Washington Commanders pick Michigan football's Mike Sainristil in Round 2 of 2024 NFL draft

Mike Sainristil, Michigan football's standout defensive back, was selected Friday by the Washington Commanders with the 18th pick in the second round of the 2024 NFL draft in downtown Detroit, No. 50 overall.

In the moments after the College Football Playoff championship game, former Michigan Wolverines coach Jim Harbaugh desperately looked around for Sainristil.

A two-time captain, fifth-year senior and converted wide receiver turned defensive back, Sainristil had been through it all during his time in Ann Arbor. So, naturally, it was he, the leader of the defense, who came away with the game-sealing 81-yard interception return of Heisman Trophy finalist Michael Penix Jr. to seal the national title victory, 34-13, over Washington.

Harbaugh, who'd known him since he was an undergraduate in high school, gushed about his unsung hero.

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“I hope somebody could go grab him and get him up here at the podium. Amazing. Amazing, stalwart of a player,” Harbaugh said at the postgame podium. "When a play needs to be made, Mike Sainristil has made it. … Huge play. The fourth-and-13 play, Mike Sainristil makes that interception, returns it down to the 6 or 7-yard line.”

Now, the Commanders will get to see exactly what the former U-M coach was talking about firsthand.

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Sainristil spent his first three years in Ann Arbor as a wide receiver, catching 36 total passes for a combined 532 yards and five touchdowns. However, prior to his senior year, Harbaugh approached him about a position switch to nickel to follow in the footsteps of Dax Hill, a transition that went as well as anybody could have hoped for.

Sainristil immediately took to the defensive slot position and recorded 58 tackles, two sacks and an interception in his first year with the unit. After a loss in the CFP to TCU, the 5-foot-9, 182-pound defensive back was given a mid-round grade ahead of the 2023 NFL draft, then opted to return to Ann Arbor and bet on himself.

MAKING MIKE SAINRISTIL: The unsung hero of Michigan football’s resurgence

Few gambles have paid off better, after Sainristil developed into an All-American this past year as a graduate student, when he recorded 44 tackles, deflected six passes, grabbed six interceptions (including two returned for touchdowns) and forced two fumbles and two sacks.

For those worried about if his perceived lack of size will translate at the next level, he has more than made up for his diminutive figure with his athleticism; his 8.51 relative athletic score (in the top 15% among 2,222 qualified athletes at the position since 1987) determined he had "elite" explosion, "great" speed and "good" agility.

Sainristil can do it all, as he wrapped up 99 of his 113 tackle attempts according to Pro Football Focus, and also proved to be an impact blitzer out of the slot, as he generated 20 pressures and four sacks across two seasons.

It's why just before the Rose Bowl, Harbaugh foretold the idea of him shooting up draft boards.

“I bet if you checked the NFL draft, he is rising to the highs," Harbaugh said. "First round type of guy, All-American. You know, again, just a great guy, down to Earth, great guy, and heck of a football player.”

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Commanders pick Michigan DB Mike Sainristil in 2024 NFL draft Round 2