The 2025 NFL draft just concluded this past weekend and for its part, Michigan football had seven players selected, including three first-round picks.
It was the seventh year in a row that Michigan football has had at least one player selected in the first round. In the past 10 years, the Wolverines have had 13 first-round picks.
Looking ahead to the 2026 NFL draft, it's fair to ask who will continue that streak? Derrick Moore is an obvious candidate. If the defensive end plays the way he did against Alabama, over the course of an entire season, he'll be the next Wolverine picked in the first round.
Yet, in some of the early 2026 NFL mock drafts, another Michigan football player is getting projected as a first-rounder, and it's name that might surprise some Wolverines fans.
A surprise first-round pick for Michigan football in 2026?
Jyaire Hill, the 6-foot-2 cornerback who started nine games for the Wolverines as a sophomore but played in 12, has been projected as a first-round pick by the Bleacher Report and Fox Sports.
Rob Rang of Fox Sports has Hill going 29th to the Ravens. The Bleacher Report has the Michigan football defender going 15th overall.
Last season, Hill was up-and-down for the Michigan Wolverines but flashed potential with 35 tackles, one interception, nine pass breakups, one sack, and 5.5 tackles for loss.
Hill was named the Michigan football defensive player of the game three times. He had two pass breakups against USC, as well as a tackle for loss. Hill notched 1.5 tackles for loss and an interception against Minnesota, as well as four tackles and a pass breakup against MSU.
Hill has the length, the speed, and the man coverage ability you'd want in a first-round cornerback. He just needs to be more consistent.
Last season, Hill probably started before he was ready, but he improved as the season went on and will be better off because of that experience.
Michigan football already fans had high hopes for Hill, but they aren't the only ones and we'll see if he can deliver in the 2025 season.