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Well, this doesn’t look promising, if everything holds.
Scouting website Pro Football Focus has been awfully bullish on Michigan and its players the last few years, but heading into 2020, there are few bright spots that the evaluation site sees.
In its way too early Top 25, not only are the Wolverines closer to the bottom of the pack than the top, every ranked team the maize and blue are set to face are ranked ahead. Including No. 1 Ohio State.
As far as Michigan is concerned, PFF has the Wolverines ranked No. 17, citing that it’s a decent collection of players without any particular standouts as of current.
17. MICHIGAN WOLVERINES
There isn’t one single player who jumps out on Michigan’s roster — instead, they have a group of solid guys who generate positive value. On the offensive side of the ball, wide receivers Nico Collins, Ronnie Bell and Giles Jackson have generated positive WAA for the Wolverines. On the defensive side of the ball, Ambry Thomas performed exceptionally well in his first year as a starter. Thomas was in press coverage on 81% of his coverage snaps and was stellar on downfield throws, allowing eight catches on 30 targets of 10-plus yards.
As noted, PFF has Ohio State as its No. 1 at this stage, which — isn’t hard to blame them, given that while the Buckeyes lose Chase Young, Jeff Okudah, J.K. Dobbins and more, it still returns head coach Ryan Day and Heisman contender QB Justin Fields. But Michigan doesn’t have to worry about its arch-rival until the end of the season. It starts out the season at Washington, who PFF sees as a top ten team, coming in at No. 8, bolstered by its standout secondary.
Michigan also plays PFF’s No. 10 team, Wisconsin at home, but sees No. 11 Minnesota on the road in Minneapolis. The fifth ranked opponent in the scouting site’s estimation is another home game for the Wolverines, in No. 16 Penn State, which loses KJ Hamler and Yetur Gross-Matos, but retains Micah Parsons and Sean Clifford.
Nonetheless, Michigan hasn’t earned a lot of flexibility given how it performed in 2019. But, recent years have shown that the maize and blue can play with the best of the best (even its rival, though not the past two seasons). With a second year under Josh Gattis offensively, and a cast of returning players on defense, the Wolverines could certainly use knowledge and experience to their benefit.