Michigan football's streak of first-round NFL Draft picks in jeopardy
The three-day NFL Draft begins Thursday, but Michigan is not expected to have a player drafted in the first round for the first time since 2018. This comes a year after the Wolverines produced three first-rounders, with defensive tackle Mason Graham going No. 5 to the Cleveland Browns, tight end Colston Loveland being selected No.
10 by the Chicago Bears and defensive tackle Kenneth Grant being picked No. 13 by the Miami Dolphins. The draft is being held in Pittsburgh, starting with Round 1 on Thursday.
Rounds 2-3 will be held Friday and Rounds 4-7 on Saturday. Michigan’s top two draft prospects are edge rushers Derrick Moore and Jaishawn Barham, though Barham mostly played linebacker during his career before he moved to an edge role last season. ESPN NFL Draft analyst Mel Kiper, in his latest Big Board released this week, has Moore, a captain last season, ranked No.
54 and Barham No. 56. NFL Network Draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah said on a recent conference call with reporters that he had waffled “a bazillion times” on where to rank Moore and Barham.
Ultimately, Jeremiah also wound up ranking Moore, a first-team All-Big Ten selection last season, just ahead of Barham. Both players are expected to be Day 2 picks. “Half the teams like Moore, half the teams like Barham,” Jeremiah said.