Three Remaining Players Who Will Define the Season After NFL Draft Losses

Who are the three key players that Michigan will need to step up following the NFL Draft losses?

Michigan linebacker Troy Bowles tackles New Mexico wide receiver Keagan Johnson | Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Michigan had six players selected in this past weekend's NFL Draft. Derrick Moore went to the Lions in the second round, followed by Marlin Klein to the Texans, also in the second round. In the third round Jaishawn Barham got selected by the Cowboys, followed by Jimmy Rolder to the Lions in round four. Then in round six, Max Bredeson went to the Vikings, and Rayshaun Benny concluded the draft for Michigan by going to the Ravens in the seventh and final round of the draft.

Some of those losses will be bigger than others, and lets dive into the three most important players remaining on Michigan's roster that will need to step up to offset the NFL Draft losses below.

Player #1: Troy Bowles

Troy Bowles transferred to Michigan from Georgia after just one season, but he was originally a top 100 type recruit coming out of high school. Now that he's been in college for a couple seasons, he should be ready to step up and take over a starting role for this defense. Michigan will really need him to not just be good, but also stay healthy. Michigan lost Cole Sullivan (transfer to Oklahoma), Ernest Hausmann (Graduation), Jimmy Rolder (NFL), and Jaishawn Barham if you want to count him (NFL) all off last year's linebacker core.

Troy Bowles will be one of the most important players on the roster for this Michigan team in 2026 because there just isn't a lot of depth at linebacker following that mass exodus at the position. Michigan will really need him to take a step forward for this year's team and also stay healthy to avoid a big drop off at this position in 2026.

Player #2: Dominic Nichols

The other position outside of linebacker that Michigan lost quite a bit of production out of in this year's NFL Draft class was the edge rusher position. Both Derrick Moore and Jaishawn Barham were drafted on Day 2 of the NFL Draft, and it'll be up to players like Dominic Nichols to take a step forward and be the next guy in the line of the recent Michigan edge-rushers to really take off and go to the NFL.

I picked Nichols for this because in my opinion he's got the right amount of college seasoning as well as pass-rush juice to really be able to take a big step forward for this 2026 Michigan defense. Cameron Brandt is another player it could have been, but he's been known as more of a run-stuffer thus far in his college career. It also could've been Nate Marshall, but I think he needs one more year of seasoning at the college level before he's ready to really explode. Dominic Nichols is the guy on this roster who I think can and will take a big jump and be the next really good Michigan pass-rusher. Michigan will need another edge-rusher to step up on the other side of Utah transfer John Henry-Daley, and Nichols is my pick to be that guy for Michigan in 2026.

Player #3: Hogan Hansen

Michigan lost yet another high level tight end to the NFL Draft with Marlin Klein going in the second round to the Texans just one year after losing Colston Loveland to the Bears in the first round. Jason Beck's new offense likely won't use as many tight end's on the field at the same time as the past two coaching staff's have, but they will need someone to emerge and be the guy at this position in 2026.

My pick for this is Hogan Hansen, who's been a very athletic tight end since he arrived on campus. You may remember him in 2024 filling in for a banged up Colston Loveland and he looked really good doing so. Last season then came around and he was just never right health wise and failed to really take off as a result. Now with Klein gone and a full off-season to get healthy, I think now is the time for Hogan Hansen to step up and be the next really good Michigan tight end. He's already shown that he can do it in flashes, now he just needs to stay healthy and be more consistent and he can become a really good player for the maize and blue.

Despite all their NFL Draft losses this past weekend, the cupboard is far from bare at a place like Michigan. If their 2026 season is going to go the way they hope it does, it'll be because Troy Bowles, Dominic Nichols, and Hogan Hansen stepped up to fill the roles of the players they just lost to the NFL Draft.