As requested - Wolverines in the NFL Part 2
Couldn't post it all in 1. Part 2 starting with the....
Detroit Lions
Aidan Hutchinson - Probably don’t need to add anything about any of Lions here but I will anyway. I personally think Aidan needs to improve a lot and I think he’s very capable of doing so. He’s had a couple of really good years so far, but he has a longs ways to go to crack into that upper echelon of edge rushers like Watt, Garrett, etc. He tends to disappear a lot and yes I know, part of that is the OL didn’t have to worry about anyone else on the Detroit DL so they could focus on Hutch. There’s a good chance this changes with some of the pickups Detroit got. Also, that thing where they line up Hutch on the interior and have him rush into 2 OL never worked and the should scrap it.
Graham Glasgow - A very underrated player last season, maybe the most in the entire NFL. His versatility was extremely clutch for the Lions as they dealt with injuries in the interior OL all season and as far as I could tell, never missed a beat when he came in. He was signed as a 6th OL and I believe played all 3 interior positions. Because of this, he resigned with the Lions this off season where I think he could have gotten more money elsewhere but wanted to stay home. I do not blame him.
Donovan Peoples-Jones - I had high hopes for him in Cleveland. He had a pretty good year the season before Watson showed and then just….I don’t know. They had zero chemistry together and was traded to Detroit into a stacked receiver room where you guessed it, he barely played. He’s back for 2024 to fight for at best WR4. Also, do not let this man return punts. Just don't.
Dallas Cowboys
Mazi Smith - No other way to say it, Mazi was pretty bad as a rookie. He just didn’t seem ready for the NFL but it’s clear Dallas views him as a long term piece on the DL going forward. I expect him to make a jump in his sophomore season but how much I have no idea
Luke Schoonmaker - From what I read from Dallas fans, they didn’t like the pick because of his injury history and age. I watched a lot of the Dallas games and he played a lot but wasn’t featured much in the passing game mainly because IMO Jake Ferguson is gonna be a star in the league. I think Luke can cement himself as TE2 for the Cowboys but seems to have a limited offensive ceiling which is fine. Every team needs those but they probably wanted more from a 2nd round pick.
Jourdan Lewis - One of my favorite players in the league and Dallas fans love him too. Just a super solid player and one of the slot corners in the league. He signed a 1 year deal to remain in Dallas and be a part of potentially the best secondary in the league.
Philadelphia Eagles
Brandon Graham - 2 words: Philly Legend. Will almost certainly end up in the Eagles Ring of Honor. He’s gotta be the oldest player on this list and even in his advanced age (for the NFL) was surprisingly effective. He’s not a 3 down edge anymore but some of the stats I saw were impressive. For his entire career he’s been a pressures and hurries guy and last season was no different. He signed a 1 year deal in Philly which will almost certainly be his send off year culminating in a great great NFL career.
Trevor Keegan - Should be a safe bet to make the team this fall. I saw on twitter he was the first among the 13 wolverines just drafted to sign their rookie contract.
New York Giants
Jon Runyan - Jon was able to turn a nice and improbable run in Green Bay into a 3 year 30 mill deal with the Giants. He’s been really solid so far in his NFL career.
David Long Jr. - Still kicking around in the league. I think he’s signed a 1 year deal the last 4 years to 4 different teams. Probably not what he wanted but all in all a pretty good NFL career to have.
Washington Cammanders
Mike Sainristil - I expect the Michigan Legend to step right into a starting nickel spot for Washington as they try to rebuild in the Jayden Daniels era.
New England Patriots
Josh Uche - His NFL career has almost exactly mirrored what he did at Michigan. He was a situational pass rusher with tremendous bend and that has translated nicely in the NFL. 2 seasons ago he had a career year with 11.5 sacks and very limited snap count. I think he plays something like 30% of the snaps for the Pats. Unfortunately for him, he wasn’t able to follow up that season with another good one and was only able to sign a 1 year deal to return. He personally said he left money not the table to return to the patriots. He’ll need to return to his 2022 form to stick around long term.
Jabrill Peppers - Seems to have found a spot for his liking in New England. Overall he’s a pretty exciting player to watch just maybe not as much when he was Michigan. He’s kinda getting up there in age so I’m not sure a long term contract is in the cards for him regardless of what kind of season he has in 2024 but he’s got a lot left in the tank where I could see him signing 1 year deals for the remainder of his career.
Mike Onwenu - In a similar situation as guys like Ruiz and Runyan. Was able to have a really solid contract year and turn it into a long term contract in New England signing for 3 years and 57 mill.
New York Jets
Braiden McGregor - I know why he left but I’m not optimistic on his chances of sticking in the league. It starts with making the Jets which I know noting about so it seems possible.
Miami Dolphins
Ryan Hayes - Probably could have used another year at Michigan as I’m not sure he’s played at all in his 2 years in the league. I’m unsure of his status right now. He’ll be camping somewhere this fall fighting for a spot like 100s of others
Thanks for doing this! I don't watch a whole lot of NFL games and tend to lose track of Michigan players in the league.
It's great to see Wolverines on so many rosters. I'm glad that Big Mike Onwenu has found success. For some reason I've always had a soft spot for that dude. I'm curious if anyone else has any more info on Haskins' situation.
It's great to see Wolverines on so many rosters.
That was my biggest takeaway. I don't follow NFL at all, but the number of our players being drafted is definitely something that was different under Coach Harbaugh. Hopefully Coach Moore and co. can keep it up.
Thanks for doing this. While I don't agree with some/a bit of the personal commentary attached to some of these guys and their outlooks, appreciate your effort, the time it took, and enjoyed reading it.
One note on this one that jumps out at me... might be underselling Onwenu, who is considered the "cornerstone" piece of New England's OL rebuild.
He did undersell him quite a bit. Think at one point he was rated as the best Olineman in the game. He is an All- Pro type of lineman and like you said the cornerstone of the line they are building in New England.
You deserve another “Thank You” for this content. Very much appreciated!
Is Jaylen Mayfield still on the Falcons?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jalen_Mayfield
Bouncing around on Giants practice squad appears to be the latest
Pretty sure he should have stayed another year also.
Thanks, part two.
Appreciate the time and effort yoh put in but your evaluations on some of these guys are a little off and others are excellent and spot on. Hutch for example, yes every player can improve but he plays a shit ton of snaps because the Lions have no other guy that can get pressure like him. So essentially every time game plans around him because Detroit has no other threat to get pressure teams plan around. To me the Lions should have gotten another end that teams worry about because that will make Hutch that much better To me the Lions must think Houston or Davenport are the answer along with McNeil who can now do what he is best at in the middle. Hutch is almost always double or tripled teamed. Hell he pretty much got the NFL to look at how far tackles can line up in the backfield Also he did just lead the league in QB pressures. I could go on. Lions dont have a stacked WR room now or when DPJ came in. We have good players but after St. Brown there is no proven guy that teams are worried about. BM should have stayed he has rons of talent and potential and is now 2 years completely healthy sunce his junior year in high school. He will play in the NFL. Uche was not used correctly by the previous Pats staff and was even mentioned by some Pats staff members. He gor un BB doghouse and once u get there it is hard to come out. Mayo should get the best out of him. If not send him to the Lions. Dallas has now one of the best TE duos in the NFL. Words in Dallas are Schoon would be a starter if Jake didn't break out last year. Mazi started off great and had a good couple games then he fell off. Word is or was his conditioning. At Michigan he rotated more and woth Dallas he stayed on the field more. I expect a better 2nd year for him.
Great job with your write up and taking the time to inform the great people on here about our Wolverines in the NFL
A couple defenses of what I wrote. I think I mentioned literally everything you did about Hutch so I don’t see where we disagree.
Also for DPJ, I said stacked RECEIVER room not WR. The lions are objectively stacked with Gibbs, Jamo, Sun God, and Laporta all way ahead of DPJ. You can’t overlook Raymond as well
I’m pretty sure Andrew Stueber is fighting for a roster spot with New England as well.
Weird take on Hutch. Obviously he can improve but he's already among the upper echelon of DEs
I just disagree. He's obviously very good and I stated that. IMO the top tier is pretty clearly Watt, Bosa, Garrett, Parsons, and Crosby and he isn't there, yet.