The buzz surrounding a pair of Michigan Wolverines football players in defensive end Kwity Paye and right tackle Jalen Mayfield increased this week when ESPN's Todd McShay projected them to both go in the NFL Draft's first round, a trend that is becoming more and more common as of late.

Several of the biggest draft prognosticators followed suit and joined in on the Paye and Mayfield hype with their respective mock drafts this week, including Chad Reuter of NFL.com and Dane Brugler of TheAthletic.

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Reuter was the highest of anyone on the Michigan pair, projecting Mayfield to come off the board at No. 20 overall to the Chicago Bears and Paye to go seven picks later at No. 27 to the Baltimore Ravens.

"Upgrading the Bears' offensive line will help [quarterback] Mitch Trubisky — or whomever is under center in Chicago — and [head coach] Matt Nagy operate more efficiently in 2021," Reueter wrote of the Mayfield projection.

"The powerful Mayfield could start at tackle or guard at the next level."

"In typical Ravens fashion, they patiently wait for the process to play out and a player of value becomes available," Reuter said of Paye. "Paye has the agility to play standing up and fits a major area of need for Baltimore, with [linebacker] Matt Judon, [defensive end/linebacker] Yannick Ngakoue, [outside linebacker] Pernell McPhee and [linebacker] Tyus Bowser all set to become free agents."

Brugler, meanwhile, had nearly identical projections in the mock draft he released today. The main difference was that he had Paye going ahead of Mayfield, with the former coming off the board at No. 23 to the San Francisco 49ers and the latter No. 27 to the Ravens.

"San Francisco was able to address the quarterback position without completely dropping out of the first round," Brugler wrote of Paye. "And with Paye still on the board, the 49ers add a player they might have considered if they stayed at No. 12.

"Although he is still a work-in-progress, Paye has the athletic traits and energy to be equally productive vs. the pass and the run."

"A college right tackle, Mayfield has the body type, movements and power that translate very well at guard, giving Baltimore an upgrade on the interior of the offensive line while also providing tackle insurance," the analyst said of Mayfield.

Chris Trapasso of CBS Sports and Michael Renner of Pro Football Focus, meanwhile, each had Paye going in the first round in their respective mock drafts this week as well, but neither had Mayfield.

The former had Paye being selected by the Minnesota Vikings with the No. 14 pick, while the latter had him going No. 12 to the 49ers.

"The Vikings have to revamp the entire defensive line this offseason," Trapasso wrote of his Paye to Minnesota projection. "Paye is a rocked-up athletic specimen."

"[Defensive end] Dee Ford looks bound for the chopping block this offseason and [defensive end] Arik Armstead’s versatility can slot in a lot of places along the defensive line," Renner explained with his Paye to San Francisco projection.

"The 49ers defense relies on that front four to get home, and Paye’s freak athleticism could benefit from learning across from [defensive end] Nick Bosa."

Reueter was the only writer of the bunch who expanded his mock draft beyond the first round, forecasting the second and third rounds as well. He unsurprisingly had wideout Nico Collins as the next Wolverine projected to hear his name called behind Paye and Mayfield.

Reuter tabbed Collins to the Ravens at pick No. 58, which of course would be one of the final selections of the second round. Those were the only three Wolverines he had being chosen within the first three rounds, however, with no mention of linebacker Cameron McGrone or cornerback Ambry Thomas, most notably, in the third round.

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