Michigan has 8 players in PFF's NFL Draft top-150, and Senior Bowl's Jim Nagy expects big output
Michigan football’s 2023 roster could be as deep and talented as it ever has been, and that could mean a hefty dose of talent sent to the 2024 NFL Draft.
Heading into the 2023 campaign, Michigan has eight players inside of Pro Football Focus’ top 150 players heading into the next class. Defensive tackle Kris Jenkins (No. 20 overall), running back Blake Corum (No. 28), running back Donovan Edwards (No. 34), guard Zak Zinter (No. 55), safety Rod Moore (No. 59), linebacker Junior Colson (No. 68), quarterback J.J. McCarthy (No. 83) and defensive back Mike Sainristil (No. 112) all made PFF’s most recent cut.
The 2022 draft class from the Georgia Bulldogs set the current record of players sent to the NFL with 15 players selected in one weekend. Head coach Jim Harbaugh believes U-M has a chance to break that mark.
“I think we’ll have 20 guys picked (in the next NFL draft),” Harbaugh told Bruce Feldman of The Athletic this summer. “I bet we break that (draft) record. (Georgia) had 15 that year.”
Senior Bowl director Jim Nagy spoke to On3’s Andy Staples and said breaking the draft record of 15 players is realistic for Michigan, as crazy as it might seem.
“It’s like beating the 100 meter [sprint] by a second, having five more than the record drafted,” Nagy told Staples. “It does sound crazy, but when you look at it they have seven offensive linemen with PFAs (priority free agent) grades or better. Most of those are draftable grades.”
He has previously stated that in addition to the obvious names, the Wolverines could have seven draft-worthy offensive linemen. Players that wind up being role players could wind up making NFL teams next season, speaking to the quality of their depth.
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Nagy sees Michigan as loaded on both sides of the ball and the list of names fills up quickly of players that could make the pros.
“You’ve got two running backs (Blake Corum, Donovan Edwards), a transfer tight end (AJ Barner) from Indiana,” Nagy said. “The quarterback (JJ McCarthy) comes out as a junior. You’ve got wideouts in Cornelius Johnson and Roman Wilson. That’s the offense.
“Defensively, you’ve got two EDGE players (Josaiah Stewart, Jaylen Harrell), an inside guy (Kris Jenkins), and off-ball linebacker (Junior Colson) who’s a junior. You have three or four more DBs (Mike Sainristil, Rod Moore, Makari Paige),” Nagy said. “I don’t know, maybe Jim is right. We’ll see, but there’s a heck of a lot of talent on that football team.”
The 2024 NFL Draft will take place 45 minutes down the road from Ann Arbor in Detroit, Michigan from April 25-27. Round 1 will take place on April 25, rounds two and three will happen on April 26 and the event wraps up with rounds 4-7 on April 27.
