Michigan Wolverines football should have a number of players taken in this year's NFL Draft, starting in tonight's first round. TheWolverine.com Staff offers opinions on the ones with the most potential to stick around, who goes earliest and more in this roundtable.
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Which former Wolverines will get drafted earliest, and who will it be and when?
CHRIS BALAS: It's looking more and more likely that it will be center Cesar Ruiz, who was really, really good at times his senior year in earning second-team All-Big Ten honors. Ruiz is the prototypical center prospect, reminiscent in a lot of ways of former long-time NFL standout and former Wolverines Jonathan Goodwin, who had a great career with the New Orleans Saints and others.
Ruiz is athletic, smart and — at times — played with an edge. He'll need to get in better shape to deal with the strength of NFL defensive linemen and hold up, but he's projected to be a starter within his first two seasons and is unique in that he's a "true" center. He'll go late in the first round, ahead of defensive end Josh Uche and guard Ben Bredeson.
AUSTIN FOX: Cesar Ruiz, with one of the final picks of the first round (likely either to San Francisco at No. 31 or Kansas City at No. 32). His stock skyrocketed in the months following his early departure from Michigan, thanks in large part to an impressive showing at the NFL combine in late February/early March.
Centers seldom go in the first round, but one of the attributes that makes Ruiz so appealing to NFL teams is the fact that he has the ability to play guard as well, having started the final four games of his freshman season there for the Wolverines. He has also gained a reputation for possessing outstanding mobility in space for someone his size (6-4, 319).
The only U-M player who could seemingly come off the board before Ruiz is Josh Uche. The projections for him vary immensely though, with some pegging him to go as early as the late 20s, while others have him going as late as the third round. With that being said, projecting Ruiz to come off the board first among Wolverines is the safe pick.
CLAYTON SAYFIE: Cesar Ruiz is expected to go the highest out of the U-M players, according to the mock drafts we’ve seen. NFL.com’s Daniel Jeremiah has Ruiz as his top interior offensive lineman on his big board, and projects him to go in the first round to Miami at No. 26, and there’s projections that have him even going as high as the teens. It also wouldn’t be surprising if John Harbaugh and the Baltimore Ravens nab him late Thursday night at No. 28 if he’s still on the board.
Ruiz wasn’t the best or most productive lineman on U-M’s roster last season, but he did show quite a bit that caught the eye of pro teams. Ruiz has the ability to play both guard and center, and is athletic enough to get outside and bury people when pulling.
How many Wolverines will go in the first round?
CHRIS BALAS: Just one — Ruiz. It wouldn't stun if none did, honestly, but there will be a team in need of a center who won't be able to pass on a guy with such a specific skillset.
Uche has great measurables and impressed as a pass rusher, but there will likely be some teams that wonder why he wasn't always an every-down player at U-M. He played a lot more as a senior, but still wasn't the guy the defensive coaches counted on during every play. That could throw some teams and push him down a round or two.
AUSTIN FOX: Only one, and it will be Ruiz. Though it may not seem like it, having multiple first round picks has actually been incredibly rare for Michigan throughout its history. The Maize and Blue have only had it occur nine times, and just five times since 1979.
Uche and Ruiz seem to be the only two candidates to potentially be chosen within the first 32 picks, but the chances seem very low for both of them to go in the first round. Linebacker Devin Bush and defensive end Rashan Gary accomplished the feat for U-M last year and linebacker Jabrill Peppers and defensive end Taco Charlton in 2017, but 2005 was the last time it had happened prior to that (wideout Braylon Edwards and cornerback Marlin Jackson).
The odds are much higher that Michigan will have no first round picks than two.
CLAYTON SAYFIE: One Wolverine will go in the first round — Ruiz. The second candidate to go tonight would be edge rusher Josh Uche. We talked to PFF’s Josh Liskiewitz last week, and he believes teams that pass on Uche in the first round will regret it. Even so, we’ll say that Uche goes in the second round, maybe the third. Wherever he lands, he’s going to make that team happy for a long time. The name of the game is pressuring the quarterback in the NFL, and the speed rusher proved at U-M that he can do just that.
Who will have the best pro career?
CHRIS BALAS: A surprise here, but not to anyone who has seen film of just about every game he's played in his career:
It's Ben Bredeson.
Bredeson has his flaws, but his tenacity and "never take a play off" mentality is what will make him a team favorite wherever he ends up. He's got the Steve Hutchinson, Jon Jansen, Jake Long mentality in that respect, and he always — always — plays to the whistle and with violence. There will be buzz about him early in camp wherever he ends up, and he'll be a coach's favorite and a captain at some point in his career. Watch. ]
AUSTIN FOX: This one is an extremely tough call, with Bredeson, Ruiz and Uche appearing to be the most likely candidates. We’ll give a slight edge to Uche, however, partly due to the way pass rushers are at a higher demand now than perhaps ever before in the NFL. Players who can get to opposing quarterbacks are incredibly valuable, and that is precisely what Uche specializes in. He led Michigan in sacks each of the past two years, despite ranking 20th in snaps played on U-M’s defense in 2018 and 12th this past year.
‘Untapped potential’ is a phrase that oftentimes gets tossed around with him, with whatever NFL team who chooses him undoubtedly hoping to tap into that potential. He is viewed as a bit of a tweener when it comes to what position will suit him best at the next level (linebacker or defensive end), but his speed off the edge is what will keep him in the NFL for a long time.
CLAYTON SAYFIE: Ruiz, for the reasons stated above. He’s an athletic interior lineman, and will most likely be a starter from day one on the team that selects him. He’ll be ahead of the other Wolverines in that he’ll be playing a lot from the jump.
Others that have a good chance of having NFL success are Uche, Ben Bredeson, LaVert Hill, Khaleke Hudson and Donovan Peoples-Jones.
Hudson is an intriguing one because he may not have a true natural position. But, his versatility can be used as a strength at the next level. He’s somebody that can provide depth at multiple positions in the secondary, and he loves (and excels at) playing special teams, which bodes well for him making a roster and sticking on one.
But hey, maybe the guy who has the best career is someone we didn’t name here. One of the other potential late round picks (or undrafted guys) could make a name for himself. It’s happened before. A U-M quarterback selected in the sixth round comes to mind, for one example.
One final note: Never count a Glasgow out.
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