The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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16 THE WOLVERINE APRIL 2017 INSIDE MICHIGAN ATHLETICS 2017 Will Set A New U-M Record By Brandon Brown Michigan sent more players to the NFL Combine this year than any other school with 14 participants, and all of them have a chance at getting drafted. A few other Wolverines who did not compete in Indianapolis also have a chance to get picked up by a team in April, giving Michigan a real shot to outdo Ohio State's total last year (12) and an outside chance at getting up to the most ever. Jake Butt, Taco Charlton, Jourdan Lewis, Jabrill Peppers, Channing Stribling and Chris Wormley all appear to be locks to be picked April 27-29. Jehu Chesson, Amara Darboh, Ryan Glasgow and Delano Hill will all very likely be picked. De'Veon Smith also seems to have value in today's NFL, so he'll prob- ably get scooped up as well. Ben Braden, Jeremy Clark and Ben Gedeon are all possi- bilities, especially after Braden and Gedeon performed well at the combine. Throw in Erik Magnuson, Kyle Kalis and Dymonte Thomas, who all played in the East-West Shrine Game, and U-M's total number of draftable players goes up to 17. Add it all up and Michigan will surpass the Buckeyes' total of 12 last year. Getting to or beyond 14 seems like a tall task but a baker's dozen would be enough to become quite noteworthy in draft history. U-M Will Fall Just Short Of A Dozen By Chris Balas Michigan's crop of 2017 NFL entries might be the best in school history when it's all said and done, but there are too many on the fence to feel comfortable that the Wolverines will match Ohio State's 12 draftees from a year ago. None of the 14 NFL Combine attendees hurt their stock, and a few — es- pecially wide receiver Amara Darboh and linebacker Ben Gedeon — really enhanced it. Gedeon impressed with his strength and speed, while Darboh's 4.45 40 time raised eyebrows. Guys like defensive end Taco Charlton and safety/linebacker Jabrill Peppers are the locks and will likely go in the first round, but there are question marks around sev- eral of the others. U-M's offensive line trio of Erik Magnu- son, Kyle Kalis and Ben Braden had solid careers, but the latter two, especially, were inconsistent. Safety/cornerback Jeremy Clark could well make a roster, but it might have to be via free agency, while safeties Dymonte Thomas and Delano Hill, and running back De'Veon Smith will have to sweat it out in the later rounds. Regardless of how many go or where they're picked, it's clear this group was a pretty special one in terms of depth. We'll be reading about a lot of them for several years to come. POINT ❙ COUNTERPOINT WILL MICHIGAN HAVE MORE THAN 12 PLAYERS DRAFTED BY THE NFL THIS YEAR? Before the combine, NFL.com pre- dicted that wideout Amara Darboh would be drafted on day two (rounds 2-3), and he only helped himself by running a 4.45 in the 40-yard dash. PHOTO BY PER KJELDSEN BY RYAN TICE Now that the NFL Combine has come and gone, the mock drafts done by various experts across the Internet have been shaken up. M i c h i g a n h a d 1 4 f o r m e r p l a y - ers in action at the combine in India- napolis and should definitely break its school record of seven draftees in the seven-round era (which started in 1994), set in 2007 and 2008. Jim Harbaugh's crew should even threaten the school's all-time mark of 10 draftees, set in 1972 and 1974, when the event lasted 17 rounds and had 442 selections (this year will fea- ture 253 draft choices). U-M will be vying for its eighth time with multiple first-round picks, an oc- currence that hasn't happened since 2005, when wideout Braylon Edwards was selected third by the Cleveland Browns and cornerback Marlin Jack- son 29th by the Indianapolis Colts. The seven-round mock draft done b y B l e a c h e r R e - port's Matt Miller not only included a pair of first-round picks from U-M (defensive end Taco Charlton and safety J a b r i l l P e p p e r s ) , but it projected 12 former Wolverines would be selected. He predicted wideouts Amara Dar- boh and Jehu Chesson, plus defen- sive lineman Chris Wormley to be taken in the third round; tight end Jake Butt and cornerback Jourdan Lewis to come off the board in the fourth; linebacker Ben Gedeon, de- fensive tackle Ryan Glasgow and safety Delano Hill to hear their names called in the fifth; cornerback Jeremy Clark to be selected in the sixth; and running back De'Veon Smith to be chosen in the seventh. The 2017 NFL Draft is scheduled for April 27-29 in Philadelphia. Here's an updated look at the vari- ous mock drafts that were updated after the combine: Michigan Mock Draft Tracker MICHIGAN PLAYERS IN FIRST-ROUND MOCK DRAFTS Player S Jabrill Peppers DE Taco Charlton NFL.com's Charley Casserly 30 (Steelers) — CBSSports.com's Dane Brugler 32 (Patriots) 22 (Dolphins) CBSSports.com's Will Brinson 19 (Buccaneers) 11 (Saints) MMQB.com's Emily Kaplan — 16 (Ravens) USA Today's Nate Davis 18 (Titans) 24 (Raiders) Bleacher Report's Matt Miller 23 (Giants) 11 (Saints) The Sports Xchange's Rob Rang 16 (Ravens) 21 (Lions) PEPPERS CHARLTON