Michigan Wolverines football's Kwity Paye is heavily expected to be a first-round pick.

Michigan Wolverines football defensive end Kwity Paye is unanimously viewed as a first-round selection by experts heading into the NFL Draft later this month. The range in which he is expected to come off the board varies tremendously though, with some prognosticators expecting him to go as high as the top 10, and others not until the late 20s.

Paye is likely to join elite Michigan football draft company either way. Only five Wolverine defensive ends have ever been selected in the first round of the NFL Draft, an event that has existed since 1936.

It's highly unlikely Paye becomes the highest Michigan defensive end ever taken, but not entirely out of the realm of possibility. That honor currently belongs to Curtis Greer, who went No. 6 overall to the St. Louis Cardinals in 1980.

Several prognostications that came out as soon as the college football season wrapped up back in December and January frequently had Paye coming off the board in the No. 7 to No. 10 range, but recent projections generally have him going somewhere in the No. 10-25 realm.

That was especially evident this afternoon when we took a look at the most recent mock drafts from several of the biggest outlets in the sport, all of which had been released since April 1 and after Michigan's Pro Day had wrapped up.

Of the 10 projections we looked at, Paye's average landing spot was No. 18. Three publications pegged him to go within the first 11 picks, and five had him going inside the top 20.