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Generally, when you open an article about who the winners and losers are in the NFL draft, those who are considered to be in the winning or losing columns tend to be NFL teams or players.
For instance, the Green Bay Packers have been widely derided for trading up to select Utah State QB Jordan Love with its first-round pick, despite having one of the best quarterbacks in the league in Aaron Rodgers. Cincinnati tends to get high praise for making the no-brainer pick of LSU Heisman Trophy winning QB Joe Burrow.
However, that’s not how friend of WolverinesWire, Sporting News’ Bill Bender sees it.
No, despite not having the most picks in the 2020 NFL Draft — that distinction goes to LSU who had a staggering 14 players selected — Bender came away from the weekend event bolstered by the job Jim Harbaugh has done in Ann Arbor, naming the Wolverines as one of the winners coming out of the draft.
Winner: Michigan
The Wolverines had eight third-day picks and sent 10 players to the NFL Draft. Jim Harbaugh continues to develop next-level talent, but the problem is that eight of those picks were on Day 3. Guard Ben Bredeson landed in Baltimore in the fourth round; the highest pick of the day. Receiver Donovan Peoples-Jones could be a sleeper in Cleveland. Now, Michigan needs to deliver more first-round talent to catch up with the other elite NFL producers.
He does have a point about the later rounds compared to the earlier rounds. But, given where Michigan was pre-Jim Harbaugh, it’s certainly a step in the right direction. The Wolverines had two picks in the first two days, but eight on the final day, with a staggering sixth-round which saw five players selected.
Of all the teams, New England particularly loves Michigan players, having selected two this year — Josh Uche and Michael Onwenu — after having selected Chase Winovich in the third-round a year ago.
One such place where it’s notable is along the offensive line. Since Jake Long was selected No. 1 overall in the 2008 NFL Draft, the Wolverines have only put three offensive linemen into the league via the draft. That changed in a big way this weekend, with the maize and blue having all four OL in the draft selected — the first time that’s happened in the common draft era among all college football teams. It’s a huge credit to offensive line coach Ed Warinner and the turnaround he’s overseen of that unit.