Michigan Football: Wolverines standing out in NFL mini-camps
By Alex Hinton
Donovan Peoples-Jones emerging as the third receiver in Cleveland?
The Cleveland Browns have one of the better WR duos in the league in Jarvis Landry and Odell Beckham Jr. (when he’s healthy). However, they have an open competition for the third receiver spot and Peoples-Jones has been competing with Rashard Higgins, Anthony Schwartz, and KhaDarel Hodge. It appears that DPJ might be leading the race after he turned in an “excellent minicamp.”
This is not surprising to anyone who has followed his career. Peoples-Jones was a five-star recruit and was ranked as the #1 WR in a 2017 class that included Jerry Jeudy, Henry Ruggs II, Tee Higgins, and DeVonta Smith.
DPJ may not have reached the massive expectations set for him with Michigan football, but I am rooting for him to become a star in the NFL. He will be looking to build on a rookie campaign that saw him catch 14 passes for 304 yards and 2 TDs, including a 75-yard TD against the Titans.
Nico Collins turning heads in Houston
The Houston Texans did not have much draft capital entering this year’s NFL Draft. However, they felt it was worth the risk to trade their fourth and fifth-round picks this year and a fourth-round pick next year to move up and select WR Nico Collins in the third round.
Thus far, Collins has been as advertised in camp. He has already earned fans in the Texans Wide Receiver Coach Ron Prince, Passing Game Coordinator (and a familiar face to Michigan fans) Pep Hamilton, WR Brandin Cooks, and OC Tim Kelly.
Collins was another former Wolverine that had a strong week at the Senior Bowl. Throughout the draft process, he had received some comparisons to last year’s breakout star Steelers WR Chase Claypool for their size/speed combinations and catch radius. The last year and a half has been tumultuous for the Texans organization to say the least, but perhaps Collins will be a bright spot for them.