Braiden McGregor talks Michigan combine takeover, Wolverine edge rushers to watch in 2024

Michigan football EDGE Braiden McGregor is one of a record 18 Wolverine draft hopefuls at the NFL Combine, and he said Indianapolis “feels like Schembechler Hall.” This week at Lucas Oil Stadium, prospects will meet with NFL teams, test and work out — and this year’s event has a Maize and Blue flavor.

“Everywhere I look, I mean, to my right I got [EDGE] Jaylen [Harrell],” McGregor said at his press conference podium. “I see [running back] Blake [Corum] all the time. I think the O-line gets in today. I saw [right end] AJ [Barner]. You see everybody that was down training … you haven’t seen them for, what, four, five weeks? And then you get to see them again.

“Everybody keeps saying, ‘Dang, you guys roll deep.’ That’s [former Michigan strength and conditioning] Coach [Ben] Herb[ert]’s saying, so it’s pretty cool.”

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McGregor started all 15 games for Michigan last season, helping lead the Wolverines to the national championship. However, he played just 415 defensive snaps, the 25th-most among Big Ten edge rushers. He racked up 26 tackles, including 9 for loss and 4.5 sacks, along with 3 pass breakups and a forced fumble.

Asked about his low snap count, McGregor said NFL teams understand the deal: Michigan rotated quite a bit at EDGE and the Wolverines didn’t play many close games in the second half, allowing starters to come out of the game early.

“The numbers don’t lie. You can go out there and look at how many snaps we played,” McGregor said. “Did we play into a fourth quarter until, what, Penn State? That’s something that the teams know. They know all the answers.

“They’ll just ask you to see the way you feel about it. So just being transparent like, ‘Yeah, I could’ve went somewhere where I had 10 sacks and got all the accolades that you wanted, but at the end of the day I did what’s best for the team, being part of a rotation.’

“And that showed at the end of the ‘Bama game when we rotated D-line so much and then you go in there and you have both the EDGE guys be able to collapse both the tackles and make the play with their bodies. So, at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter where you get drafted, what round. It just matters how you stay, so that’s the big thing for me.”

McGregor said he wants NFL teams to know “what type of guy” he is.

“I’m a really selfless guy. I don’t really need to be in the spotlight of anything,” he explained. “At Michigan, we had so many guys that were so good that it doesn’t really matter for me if I’m the spotlight or if I’m the guy over in the corner not getting any interviews. At the end of the day, I just want them to know that I’m coming here to play ball; I’m not coming here to be a social media influencer or anything like that, so that’s just something big.”

It could be discouraging to not play right away or every snap even when starting, but McGregor views the competition at Michigan as a positive.

“The big thing is, you have so much depth there every year,” he said. “When I came in, I had Kwity [Paye], Aidan [Hutchinson], ‘Jabo [David Ojabo], Jaylen [Harrell], Mike Morris. Michigan, when you come in, you gotta know that you have to compete. I think it prepares you really well for the league, because you’re going to get in there and you’ve got guys that are vets, first-rounders, all this that you’re going to have to compete with.

“Being a Michigan defensive lineman is just come in, just work every single day, don’t really stress about anything. Just know that when you get your chance, you better show out. All the work behind the scenes is really what you have to focus on.”

Braiden McGregor on Michigan EDGEs to watch

McGregor noted that junior Derrick Moore and senior Josaiah Stewart, a Coastal Carolina transfer, still reside on the Michigan roster, leading the EDGE room. In 2023, Moore registered 6 tackles for loss and 5 sacks, while Stewart recorded 8.5 TFLs and 5.5 sacks.

McGregor discussed Moore, Stewart and some up-and-comers.

“Again, we have another deep edge-rushing crew right now,” McGregor said. “You got the sophomores, all those guys. Then you have [senior] Kechaun Bennett, [senior] TJ Guy, who are going to make big steps this year. And then Josaiah Stewart and Derrick Moore, they’ve been working their butts off since they’ve been there, especially Derrick. I’ve seen Derrick since his freshman year, he’s a junior now. Josaiah came in and he’s just hit the ground running since the day he came in. Really excited for him.

“I think they all have different personalities, different traits on the field, so it’s gonna be another versatility year of … Derrick, he’s a bigger body. Josaiah is a little bit smaller. TJ is athletic. KB is big. You got [sophomores] Cam Brandt and Enow [Etta], [Aymeric] Koumba.

“It’s a deep room, so you kinda just expect going into the offseason, this spring ball is going to be a competition. It’s gonna be a chance to reset yourself, start over, especially for guys that might not have played as much as they wanted to. Go in there and just have a fresh start.”