Michigan football loaded with front-end talent for 2025 NFL draft
With the record-setting 2024 NFL draft officially in the books, it's never too early to look ahead to the 2025 NFL draft.
While the Michigan football team ultimately fell short of the record of 15 draft picks on one roster (Georgia, 2022), the defending national champions had 13 selections; the fourth most in the history of the event and a new program record, surpassing the 11 picks in the 2017 draft.
Nobody is projecting the Wolverines to set the record next season, however, it seems a near certainty they will extend their program record of five selections or more to seven consecutive years, and could have their sixth draft with eight or more picks in the past nine cycles.
It's a more difficult exercise this upcoming year than most, considering the Wolverines' four top standouts are all juniors, not seniors. That said, many are among the most talented at their position in the country and widely expected to leave Ann Arbor after the 2024 season.
Here's a look at the capable players who will be eligible for the draft and who could get a look from NFL teams:
Early round locks
Mason Graham
It's hard to see Graham not having an exceptional junior season and being anything other than one of the elite prospects that nearly every NFL team is drooling over next offseason. Former U-M head coach Jim Harbaugh saw it coming long ago, when he called Graham a "gift from the football gods" before his freshman season, which has held true over the past two years.
PARTY TIME! Michigan's Mike Sainristil hoped for 1st round NFL draft pick. Then he waited.
The 6-foot-3, 318-pound Graham dominated last season despite playing with a club on his hand for weeks as he battled through a broken thumb. He made 36 tackles including 7½ for loss and three sacks, three quarterback hurries, one pass breakup, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery. He shares the rare blend of production with both the pass rush and run stuffing from the interior of the line. According to Pro Football Focus, he was the No. 4 most valuable defensive tackle in the nation per its wins above average metric, and No. 6 among DTs with a 15.9% pass rush win rate. Graham is the No. 2 overall prospect, per Pro Football Focus' early big board.
Will Johnson
Once seen as a potential top-10 pick, some early mock drafts have the Wolverines' star defensive back falling closer to the back end of the first round, but still others see him as the top available defensive back prospect in the nation. Johnson worked his way back from an offseason knee scope last year, and after sitting out all but a handful of snaps during the conference portion of his sophomore season, he played 12 games (11 starts) and made 27 tackles, one for loss with eight pass breakups, four interceptions and one returned for a touchdown.
Johnson, (6-2, 202 pounds) has shown the instincts and understanding in zone defense. Now with coordinator Wink Martindale likely calling more man-to-man situations on the outside, expect U-M's top defensive back prospect since Charles Woodson to have his best season. Johnson was a second-team USA TODAY All-American as a sophomore and a freshman All-American by three outlets. Johnson is listed at No. 4 on PFF's way-too-early board
Colston Loveland
Getting his named called on Thursday of the draft may not be the same lock the other two feel like, but it's far from out of the question for the man who is perceived as the best NFL caliber tight end prospect in next year's draft. Loveland (6-5, 245 pounds), from Gooding, Idaho, finished second on the team in receptions (45) and receiving yards (649) to go along with four touchdowns last season.
He's a great route-runner with plus speed for his size, tremendous hands and the ability to high-point the football in a variety of body positions. He's not an in-line tight end NFL prospect (for now), but is a matchup nightmare because he's much too fast for a linebacker and too large for most defensive backs to handle. PFF has him at No. 16 on its big board.
Kenneth Grant
Michigan didn't have just one "gift from the football gods" in its 2021 class, it had two according to Harbaugh, and the other was Grant. The soft-spoken Grant is 6-3 and 340 pounds, yet possesses uncanny speed for his size. One play in particular stands out last season, when he ran down Penn State running back Kaytron Allen as it appeared Allen was in for a long touchdown run.
Grant's numbers were impressive — he finished his sophomore season with 22 tackles, 3½ for loss, 2½ sacks, five pass knockdowns at the line of scrimmage and an interception — but still did not represent what he did on the field. The second-team All-Big Ten tackle was double teamed on nearly every snap (if he wasn't, good luck).
Locks to be drafted
Rod Moore
If it weren't for an unfortunate knee injury earlier this spring, Moore would likely be in the category above this. One of the top safeties in the nation — Martindale said he was reminded of the smartest DB he ever coached, Eric Weddle — Moore will miss a good portion (if not all) of the 2024 season as he rehabs from surgery. Moore recorded 38 tackles, with one for loss, five pass breakups, two interceptions and one quarterback hurry as a junior. He is seen as a Day 2 option.
Donovan Edwards
If he runs like he did in the spring game, falling forward and breaking tackles, then Edwards suddenly becomes a truly tantalizing NFL prospect. No matter what, Edwards has the strength, speed, burst and athleticism to compete at the next level; it's about if he's able to excel as a running back or if he will need to move toward more of a hybrid and slot role. Edwards ran 119 times for 497 yards (4.2 per carry) and five touchdowns last season.
Likely to be drafted
Makari Paige
The West Bloomfield alum opted to return for his senior season, and it feels likely that will translate to him hearing his name called in 2025 in the mid-to-late rounds. At 6-4, 208, he has great size and finished as a Big Ten honorable mention at safety last season. He recorded 41 tackles with two pass breakups, one fumble recovery and one quarterback hurry.
Josh Priebe
The hope for the Northwestern transfer is he follow Olusegun Oluwatimi and LaDarius Henderson the past two seasons, when they transferred into the program and were able to parlay that into an NFL draft selection. Priebe can play all the interior positions, but projects as a guard at 6-5, 305.
Myles Hinton
First-year offensive line coach Grant Newsome said all that needed to be said about Hinton, the tackle prospect who entered from Stanford last year and stuck around for a second season in Ann Arbor: "Any time you have a guy who looks like that and moves like that and has the ability that he does, we always say that God doesn’t make too many people look like that and have that ability," Newsome said. "He’s got all the ability in the world. I think he’s a guy who, potential wise, has all the ability to be the next great first-round tackle at the University of Michigan. Now it’s on myself, his coaches, and on him to make that happen."
Derrick Moore
It was a long sweat, but Jaylen Harrell continued the tradition of edge rushers from U-M getting drafted to six years in a row, and next season, Moore appears to be the best option of making it seven straight. Despite playing a reserve role, he was incredibly productive with 34 tackles including six for loss, five sacks, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery (returned for a touchdown), four quarterback hurries and two pass breakups. He was named an All-Big Ten honorable mention.
Late round or UDFA
Josaiah Stewart
The man who made the game-sealing play against Alabama, Stewart's size may be the main question at the next level. At 6-1, 245, it's unclear if Stewart has the requisite size for his position, which is the main reason he returned to Ann Arbor. Stewart, a Coastal Carolina transfer, showed he can handle the Big Ten as he led all U-M linemen with 38 tackles, including 8½ for loss, with 5½ sacks, three quarterback hurries and two pass breakups.
TJ Guy
He's not a well-known name yet, but the expectation is he will be come the fall. Head coach Sherrone Moore, defensive line coach Lou Esposito and Martindale all separately mentioned Guy as a player ready to take the next step, and the 6-4, 250 EDGE has the frame to play at the next level. Now, he needs to show he has developed the rest.
UDFA most likely outcome
Quinten Johnson
He will be a sixth-year senior, so there's question of how much upside there is, but Johnson can certainly play. The 5-11, 200-pound DB from Silver Springs, Maryland, recorded 22 tackles with five pass breakups, one interception and forced one fumble in the fourth quarter of the Rose Bowl.
Rayshaun Benny
There's a chance he could still be a late-round selection — he's 6-4, 295 as a defensive tackle who joined from Oak Park with the idea he was a near-lock to play at the next level — but he'll have to overcome a foot injury that kept him out of the national championship game and sidelined him this spring.
Max Bredeson
Feels like he doesn't have the size to get used as a draft pick at tight end, but come back in a year when he signs with Harbaugh and the Chargers as a UDFA. Somehow, that feels all but certain.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan football loaded with front-end talent ahead of NFL draft 2025
