.

Starting seven games at edge this past season, Barham had 32 tackles, 10 TFLs, and four sacks for Michigan. On four occasions, shared Defensive Player of the Week honors for his performances against Central Michigan, at Nebraska, at MSU, at Maryland