Three Wolverines featured in The Athletic's Top 100 NFL Draft Board

The NFL Draft is fast approaching, and with the NFL Draft Combine and college pro days behind us, many NFL Draft experts are finalizing their mock drafts and "big boards".

The Athletic NFL Staff recently updated their NFL Draft 2023 Big Board, featuring their top 100 prospects for the 2023 NFL Draft. This interactive tool provides rankings, stats, and data for each prospect. The list features three Michigan Wolverines.

Mazi Smith has been viewed as a second round prospect for much of this draft cycle, but a strong bench press performance at the NFL Combine seems to have reminded NFL scouts what an athlete Mazi is. Nick Baumgardner of The Athletic said this about Mazi.

"As explosive as any big man in this class, Smith’s raw power with his punch and what he generates in his massive lower half makes him a prototypical space-eating, run-defending nose tackle in today’s NFL...Not an instant producer in college, it took Smith until the midway point of his career to make a serious impact."

Smith is now seen my many as a fringe first round prospect, who could be selected as high as the early 20's.

DJ Turner posted the fastest 40-yard dash time at the NFL Combine and he has been climbing mock drafts just as fast. Turner flashed his abilities at Michigan but was also inconsistent on the outside. Some NFL scouts believe his potential at nickel actually makes him a more valuable prospect. Baumgartner said this about Turner.

"Skinny, fast and fearless, Turner impressed at Michigan with his ability to hang in man coverage and slowly got better over time. Turner was one of the most efficient man-coverage corners, per PFF, as a senior and was a critical part of Michigan’s turnaround as a program...Turner’s technique tends to come and go, his tackling is inconsistent, and he often relies too much on speed alone."

Turner is one of the more polarizing prospects in the NFL Draft. He has been mocked as high as the back half of the first round and as low as the 5th round of the draft.

Luke Schoonmaker was buried on the depth chart at Michigan for most of his career, and in the last two seasons either had to share the spotlight or dealt with injuries. He tested as one of the most athletic tight ends in the history of the NFL Draft, but who he is and his numbers at Michigan clash for some scouts. Baumgartner said this about Schoon.

"He’s still likely never going to be a big catching threat in the passing game. What NFL coaches will like about him, though, is that Schoonmaker comes battle-tested as a blocker. Michigan asks a lot of its tight ends in the run game, both in terms of assignments and alignments, so Schoonmaker put a lot of quality reps on tape. He can climb to the second level and find linebackers, but he’s also capable of staying in as a pass protector so an offense’s true mismatch TE can get out into space."

I personally disagree with this take. I think Schoon is underrated as a passing threat, and in the right offense, could be a serious weapon in the flat, down the seam, or in the red zone.

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