PFF projects two Michigan football players to breakout in the NFL this season
Michigan football star Aidan Hutchinson had a monster rookie year last season with the Detroit Lions. He recorded 9.5 sacks and was named the Pepsi Rookie of the Year.
After Hutchinson had a breakout season in the NFL in 2022, which former Wolverine may break out in 2023?
According to Zoltan Buday with PFF, there are two former Michigan stars that have a chance to breakout this season.
Baltimore Ravens’ David Ojabo is the first mentioned.
Ojabo missed most of the 2022 season due to a torn Achilles and thus played only 21 snaps on defense throughout his rookie campaign. However, he did flash potential in Week 18 against the Bengals, logging 20 of those snaps. His 83.2 overall grade for the game ranked 13th among individual game performances by rookie edge defenders in 2022. Furthermore, the Ravens have lost Calais Campbell, Jason Pierre-Paul and Justin Houston since last season, so Ojabo should have plenty of opportunities to prove himself in 2023.
Ojabo was a second-round pick in the 2022 NFL draft by the Ravens. He was a sure first-round pick, but he tore his Achilles during his pro day in Michigan, which is why he slipped to the second round. Ojabo starred for Michigan during his junior campaign, which is why he is featured as a breakout star in the NFL. The edge defender recorded 11 sacks and was named an All-American during his lone season as a starter with the maize and blue.
The other former Michigan player mentioned in the article is wide receiver, Nico Collins.
Collins might have already had a breakout season in 2022 if not for a couple of injuries and below-par quarterback play. His 72.4 PFF grade ranked only 35th among wide receivers last season; however, passes going his way were completed only 56.9% of the time, the 10th-lowest rate in the NFL despite Collins not dropping a single target all season. In fact, he was just one of nine receivers not to drop a pass among players with at least 50 targets last season.
The 6-foot-4 wide receiver is entering his third season with the Houston Texans after being drafted in the third round of the 2021 NFL draft. Collins caught passes for 481 yards last season in 10 games, but poor quarterback play hindered him. Now that the Texans traded Brandin Cooks, Collins is expected to take over as the No. 1 receiver. The Texans drafted C.J. Stroud and more than likely a Buckeye-to-Wolverine connection will take place in 2023.
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