Thirteen Michigan football candidates to be 2025 NFL Draft picks
The 2024 NFL Draft is in the books. Michigan Wolverines football has still had at least one prospect picked in every draft since 1938, and that streak will continue next season. It’s early, but the 2025 draft is the next one on the calendar, and it’s time to project ahead to that.
Michigan had 13 prospects picked to set a new program record and lead all college programs in 2024. The Wolverines have several others who are likely to be selected a year from now.
Draft-eligible Michigan players may well return to school next season instead of declaring for the draft, but we’ve compiled a list of the 13 most realistic 2025 NFL Draft picks on the team.
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• 2024 NFL Draft recap: Michigan has 13 selections, sets new program record, UDFA tracker
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CB Will Johnson
Michigan junior cornerback Will Johnson has been discussed as an NFL prospect since last offseason (and actually earlier, given his five-star status as a recruit). In April, PFF’s Max Chadwick named him the top NFL Draft prospect this year under the hypothetical scenario that everyone was eligible. Chadwick said Johnson has “all the physical traits you’d want in a corner at 6-foot-2, 202 pounds, with excellent speed, footwork and ball skills.”
That pretty much says it all. Johnson was a first-team All-American by Sports Illustrated last season and will be a preseason All-American ahead of the 2024 campaign. He’s showed out in the biggest moments and will play on Sundays one day.
DT Mason Graham
None of the top four recruiting services ranked Michigan junior defensive tackle Mason Graham in the top 200 in the 2022 recruiting class, making for one of the biggest misses by the industry on a Michigan player in recent memory. Now, PFF ranked him the No. 1 defensive tackle in the nation entering the 2024 campaign and second-best overall draft prospect for 2025 according to the same site.
The 6-foot-3, 318-pounder has been elite from the get-go and put together and outstanding season in 2023, earning second-team All-America honors from Sporting News.
TE Colston Loveland
Michigan junior tight end Colston Loveland reeled in 45 catches for 649 yards and 4 touchdowns last season, with the receiving yard total standing as the most by a Wolverine tight end in a season since two-time All-American Jake Butt recorded 654 in 2015.
Pass catching is where Loveland thrives, too. He’s a move tight end who also lines up in the slot and out wide, a potential mismatch for whoever defenses decide to put on him.
Just over one tight end per draft have gone in the first round since 2000, so it’s possible that Loveland is a Day 1 pick next year.
DT Kenneth Grant
Michigan junior defensive tackle Kenneth Grant has only started five games in his career while playing among a loaded group of defensive linemen. However, he might have the highest upside out of all of them at 6-foot-3, 339 pounds. His splash plays are as impressive as any defensive lineman that’s come through Michigan in recent years, including his sack — the lone one of the game for U-M — in the national championship game against Washington.
Grant will have an even bigger role this fall and the ability to showcase his talents.
RB Donovan Edwards
Michigan senior running back Donovan Edwards had a disappointing season relative for his high standards in 2023, averaging just 4.2 yards per carry after that figure was 7.1 the previous year. However, Blake Corum (third round to the Rams) is no longer on the roster, and Edwards could fill the role as a bell-cow back.
The big-play ability and prowess as a receiver are there, and if he shows he can be more consistent on an every-down basis, there’s no question a team will select him next spring.
EDGE Josaiah Stewart
Michigan senior EDGE Josaiah Stewart is one of the few players in college football with over 20 career sacks (22), having posted 18.5 in two seasons at Coastal Carolina and 5.5 as a junior at Michigan. He’s a pass-rush specialist, but he can do much more than that, and he’ll get the opportunity to prove it in 2024. Stewart is undersized at 6-foot-1, 245, but plays bigger than he is.
OL Josh Priebe
Michigan graduate left guard Josh Priebe, a Northwestern transfer, is in a very similar situation to the one LaDarius Henderson (Arizona State) was in a year ago. Both were third-team all-conference the season before joining the Maize and Blue. Henderson started at left tackle for the Wolverines before being picked in the seventh round by the Houston Texans, where he’ll likely play on the interior.
Priebe hasn’t taken a snap for Michigan yet, but one year of development with the Wolverines could make him a draft pick. The Wolverines have had 12 offensive linemen drafted in the last five years, including three in 2024.
LB Ernest Hausmann
It’s not hard to envision the path for Michigan junior linebacker Ernest Hausmann to be picked next spring. Both of the Wolverines’ starting linebackers from 2023 were taken this year in Junior Colson and Michael Barrett, showing that it certainly helps to play in an NFL defensive system.
Hausmann ranked 16th on the Michigan defense in snaps (338) last season but was third on the team with 46 tackles. He was effective when in the game, and now he’ll be on the field much more.
LB Jaishawn Barham
Michigan junior linebacker Jaishawn Barham joined the team in January after transferring in from Maryland. The 6-foot-3, 248-pounder totaled 37 tackles with 3 for loss and 3 sacks in 11 games as an honorable mention All-Big Ten pick for the Terrapins a year ago. The athleticism is off the charts.
EDGE Derrick Moore
Michigan junior EDGE Derrick Moore is a bigger and stronger version of Stewart, with less speed but more versatility, possessing the ability to play with his hand in the dirt. The 6-foot-3, 258-pounder tallied 6 tackles for loss, 5 sacks and 2 pass breakups last season.
The Wolverines rotated a lot at EDGE and will split time again this year, but there’s less depth outside of Moore and Stewart. It’s safe to assume they’ll each get over 400 snaps to prove themselves.
S Makari Paige
Michigan graduate safety Makari Paige could’ve declared for the draft this year and been a late-round-pick or priority undrafted free agent. He decided to return “to improve” his game, he said. He’s going to have an even bigger role than expected, since senior Rod Moore is out with an injury.
Paige is at his best in run support, laying big hits. The 6-foot-4, 208-pounder finished with 41 tackles last season. Coverage is an area he can improve.
OL Myles Hinton
Michigan fifth-year senior left tackle Myles Hinton is a mountain of a man at 6-foot-6, 340 pounds, and he has all the physical tools to become an NFL lineman. However, he hasn’t translated those to on-field production, getting passed over for a starting job last year and struggling to stay healthy throughout his career.
Hinton has played in 37 games with 20 starts in college, yet he is still in school as a fifth-year senior. This is a big season for him to realize his potential at the college level — even he said he’s tired of hearing about the ‘potential.’
S Rod Moore
Moore suffered a severe knee injury early on during spring ball, and he’ll likely miss the entire season after undergoing late-April surgery. It’s unclear if he’d be healthy by next January-February for the pre-draft process and remains a question whether or not he’ll declare for the draft. He’ll still have a year of eligibility remaining if he redshirts this season.
Moore would’ve been picked had he left for the draft this year, but he surely could’ve improved his stock with another big season in 2024. Now, he likely won’t have that opportunity.
Others in the mix
• OL Greg Crippen: Michigan’s senior center hasn’t started a game in college, waiting his turn behind talented players who are now in the NFL. It’s possible that a great season makes him a prospect.
• OL Giovanni El-Hadi: The senior right guard is in the same boat as Crippen. It’s too early to say he’s a top candidate to be drafted, but he’s certainly on the radar.
• RB Kalel Mullings: Lack of experience for the former linebacker is holding him back, since he only has 50 carries for his career. However, the senior will have an opportunity to be either Michigan’s No. 1 or No. 2 back this season, meaning he’ll have the ball in his hands fairly frequently.
• DT Rayshaun Benny: The senior redshirted in 2021 and still has two years of eligibility remaining. If Graham and Grant do declare following their junior seasons, he’s a likely 2025 starter. If he decides to take his shot at the pros in 2024, though, he has the chance to be picked.
• FB/TE Max Bredeson: The senior is as elite a blocker as there is, but his fullback/tight end position isn’t used all that often in the NFL (no fullbacks were drafted in 2024). Bredeson has just 7 receptions in his career, but if he shows he can catch and run with the ball, he’ll have an opportunity to be picked late.
• S Quinten Johnson: The graduate defensive back didn’t earn a combine invite after declaring for the 2024 draft in February. That and the fact that he was nursing a hamstring injury suffered in the postseason sparked his return for a sixth year. He will get to likely start and prove himself this season.
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