Ten former Michigan players in the NFL to watch in 2022

Michigan Wolverines football has 35 former players who made initial 53-man NFL rosters ahead of the 2022, season which kicks off Thursday night with the Buffalo Bills vs. the Los Angeles Rams. We take a look at 10 former Wolverines to watch this season.

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Tom Brady (Played at Michigan from 1995-99), QB, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Brady retired in January, but only 40 days went by before he returned to the game ahead of his 23rd NFL season.

The 45-year-old and seven-time Super Bowl champion hasn’t hit a huge dropoff, either. In fact, Brady is coming off 1 of the best seasons of his career. In 2021, he led the league with a career-best 5,316 passing yards and 43 touchdowns.

The Bucs’ late comeback fell short in the divisional round against the Rams last season, but the core of the team is back and motivated to make another deep run after winning the Super Bowl the year prior. The former Michigan quarterback is seeking his 8th world title.

Nico Collins (2017-19), WR, Houston Texans

The Texans aren’t receiving much attention in the preseason. The expectations are low in Houston, with Vegas setting the team’s over/under for total wins at 4.5.

Quietly, though, Collins is listed as a starter on the Texans’ projected depth chart, and he’s been listed as a fantasy football ‘sleeper’ ahead of the campaign. The former Michigan wideout’s role as one of the Texans’ top targets is expected to give him plenty of opportunity in his second professional season.

Collins is 6-foor-4 and 215 pounds with decent speed. That combination makes him a potential breakout candidate in 2022.

“Collins has proven to be a threat in the red zone, making some impressive plays in his young NFL career,” Action Network wrote. “The problem has been consistency, which might remain an issue with Davis Mills under center. At this point, Brandin Cooks is the only Texans receiver you can really trust. If Mills takes a step forward in Year 2, though, Collins will be the biggest beneficiary.

“Expect a higher target share and some impressive plays this year from Collins.”

Rashan Gary (2016-18), LB, Green Bay Packers

The former Michigan defensive end is fresh off a breakout season in 2021, and he’s on the verge of signing a big contract extension, perhaps after this coming campaign. He led the Packers with 9.5 sacks and added 47 tackles (including 8 for loss), 2 forced fumbles and 28 hits on the quarterback in a year ago.

Despite having a breakthrough in 2021, ESPN.com named him 1 of 25 potential breakout stars for this fall.

“After two years in a situational role, Gary was afforded a full-time job by Za’Darius Smith’s back injury last season and looked like a No. 1 edge rusher,” the site’s Bill Barnwell wrote of the former Michigan defender. “He racked up 9.5 sacks and 28 quarterback knockdowns, with the latter ranking seventh in the NFL. The six players ahead of Gary all made it to the Pro Bowl.

“Gary added two sacks and three knockdowns of [quarterback] Jimmy Garoppolo in the divisional-round loss to the 49ers. ESPN’s video analysis suggests he generated the initial pressure of the opposing quarterback on 11 percent of his pass-rushing opportunities, which ranked 17th in the league, right alongside fellow breakouts Harold Landry [Tennessee Titans] and Randy Gregory [Dallas Cowboys].”

With Smith now in Minnesota, Gary is in position to become one of the league’s most impactful edge rushers.

Gary and Preston Smith form one of the NFL’s top edge rusher duos.

Brandon Graham (2006-09), DE, Philadelphia Eagles

The former Michigan defensive end tore his Achilles tendon in the second game of the 2021 campaign. He’s recovered and ready for a return, and if the veteran stays healthy and productive, he’s set to make history with his franchise.

“Once he registers his 13th season, only Chuck Bednarik would have played more with the Eagles,” The Athletic’s Zach Berman wrote. “If he plays 28 more games, he’ll set the record for most in franchise history. It could be achieved ‘if they let me come back after this year,’ Graham said Monday.

Graham feels great, and his Eagles teammates have taken notice.

“He actually looks faster,” Eagles defensive lineman Fletcher Cox said recently.

“It don’t look like he missed a beat,” defensive end Derek Barnett added. “I can’t tell anything [with the injury].”

Dax Hill (2019-21), S, Cincinnati Bengals

Hill is going to play a big role as a rookie, and it’s similar to what he did at Michigan. The defensive back will play all over the secondary — at safety, nickel and more — and also contribute on special teams. Starting safety Jessie Bates is finally back after a contract holdout, but that doesn’t mean much for what Hill will do for the defending AFC champions, per defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo.

“Dax has his role. Jessie has his. They are two separate entities” Anarumo said recently. “We’ve been practicing Dax at the things he’s going to do through the year even before Jessie got here.”

In the preseason, the former Michigan standout and 1st-round selection notched 1 interception, 7 tackles and 2 pass breakups.

Aidan Hutchinson (2018-21), DL, Detroit Lions

The darling of HBO’s ‘Hard Knocks,’ Hutchinson is already a starter at defensive end for the Lions. The No. 2 overall draft pick out of Michigan flashed in the preseason, with a tackle for loss on his second snap, and he’s expected to be one of the standouts on Detroit’s defense, which struggled mightily last season (finishing 31st in the league in scoring defense).

Hutchinson is the favorite to win the NFL’s Defensive Rookie of the Year Award at +450.

“Hutchinson is first in tickets sold at 19.7% and handle at 21.8% on this prop at Caesars,” Sportsline’s Matt Severance wrote. “He has more than twice as many tickets and three times as much money as the Giants’ Kayvon Thibodeaux (+600) and Jaguars’ Travon Walker (+850) combined. Thibodeaux could miss Week 1 with a knee injury.”

Kwity Paye (2017-19), DE, Indianapolis Colts

Barnwell also pegged Paye as a breakout player for the 2022 season. The former Michigan defensive end had a stellar rookie season, recording 4 sacks, 3 tackles for loss and 10 quarterback hits.

“Paye looked like a different player during the second half of his rookie season,” Barnwell wrote. “During the first half, he missed the better part of three games because of a hamstring injury and wasn’t an impactful pass-rusher when healthy. He didn’t rack up a single quarterback knockdown until Week 9, when he had two in a win over the Jets.

“From that point forward, he was more noticeable, putting up four sacks and eight knockdowns. Several of those sacks were cleanups as passers moved up the pocket, but he also generated 25 initial pressures as a pass-rusher from that Jets game onward, which was tied for the eighth most in the league.

“Paye still needs to be more consistent, but we’re seeing signs the 23-year-old can deliver on his spectacular physical tools. He’s several steps behind Gary, his former teammate at Michigan, but the goal is for the 2022 version of Paye to look like Gary’s 2021 campaign.”

Jabrill Peppers (2014-16), S, New England Patriots

The former Michigan star and Heisman Trophy finalist has a fresh start with the New England Patriots. He was drafted by Cleveland, traded to the New York Giants and is now on his 3rd team in his 6th NFL season.

He’s part of the deepest position group on the team, according to head coach Bill Belichick.

“I would say the safety group is a pretty impressive group,” Belichick . “It’s good to see Jabrill out on the field. Devin [McCourty], AP [Adrian Phillips], [Kyle] Dugger, played a lot of football for us last year. You add Jabrill to that mix and Myles [Bryant] has also played safety for us out of the corner group. So between those five guys it’s a pretty deep position.

“But we’ve shown packages, and used packages last year with all three safeties on the field. Jabrill wasn’t here obviously. [Joshuah] Bledsoe has had a good camp as well. So I think that’s a pretty competitive position, not just for roster spots, but also for playing time and how that gets distributed.”

The former Michigan hybrid linebacker / safety has played in 61 games with 59 starts and has 328 total tackles, 4.5 sacks, 4 interceptions with 1 returned for a touchdown, 25 passes defensed, 4 forced fumbles and 5 fumble recoveries. He’s also returned 83 punts for 693 yards and 34 kicks for 749 yards.

Jon Runyan (2015-19), OL, Green Bay Packers

Runyan opened 16 of 17 outings at left guard last season and acquitted himself well. He was inserted into the top group of linemen due to injuries, but now he’s solidified himself as 1 of the top 5 up front.

“Going out there, first start, Monday Night Football against an NFC North rival [the Detroit Lions in Week 2 in 2021] … having Michael Brockers line up across from me, a really good, talented veteran, it was a little intimidating,” the former Michigan lineman said during training camp. “But I think I handled myself pretty well.

“I knew this was an opportunity that comes not very often. This could be my last start, this could be the first of many, so you have to go out there and grab it.”

Chase Winovich (2014-18), DE, Cleveland Browns

Like Peppers, Winovich, a former Michigan standout edge rusher, has a clean slate with a new team. He was traded from the Patriots this offseason, after playing in just 14 percent of the team’s defensive snaps last season, and will have a much larger role with his new squad.

He’s playing defensive end alongside star Myles Garrett and Jadeveon Clowney, but he’s in the two-deep of the depth chart.

The former Michigan fan favorite has a lot to prove this season, with his contract set to expire after the year. He registered 5.5 sacks each of his first two campaigns in the league but had none in 2021.