The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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42 THE WOLVERINE MAY 2021 we'll get to the point where Mayfield will be one of those tackles who gets picked in the first round. "Some teams are talking about him as a guard, and that's not a bad thing. He can play both and did a good job against [former Ohio State defensive end] Chase Young two years ago as a tackle. Mayfield has good length and could add some more weight if he needs to play guard. "Early in the second round is the most likely scenario for him because he's a good athlete who had two quality seasons of film he put out. He's similar to [U-M defensive end] Kwity Paye in the sense that he has a high floor with a ton of upside. Mayfield hasn't filled out his frame yet and hasn't grown into the player he can ultimately be." LINEBACKER CAMERON MCGRONE Brugler: "He took over for [for- mer U-M linebacker] Devin Bush, and that's not an easy thing to do. McGrone at least did enough to get people's attention in a positive way in 2019, putting himself on the NFL radar. "I was excited to see what he would do in 2020, but he unfortunately had an injury and now has two ACL tears, one in each knee dating back to high school. That could affect his draft stock because the medicals are a huge part of the conversation when teams discuss him. He'll be someone a team rolls the dice on day three, be- cause he can play sideline to sideline with a violence to his game. "McGrone has that instant reac- tion — once he sees something, he just goes. That shows he has good football IQ and that he knows how to sort things out, so it's not just all about speed with him. As long the medicals are okay, a team will like the depth he can provide and what he can do on special teams. "Hopefully they'll have a future starter on their hands, but the medi- cals are such a huge part of the con- versation." Trapasso: "He's probably a mid- dle-round guy, like in the fourth or fifth round. McGrone fits the mold of today's NFL linebackers, because you want someone who's a little smaller and quicker. "It doesn't matter how well they take on blocks if they can avoid them, and I think McGrone does a good job of doing that. He showed flashes in 2019 where he displayed crazy range as a middle linebacker, getting side- line to sideline. Teams will look at that and try to get that out of him. "He was a bit more tentative this past season, so I don't know what the reason for that was. McGrone has good football IQ and identifies what's happening in front of him quickly. Even though he was more of a spy than a traditional coverage linebacker, he has the athleticism and skill set to run with running backs out of the backfield or fall back in zone and make plays. "He didn't do that much at Michi- gan and that'll likely be why he falls. The skill set, size and quickness are all there, so he'll likely go in the fourth or fifth round and could turn into a full-time starter by his second year in the NFL." KICKER QUINN NORDIN Brugler: "I don't think he'll get drafted. I think two kickers will be taken and then a handful of others will be signed as free agents, and he's one of them. That leg strength is something teams will be interested in. I won't be surprised if Nordin gets signed and brought to a camp to try and win a team's kicking job." Trapasso: "He has a big leg but missed a lot of kicks. In today's NFL, teams are getting more aggressive going for it on fourth down and not opting for field goals. Clubs like that want guys who have a strong leg, and realize kickers can be inconsis- tent from season to season. "When teams get inside the 50- yard line nowadays, they feel like they need to be in scoring range. Buf- falo, for example, picked Tyler Bass out of Georgia Southern last year, and they gave him a lot of opportuni- ties to kick 54-, 55- and 56-yard field goals. The fact that Nordin can boot it 60 yards is a good thing for him. "I don't know if he'll be drafted, but if he can show that he can make a 62-yarder in camp, somebody will take a chance and sign him. Teams want guys who have a big leg, as op- posed to someone who's accurate but doesn't have the strongest leg." DEFENSIVE END KWITY PAYE Brugler: "He's an explosive player at 6-2, 261 pounds. Paye isn't the big- gest guy out there, but he's long with 33-inch arms and he can move. Paye has that twitchy lower body and it allows him to pounce and get after the quarterback. "When you watch the tape, he didn't have the opportunity to pin his CBS Sports' Chris Trapasso said of defensive end Kwity Paye: "He's my No. 2 edge rusher in this draft class behind Georgia's Azeez Ojulari. I think he'll go anywhere from pick No. 11 to No. 22." PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL