Senior Bowl director singles out two Wolverines as potential breakout players in 2023

Expect both of these guys to be game-breakers in 2023! #GoBlue

Big things are expected of Michigan football this fall, and if those things are to come to fruition, it will be in large part due to some of the talent rising up from previous levels — particularly on defense.

The Wolverines lost more on the defensive side of the ball than the offensive side, yet the defense is expected to take a step forward and be the shining star for the maize and blue.

Executive director of the Reese’s Senior Bowl Jim Nagy always has his eye on talent in Ann Arbor as he was once a Wolverine himself as a student. He took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to share two players for the Michigan defense he expects to take big steps forward in 2023 — defensive tackle Kris Jenkins and edge rusher Braiden McGregor.

Much has been made of how much future NFL talent @UMichFootball has coming back on OL but @seniorbowl also has two prospects on defensive front graded near top of their respective positions—DT Kris Jenkins & EDGE Braiden McGregor.

Bottom line, there are plenty DT in this 2024 draft class with better measurables than Jenkins (6024v, 287v, 33 1/2 arm) but few have better tape.

@KrisJenkinsJr1 is a fun study because he’s a consistent factor versus both run & pass. He’s an excellent technician (s/o @CoachMikeElston) who plays down the middle of blockers with natural two-gap leverage and he’s athletic enough to get skinny & finish in backfield.
Staff sources say he’s packed on 15 pounds of muscle this offseason and we can’t wait to see what that looks like on field this fall.
Jenkins has All-Pro bloodlines and we think he can be an immediate force at next-level with his NFL-ready game. We’ve been hearing great things about McGregor’s spring work from staffers all offseason and we were pleasantly surprised by how much we liked his 2022 tape.
Things that got us excited about McGregor were his violence, aggression, and natural power. Reminded us of Bengals’ Pro Bowler Trey Hendrickson when we scouted him coming out of FAU.
While our Day 2 grade includes some projection, if he takes expected next steps as full-time starter then @BraidenMcgregor could be next in-line of Top-100 edge guys coming out of Ann Arbor (Winovich, @_Uche35, Gary, Paye, Hutchinson, Ojabo).
Both Jenkins and McGregor could make big (money emojis) in 1-on-1 pass rush drills in Mobile! #BestoftheBest #TheDraftStartsInMOBILE
As a starter last year, Jenkins is a little bit more of a proven and known commodity, and he’s earning a lot of hype as being a potential first-round NFL draft pick in 2024. McGregor, however, has only shown glimpses as a backup, and it will be incumbent upon him to make good on the promise of his capability. However, with not as much of a safety net given there are no surefire edge rushers waiting in the wings, nor are there any blue chip pass rushers on the team compared to previous years, McGregor will have a lot riding on showcasing his ability if the defense is to be as good as advertised.
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