What they’re saying about Michigan Football rookies in NFL minicamps

Michigan football had five players selected in the 2022 NFL Draft and here’s how they are faring in rookie minicamps across the league. 

In total, five former Wolverines were selected in the 2022 NFL Draft a few weeks ago. Each former Michigan football player found a home where they are a perfect fit for their respective NFL team, as Aidan Hutchinson went to the Lions, Daxton Hill went to the Bengals, David Ojabo went to the Ravens, Hassan Haskins went to the Titans, and Andrew Stueber went to the Patriots.

Now that the draft has long since played out, the real work begins for Michigan’s NFL rookies. NFL Rookie Minicamps have been underway for about two weeks, the first step in the journey of an NFL player, and here we have some very early observations from each NFL team about Michigan football’s NFL rookies:

Detroit Lions (Aidan Hutchinson):

From SI All Lions:

"Hutchinson’s strong potential to turn into a reliable pass-rusher was on display all throughout drills.His freakish athletic ability, combined with Josh Paschal’s versatility, should setup the Lions’ defense for success for many years to come.The ex-Wolverines rookie appears at first-glance like a player with the propensity to have an incredible work rate.In drills, he demonstrated speed, power and an ability to use his length in optimal ways that benefit him."

From Detroit Lions official website (detroitlions.com):

"Aidan Hutchinson is tall (6-7) and lean (260), and his body type is built to be an outside pass rusher. He showed in pass-rush drills that he has the ability to get around the corner to get to the quarterback – which is why he was drafted second overall."

From Pride of Detroit:

"Hutchinson’s bend and motor just completely jump off the page. During an agility drill, Hutchinson was getting extremely low to the ground around the tackling dummies, and he showed nice change-of-direction speed."

From The Athletic (subscription required):

"It was interesting to watch Hutchinson and second-round pick Josh Paschal go through those agility drills back to back because there was a clear contrast in styles. Both were at max-effort levels, but Hutchinson showed far more bend than Paschal in slicing through the bags."

Cincinnati Bengals (Daxton Hill):

6Park News:

"Dax Hill zipped through drills with a burst and athleticism that even the most novice football fan would notice.He went through each drill, caught every ball and looked comfortable throughout the session."

Daxton Hill’s offseason jersey number is 23. This may be subject to change prior to the start of the regular season, but for now, he is number 23.

Baltimore Ravens (David Ojabo):

There hasn’t been many, if any, observations of Ojabo out of rookie minicamp obviously, because he tore his Achilles, but he might be ready for the season by September or October, which would be an extremely quick recovery.

I’m sure he’s in the film room though, taking notes, learning the playbook, and taking mental reps out on the practice field. He’ll come back when he does. The Ravens aren’t going to rush him.

Tennessee Titans (Hassan Haskins):

Titans official website (tennesseetitans.com)

"Running back Hassan Haskins had a few nice runs and cuts in traffic and he caught a pass out of the backfield."

Hassan Haskins is #28 for right now. This could change before the start of the regular season but Haskins should have a good chance to get some carries for the Titans this season.

New England Patriots (Andrew Stueber):

Unfortunately, I don’t think Stuber participated in rookie minicamp. The Patriots rookie minicamp was closed off to the fans and media (because of course it was, it’s Bill Belichick and his secretive self) and based on the photos after the practices, Stuber was one of three rookies missing.

None of this means he was injured or anything like that. It could be a variety of reasons. I’m not going to assume anything. I will say though that had Andrew been on the field, he would’ve held his own just fine. He was a multi-year starter at Michigan, so I think any in-person media observation on him would’ve been positive.

Overall, four out of the five drafted rookies showed out in their minicamps for their respective NFL teams. It’s not hard to foresee that each Wolverine drafted went to the best team for their skillset.

This was only the beginning, and I look forward to seeing what else these former Wolverines can do in their rookie years. Go Blue!