Ranking Michigan's NFL Draft Departures From Least to Most Impactful

Michigan had six players selected in the 2026 NFL Draft. Derrick Moore was the first Wolverine selected, as he went to the Lions at 44th overall in the second round. He was followed by Marlin Klein, who also went in the second round to the Texans. After that, it was Jaishawn Barham in the third round to the Cowboys, Jimmy Rolder in the 4th round to the Lions, Max Bredeson in the sixth round to the Vikings, and Rayshaun Benny in the 7th round to the Ravens.

With those six players now officially off to the NFL, let's dive into who ranking who Michigan will miss the least, and who they will miss the most from this group.

Sixth: Max Bredeson

Starting at 6th, Max Bredeson will be missed the least from this group, in my opinion. The biggest reason why I rank him sixth is because Michigan's new offense led by Jason Beck will not utilize the FB position hardly at all from what we understand. He will also use less tight ends in his offense, instead favoring to use more 11 personnel (one back, one tight end, three wide receivers). Max Bredeson was a terrific Wolverine during his time in Ann Arbor, but with the new offense shifting away from FB and TE utilization, he makes the most sense to rank 6th on this list.

Fifth: Rayshaun Benny

I was kind of torn between two players here for the 4th and 5th spots, but I decided to go with Rayshaun Benny at the 5th spot because ultimately, I believe Michigan feels good about their defensive tackle room even with losing Benny to the NFL Draft. That's not to say he was a bad player or anything, I just believe Michigan will be in good hands with Enow Etta and Trey Pierce as their stating DT's, with Jonah Lea'ea (Utah transfer), Deyvid Palepale, and Bobby Kanka serving as the depth behind those top two.

Michigan also still has Travis Moten, Chibi Anwunah, and Ted Hammond as further depth, and they also welcome a very talented Freshman defensive line class to the team this fall. Notably, Alister Vallejo and Titan Davis are players I could see working themselves into seeing snaps for Michigan's defense as soon as this season. It's the full depth and talent of the remaining defensive line room that gives me the edge to rank Benny in the 5th spot here.

Fourth: Marlin Klein

This is the other one I was considering placing 5th, and it's for the same reasons that I ranked Bredeson 6th originally. Jason Beck's new offense just won't utilize fullbacks and tight ends the same way the old offense did. Beck's favorite personnel grouping is 11 (one back, one tight end, three wide receivers), which means less tight ends on the field at the same time.

Over the years, both with Jim Harbaugh and Sherrone Moore, the tight end played a big role in Michigan's offense. I don't believe that will be the case anymore, with the shift to being more of a spread-based offensive scheme. Michigan is a little thin at tight end with Klein leaving for the NFL, but with the reduced tight end usage, that makes me put Marlin Klein at the 4th spot for this article.

Third: Jaishawn Barham

Jaishawn Barham was a good player for Michigan, but it felt like he never fully took off. He has a lot of talent, and I'll be curious to see how the Cowboys use him in the NFL. He's a bit of a tweener between a full on edge rusher and a standup linebacker, and I'm honestly not sure which one he's better at. It just felt like he never fully took advantage of his skill set in Ann Arbor and I really hope he can figure it out at the next level.

He hasn't spend a lot of time as a pure edge rusher, really only playing sporadically on the edge until this season for Michigan so maybe it's just a lack of experience playing that position that caused him to never fully take off. I do believe he has another level he can unlock though, and it'll be up the the Cowboys to get it out of him.

Second: Derrick Moore

This might be a bit of a surprise, but really the only reason I think Derrick Moore is the second player Michigan will most the most out of this NFL Draft class and not the 1st is because Michigan feels really good about their depth at defensive end even with Moore off the Lions. With John Henry Daley coming over from Utah as a potential All-American type player if he can get back to being healthy and playing at full strength, that leaves a lot of names to compete for the second starting edge player and I think there's multiple guys Michigan would feel comfortable with winning that position battle.

The two most mentioned names have been Dominic Nichols and Cameron Brandt, with a dark horse option to win the battle being Nate Marshall in my opinion. All three of those guys are talented players, and all three will see the field this fall for Michigan's defense. That gives Michigan a full four players they like at edge rusher even though they just lost two to the NFL Draft in Jaishawn Barham and Derrick Moore. It is for that reason I rank Derrick Moore in the two spot and not the top spot despite him being selected the highest from this group in the NFL Draft.

First: Jimmy Rolder

Jimmy Rolder had a solid Michigan career but he also missed a lot of time due to injury. In my opinion he should've come back to school for one more year. If he stayed healthy and productive all season, he likely could've jumped up a round or two in the NFL Draft. However; he did leave and ended up going in the 4th round, and it's always hard to argue against a player chasing his dreams at the next level.

I rank him first in this article because Michigan's linebacker depth is a little too thin without him in Ann Arbor. They also lost Cole Sullivan as a transfer to Oklahoma, and that was also a big loss in the linebacker room. That leaves Troy Bowles, Nathaniel Owusu-Boateng, and Chase Taylor as the only returning linebackers with any real experience, and all of those players are fairly unproven themselves.

They did bring in Nathaniel Staehling, Aisea Moa, and Max Alford all as transfers but those players are most likely to be backup/depth options at least to start the season. Staehling could eventually become a starter, but he will start behind the eight ball in that competition because he wasn't available for spring practices.

Given that Michigan lost so much experience at the linebacker position, that's why I ultimately ranked Jimmy Rolder as the player Michigan will most the most from their 2026 NFL Draft Class.

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