Michigan Football: Donovan Peoples-Jones helps himself at NFL combine

Former Michigan football player Donovan Peoples-Jones needed a good showing at the NFL combine to improve his draft stock and he nailed it.

When former Michigan football player Donovan Peoples-Jones declared for the NFL draft after his junior season, it was definitely a bet on himself and his abilities.

The talent of Peoples-Jones has never been in question. Back in 2017, he was the No. 1 wide receiver in the country and while he didn’t necessarily live up to that production-wise, he always looked like a future NFL receiver.

And at the NFL combine Thursday, People-Jones showed exactly why he left Michigan football early after posting one of the most impressive high jumps in the history of the NFL combine, as well as running a 4.48 in the 40-yard dash, in his second attempt.

The jump stood out and that got people talking on Twitter about how there really isn’t that big of a talent gap between Michigan football and Ohio State. Yet, in terms of his draft stock, the 40-time will serve Peoples-Jones even better as he tries to get picked in the second or third round.

The problem is that Peoples-Jones, despite being very good at times on the field, was always inconsistent. Not once in his college career did he go over 100 yards. At times, he was great, like in the first half against Ohio State this year, until he dropped a touchdown in the red zone.

It was third-and-goal and Shea Patterson threw a ball up to Peoples-Jones. With his hands and jumping ability, he should have made the play. He dropped the ball. In the second half, Patterson threw the ball to him nine more times and he didn’t catch a single pass.

Some of that was Patterson, but Peoples-Jones had issues with drops and just not getting open. He needs to work on his route-running, but his performance at the combine shows again, beyond a shadow of a doubt that he’s among the most physically gifted wideouts in the 2020 draft.

It’s still hard to see Peoples-Jones getting picked before the latter part of the second round at the earliest and with the depth at receiver, it’s possible he falls into the third or fourth round. But with his size, speed and athleticism, a team will take a shot on him, maybe earlier than expected.