Michigan Football: Breaking down Wolverines day three draft picks

Michigan football finished the 2021 NFL draft with eight players selected and here’s a look at the four guys who went off the board Saturday. 

After one first-round pick in the 2021 NFL draft, a slew of Michigan football players came off the board Friday and Saturday as the Wolverines had a total of eight players drafted.

Nico Collins, Jalen Mayfield, and Ambry Thomas all went in the third round, joining first-round pick Kwity Paye who ending up going 21st overall to the Colts.

Then, on day three, more Wolverines were picked and while Michigan football fell shy of the third draft with at least 10 players picked in the Harbaugh era, it wound up with eight after Cam McGrone, Ben Mason, Chris Evans, and Cam Cheeseman were selected on day three.

Cheeseman, a long snapper, might have been the most surprising. He opted out of last season and now, he is going to be a member of the Washington Football team.

Here’s a look at three other picks from Saturday.

The best fit: Ben Mason to Baltimore

My favorite pick of the day was Ben Mason getting picked by the Ravens in the fifth round. Obviously, there is a tie between the Harbaugh brothers, but I don’t think that’s why the Ravens made the pick, although the extra knowledge probably didn’t hurt.

Mason just feels like a Raven. He’s hard-nosed, tough, and will do whatever it takes to win. Mason will play offense, defense, or special teams.

He certainly won’t play defense in Baltimore, but he will be more than a lead blocker. He will compete on special teams and could have be a core guy on that unit next season.

Beyond that, Mason is the ideal fullback for the Ravens, who want to be a smashmouth team and there’s no doubt that got the best fullback in the draft.

Another LB to the Pats

For the third consecutive year, the Patriots selected a linebacker from Michigan as Cam McGrone wound up in New England, where he will join Chase Winovich and Josh Uche.

McGrone is a pick with big upside. Looking back at 2019, when he burst onto the scene, he looked like a day-two selection at worst. He can blitz and he’s got the athleticism, as well as the toughness to truly be a three-down linebacker.

Bill Belichick has always had a good eye for linebackers and finds ways to use them, so it will be interesting to see what he makes out of McGrone, who clearly is an unfinished product.

Evans to Cincy could be a steal

Chris Evans missed the 2019 season due to academics, yet once he returned to Michigan football in 2020, there was talk that he could be a top-50 pick in this draft.

Certainly, things didn’t work out that way. U-M struggled and the running back rotation was a mess. But that doesn’t change the fact that Evans is an explosive playmaker, who excels at catching the football.

Joe Mixon is the guy when he’s healthy, but as a third-down, pass-catching back, Evans could really stand out in the NFL and gives Joe Burrow just another weapon.