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For awhile, it seemed like Michigan wasn’t going to have a high-level NFL draft pick this upcoming April, after putting players in the high rounds for most of the past few seasons.
Then, with a strong outing by Josh Uche in the Reese’s Senior Bowl, it looked like that would change. And now we’re seeing one former Wolverine looking more likely as a first-round pick. But despite Uche’s post all-star showcase hype, he’s not the one starting to get first-round projections.
In the latest NFL.com three-round mock draft by Chad Reuter, Uche is still listed as a third-round pick — though we anticipate that to change after his turn in the NFL Scouting Combine later this month. Instead, it’s junior center Cesar Ruiz who’s flying up draft boards as of late, with Reuter including him in the highest pick we’ve seen yet, at No. 22 overall to the Buffalo Bills.
The Bills’ guard play was less than stellar in 2019. Ruiz started at guard early in his career at Michigan, but moved to center with Ben Bredeson and Michael Onwenu manning either side of him.
The highest we’d seen Ruiz go was 31st overall, but he’s clearly moving up in the eyes of many prognosticators.
Reuter also has two Wolverines going in the third-round, with guard Ben Bredeson being selected at No. 74 by the Cleveland Browns and Uche going at No. 83 to the New York Jets.