Michigan Football: How far will Rashan Gary fall in 2019 NFL Draft?

Rashan Gary, a former standout for Michigan football, has been viewed as a top pick. But after injury reports and a lack of production, is he falling?

The 2019 NFL draft is just two days away and for Rashan Gary, the former Michigan football star, that means the report about a shoulder injury couldn’t have come at a worse time.

Of course, when it comes to the NFL, it’s difficult to hide things like injuries. Last season, Gary missed three starts for Michigan football, while also sitting out parts of other games. He was a healthy scratch in the Peach Bowl against Florida too.

Obviously, Gary is a freakish athlete that runs around a 4.5 at 6-foot-4 and about 280 pounds. He has the ability to be a defensive end or a defensive tackle. However, despite all his abilities, he had only 9.5 sacks in three seasons for the Wolverines along with 23 tackles for loss and 119 total tackles.

Some NFL teams have been worried about that production or lack of it. Some thought that was causing him to fall in the draft and on Monday, it prompted ESPN draft expert Mel Kiper Jr. to say that Gary was a polarizing figure. Kiper also cited a GM that told him Gary had a draft range of 10-28.

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For a guy that was once viewed as a consensus top five pick, that’s pretty shocking. And then, this morning, Ian Rapoport dropped the nugget that Gary has a labrum tear in his shoulder. He did report that teams believe Gary could play this season and put off surgery until the offseason, but still, is that really want GM’s want to hear two days before the draft?

If Gary was as productive as say Chase Winovich, it probably wouldn’t be as much of an issue. Yet, Gary is viewed as someone that doesn’t necessarily love football, so it only adds to the concern. Is he going to battle through it?

That’s what skipping a bowl game will do for you.

Certainly, many teams knew this before Tuesday, but what it means for them and their intentions of picking Gary is hard to discern. It would be hard to be comfortable taking him in the top 10. There just seems to be too much bust potential, especially with the injury, for him not to fall.

Maybe that will turn out to be a good thing. I doubt he slips past the first round, he is far too talented for that. Some team will take a chance on him Thursday night, hoping they landed the next Julius Peppers.

Gary has that potential but up to this point, his status as an elite prospect is more about projections that past production and anytime that’s the case, it’s worrisome and with the shoulder thing, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Gary tumble outside the top 20.