Michigan Football not well represented in early NFL mock drafts

Looking ahead to the 2023 NFL Draft class, Michigan football hasn’t been that well represented and we break it down.

The 2022 NFL Draft concluded over the weekend, but that hasn’t stopped many evaluators from getting a headstart on 2023.

Various outlets (Bleacher Report, The Athletic, CBS Sports, ESPN, etc.) have already released 2023 mock drafts.

Michigan football had two first-round picks in 2022 with Aidan Hutchinson going No.2 overall to the Detroit Lions while Daxton Hill went No. 31 to the Cincinnati Bengals. David Ojabo likely would have joined them, if not for the torn Achilles he suffered at Michigan’s pro day. However, you will not find many Wolverines on the “Way Too Early” 2023 Mock Drafts.

Of the early 2023 mocks I have come across thus far, only 247Sports has a Wolverine going in the first round with left tackle Ryan Hayes projected to go 11th to the Washington Commanders. Here is what they had to say about the potential selection:

"Ryan Hayes has the size and skills to be a dominant left tackle for the Michigan Wolverines in 2022. Hayes is a prototype NFL tackle and has advanced techniques that could make him a Day 1 selection in 2023. It’s been nearly 10 years since Washington used a first-round pick on the offensive line."

Hayes was a second-team All-Big Ten selection last season. You would expect that he will be a preseason first all-conference selection this year as he enters his second full year as a starter. While Hayes was the only Michigan football player to crack the first round in one of the mock drafts, the Wolverines are far from devoid of draft-eligible talent.

Michigan football players who could get drafted in 2023

As a third-year running back, Blake Corum will be a candidate to head to the NFL to maximize his contract window. I think he has a solid chance of being at least a Day 2 pick, however, it will be hard for him to crack the first round.

The value of the running back position has diminished as the NFL has shifted to a passing league. There was not a running back selected in the first round in 2022 as Breece Hall went 36th to the Jets despite an outstanding career at Iowa State. Additionally, Bijan Robinson of Texas and Jahmyr Gibbs are seen as early candidates to be first-round picks next year.

The same goes for tight end Erick All, who will be one of the best at his position in 2022. However, there has been just one tight end selected in the first round of the past three drafts and Kyle Pitts was seen as a generational talent at that. Notre Dame TE Michael Mayer is the favorite to be the first tight end selected at this stage.

Accurately predicting a mock draft is extremely difficult a day before the draft, let alone a whole year out. Many prospects that will be early selections are not on the radar yet and will blow up in the fall. Some of them are not even starting yet, like David Ojabo last year as an example.

Defensive tackle Kris Jenkins and cornerback DJ Turner could play themselves into early selections with strong campaigns in 2022.

Defensive tackle Mazi Smith could as well, and coaches feel he is one of the very best players on the team. Other Wolverines who could hear their names called in 2023 include wide receivers Ronnie Bell and Corneilus Johnson, left guard Trevor Keegan, and center Victor Oluwatimi.