Michigan football's Mike Sainristil identified as one of the biggest steals of 2024 NFL Draft
Post-NFL draft analysis can often be a tricky and fruitless endeavor, with analysts evaluating what a player might do or how a team fared with its selections even before these incoming prospects have yet to play a single professional snap.
For some of those who follow football much more closely than others, at least one thing is apparent: A former Michigan star may very well have been one of the biggest steals of the draft.
Defensive back Mike Sainristil, one of the driving forces behind the Wolverines’ dominant defense that helped lead them to a national championship, was taken by the Washington Commanders with the No. 50 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.
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The Commanders earned praise for the selection, not just because of who they chose, but also because of how they were able to land an All-American in the bottom half of the draft’s second round.
Longtime college football writer Bruce Feldman told Kevin Clark on ESPN and Omaha Productions’ “This Is Football” podcast that he believed Sainristil was one of the draft’s biggest steals, calling him his “favorite college player.”
“I can say this from being on their sidelines during a lot of games — he was the best leader on that team,” Feldman said. “I would argue that he did more to change Michigan football in the last couple of years as much as any player they had. He’s 182 pounds. If you see him walking around when he wears his glasses, he looks like a law school student. He’s a bright kid. He’s super instinctive. He’s really tough. He’s a dynamic athlete.”
If there is a reason Sainristil were the eighth cornerback selected in the draft, it was likely due to his relatively diminutive physical stature. At the NFL scouting combine in Indianapolis, he was measured at 5-foot-9 and 182 pounds.
For those who watched him, though, those pounds and inches only matter so much. It wasn’t just onlookers like Feldman, either. That group includes perhaps the greatest coach to ever roam a college sideline.
In what would be his final game as Alabama’s coach, Nick Saban watched the impact Sainristil had in Michigan’s 27-20 overtime victory against the Crimson Tide in the College Football Playoff semifinals at the Rose Bowl, a game in which the Massachusetts native had six tackles, including a tackle for loss. While working as an NFL draft analyst for ESPN this year more than three months after his retirement from Alabama, Saban praised Washington’s selection of Sainristil right after it was made.
“There’s a difference between love and loves. I loves this guy,” Saban said. “This guy may be the best football player pound-for-pound in the draft. He’s instinctive, he’s physical and I know he’s not very big, but I’ll tell you what: this guy makes plays. He can cover, he can tackle, he’s tough, a fast reactor. I just love the way this guy plays. I just love it. He’s a good blitzer. He killed us in our game blitzing, just killed us coming off the edge as a star.”
Sainristil finished the 2023 season with 44 tackles, five tackles for loss, two sacks, two forced fumbles, six interceptions and six pass break-ups, the last two of which were team highs.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan football's Mike Sainristil identified as 2024 NFL Draft steal
