Michigan football head coach Jim Harbaugh said he expects his team to break the NFL draft record, which is 15 players from one team selected, in the upcoming draft. Harbaugh said he thinks 20 Wolverines could depart Ann Arbor for the pro ranks, and it turns out that ESPN doesn’t think he’s too far off.
In a new article noting which teams have the most pro talent on their rosters, ESPN projects that 17 Michigan football players will be drafted overall, though just one in the first round. ($)
Top prospect to know: Kris Jenkins, DL
Sleeper prospect to watch: LaDarius Henderson, OL
Game circled on the schedule: at Penn State, Nov. 11A strong argument can be made that Michigan’s 2023 roster is the best unit of the Jim Harbaugh era from top to bottom. A program-record 11 prospects were drafted in 2017, and that number could be surpassed by the beginning of the third day of the 2024 draft. “I think we’ll have 20 guys picked,” Harbaugh told The Athletic in July. “I bet we break that (draft) record. (Georgia) had 15 that year.”
Jenkins enters the season as my highest-graded prospect on the roster, and he could firmly be in the top half of the first-round discussion with another strong season. His 65 tackles last season ranked third on the entire Michigan defense, with 49 of those coming while lined up on the interior of the line, which ranked 16th in the FBS. He is a reliable run defender who can work through double-teams and has the sudden movement skills to take advantage of one-on-one matchups as a pass-rusher. Jenkins is an ideal 3-technique in a four-man defensive front.
Quarterback J.J. McCarthy showed plenty of promise in his first starting year under center, despite having only six games in which he attempted at least 25 passes. He operated primarily out of play-action, putting up a 90.4 QBR out of the formation, which ranked seventh in the country. McCarthy is able to make passes outside of the pocket and feed off fakes from the team’s run scheme. “He’s the underrated one in this year’s group. He was a first-year starter last year, and he didn’t play well at the end of the season, so I get why they limited his throws,” an AFC area scout said. “I want to see them let him cut it loose this year, though.”
Elsewhere on offense, the backfield duo of Blake Corum and Donovan Edwards has a chance to once again be a headache for defenses. At 5-foot-8, 213 pounds, Corum surprisingly returned for his final season. Although a knee injury slowed him down against Ohio State and forced him to miss the College Football Playoff matchup against TCU, he finished the season with 1,463 rushing yards and 18 touchdowns. “I see a lot of Kenneth Walker III in him,” an NFC scouting director said. “Same exact build, determined runners that can break tackles but have pass-catching questions coming out.” Edwards is a more versatile option and rushed for 520 yards and three touchdowns over the final three games in Corum’s absence. He showcased vision, tackle-breaking ability and elusiveness from different alignments.
One more name to file away for closer to draft time: Henderson is a late-round offensive lineman who has repeatedly come up when discussing the Michigan roster with scouts. He is a scheme-diverse blocker who transferred from Arizona State, where he made 19 starts at guard and 10 at tackle.
Predicted first-rounders in 2024: 1
Predicted total draft picks in 2024: 17
The trouble for the Wolverines is getting all of the players out onto the field to showcase their talent, when there are only so many positions to go around.
For instance, both the offensive tackle spots have four potential starters for two positions: left tackles Karsen Barnhart and LaDarius Henderson and right tackles Trente Jones and Myles Hinton.
In our estimation, the following are the players who could hear their names called in the round of seven in April:
- QB J.J. McCarthy
- RB Blake Corum
- RB Donovan Edwards
- LT Karsen Barnhart
- LT LaDarius Henderson
- LG Trevor Keegan
- C Drake Nugent
- RG Zak Zinter
- RT Myles Hinton
- RT Trente Jones
- TE AJ Barner
- WR Cornelius Johnson
- WR Roman Wilson
- DT Kris Jenkins
- EDGE Braiden McGregor
- EDGE Jaylen Harrell
- LB Junior Colson
- LB Mike Barrett
- S Rod Moore
- S Makari Paige
- CB Mike Sainristil
- CB Josh Wallace
That’s 22 right there, and certainly there are some other players who are draft eligible who could play their way in this year. Regardless, it’s pretty remarkable that this Michigan team, which isn’t rife with five-stars as Georgia, Alabama and Ohio State, could, indeed, set the NFL draft record, and that it’s even being projected to by ESPN.
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