The 2023 NFL Draft is less than two weeks away and mock drafts are coming out left and right.
We decided to do something a little different today and use an NFL mock draft simulator on Pro Football Network. We did seven rounds and we let the computer determine every selection.
There weren’t any Michigan players selected in round one, but there were a couple of Wolverines who went in round two.
Mazi Smith was the first name off the board and he went 41st overall to the Tennesee Titans.
At 6’3″, 337 pounds, Smith has a massive, naturally well-leveraged frame. With his size, he can shrug off chip blocks and absorb double-teams.
Of course, it’s well-advertised that Smith isn’t just incredibly big. He’s very athletic, too. That much was clear when he was the top freak on Feldman’s Freaks list in the summer. Per Feldman, Smith has a 33″ vertical jump, a 9’4.5″ broad jump, and an absurd 6.95 three-cone time. He’s also logged 22 reps of 325 pounds on the bench press. At the NFL Combine, the weight utilized is 225
After Smith, DJ Turner got the call and went 53rd to the Chicago Bears. Turner is a name we’ve been hearing spike up draft boards and is a potential first-round selection.
As you might expect from a Feldman Freak with a documented 4.28 40-yard dash and an absurd reported 6.29 three-cone, athleticism is a strong point on Turner’s scouting report. At 6’0″, 181 pounds, with above-average proportional length, Turner brings a very appealing brand of mobility to the fold.
On the boundary, Turner is visibly explosive. He can easily turn and run with receivers, accelerating upfield quickly, and shows excellent accelerative capacity when flipping upfield in press bail. The Michigan CB gears up very quickly out of transitions, and quickly reaches his top speed. Additionally, Turner flashes superb initial burst when closing downhill on screens, and he accelerates very quickly when he’s able to open up his strides.
The simulator didn’t have any maize and blue going in round three. But Luke Schoonmaker went right away in the fourth round after he went 116th to the Green Bay Packers.
Mike Morris went second-to-last in the fourth round getting selected by the Kansas City Cheifs at 134th overall. He will pair up with Mike Danna.
Round five came long and Michigan’s friend the Baltimore Ravens picked Olu Oluwatimi with the 157th overall pick. John Harbaugh has his future starting center.
In round six, Ronnie Bell went to the Cleveland Browns with the 190th selection. Bell will play alongside former Michigan receiver Donovan Peoples-Jones.
Bell was the last Michigan player selected during this sim. So Ryan Hayes, Gemon Green, and Jake Moody were all undrafted.
Go ahead and do one yourself and let us know how it went for you.
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