Round 1 of the NFL draft is in the books, and Michigan saw two of its players come off the board when linebacker Devin Bush went No. 10 to the Steelers and defensive end Rashan Gary No. 12 to the Packers.
Several analysts around the country have reshuffled their projections heading into tonight's action, and most outlets seem to be in unanimous agreement that defensive end Chase Winovich will hear his name called this evening, while most agree cornerback David Long is likely to as well.
Here's an updated look at where both Winovich and Long land in the latest mock draft projections, all of which have been written within the past 10 hours.
David Long
• No. 49 (Round 2), Cleveland Browns — Raju Byfield, FantasyPros.com
"Long is a luxury pick for a loaded Cleveland Browns team," Byfield wrote. "They will undoubtedly consider D.K. Metcalf here but see too much value in the defensive talent currently on the board. They are picking between Long and Zach Allen here and decide on Long due to his elite testing at the combine. Long is a hard-hitting, physical corner that will make an ideal number two across from Denzel Ward."
• No. 81 (Round 3), Minnesota Vikings — Lance Zierlein, NFL.com
• No. 93 (Round 3), New York Jets — Dane Brugler, TheAthletic
• No. 93 (Round 3), New York Jets — Matt Miller, Bleacher Report
• No. 99 (Round 3), Los Angeles Rams — R.J. White, CBS Sports
"The Rams aren't getting any younger at the corner position, so it makes sense to use one of their Day 2 picks on someone they can develop into an eventual starter," White explained.
Chase Winovich
• No. 42 (Round 2), Cincinnati Bengals — Lance Zierlein, NFL.com
"Motor that simply doesn't stop, Winovich will be a reliable, hard-charging end, but may not be a monster creating sack totals," Zierlein noted.
• No. 45 (Round 2), Los Angeles Rams — Nate Davis, USA Today
"Admittedly, it's fun to conceptually pair him with doppelgänger Clay Matthews," Davis wrote. "But what a relentless duo they'd be hunting down QBs like Russell Wilson and Murray."
• No. 56 (Round 2), New England Patriots — R.J. White, CBS Sports
"Winovich put on an absolute clinic at the combine, standing out among the players looking to establish themselves as the next tier of edge rushers," White wrote. "I think he's going in Round 2, and he fits a need for the Patriots with Trey Flowers gone."
• No. 56 (Round 2), New England Patriots — Connor Orr, Sports Illustrated
"Belichick’s defense can always use a lift from a do-everything linebacker, especially one who knows how to play in a versatile front and stick to responsibilities," Orr explained.
• No. 59 (Round 2), Indianapolis Colts — Dane Brugler, TheAthletic
• No. 59 (Round 2), Indianapolis Colts — Nick Manchester, Cincy Jungle
• No. 77 (Round 3), Carolina Panthers — Vinnie Iyer, SportingNews
"It doesn't hurt for Carolina to double up on pass rushers after taking Brian Burns," Iyer noted.
• No. 80 (Round 3), Cleveland Browns — Matt Miller, Bleacher Report
More Michigan NFL Draft News and Notes
• CBS Sports' Chris Trapasso appears to be higher on Long than most — a lot higher. He came out with his list of the 25 best players still available, and pegged Long as the No. 16 overall player still on the board and the fifth-best cornerback (behind LSU's Andraez Williams, Washington's Byron Murphy, Notre Dame's Julian Love and Michigan State's Justin Layne, in that order).
"Any team that prioritizes its outside cornerbacks' ability to play press man should be all over Long on Day 2," Trapasso wrote. "He's suffocating in that regard and proved to be an elite athlete for the position at the combine."
If the draft selections were to follow Trapasso's order (which they obviously won't), Long would come off the board at No. 48 overall, much higher than the consensus 81-99 range he is projected at above.
• Vinnie Iyer of SportingNews didn't seem too pleased with the Packers' selections of Gary and Maryland safety Darnell Savage last night, tabbing Green Bay as one of his losers of Day 1, for being 'too enamored with athleticism over production.'
"Defensive tackle Rashan Gary and safety Darnell Savage were both surprising directions for Green Bay, partly because inside linebacker Devin Bush was taken in front of the team and neither T.J. Hockenson nor Noah Fant aligned at tight end," he wrote.
"There's a lot of potential for both players in Mike Pettine's defense, where they will get help surrounded by strong veterans. But it's hard to know where both will fit to contribute as rookies and they need some time to convert their skills into real production."
On the flip side, he tabbed the 'Devins [referring to Bush and LSU's Devin White] and Williamses for being in high demand and landing well' as a few of his winners from Night 1.
"LSU's Devin White (Buccaneers) and Michigan's Devin Bush (Steelers) will be the front-runners for defensive rookies of the year as they stuff the stat sheet in 3-4 defenses built for them to rack up tackles, a few sacks and plenty of big plays in coverage," Iyer explained. "The Alabama duo of Quinnen Williams (Jets) and Jonah Williams (Bengals) also will be called upon for big roles in schemes to tailored to their strengths."
• Finally, ESPN's Jeremy Fowler was a big fan of the Steelers' selection of Bush last night, and explained why today in his category-by-category breakdown of Pittsburgh's class.
"My take: The Steelers went bold to solve an obvious need at inside linebacker by trading up 10 spots for one of the best overall players in the draft," he wrote. "At 234 pounds, Bush is versatile, instinctive, has 4.4 speed and loves to hit. Replacing Ryan Shazier in the middle of the defense required a normally conservative franchise to get aggressive, and the move should pay off.
"Within limits: General manager Kevin Colbert felt comfortable making the Bush deal because of the caliber of the player and what he had to give up to get him. Parting with a second-round pick was reasonable enough. But Colbert had a clear criterion: He wanted two Day 2 picks in 2019 for roster improvement. So, the Steelers threw in a third-rounder for next year and keep their two third-round picks for Friday. 'Giving up the two, that's what you pay for,' Colbert said.
"Doing it all: The Steelers coveted Bush for all the boxes he checked, and the ones he refused to leave blank. Steelers coach Mike Tomlin called Bush an 'all-situations player' who doesn't have to leave the field. The coach added the staff is 'equally fired up' about Bush's intangibles. Bush's father, Devin Bush Sr., was an NFL safety for eight seasons. Bush believes his speed from sideline to sideline is suited for today's NFL. 'I can cover. I can blitz. I can play the run, play the pass,' Bush said."
A poll asking readers to grade the Bush selection with either an 'A, B, C, D or F' at the end of the article yielded overwhelming results.
Out of 13,861 votes, 87 percent gave the pick an 'A,' 11 percent gave it a 'B,' while 'C' and 'D' each received one percent of the votes.
Nobody gave it an 'F.'
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