Tag: Daylen Baldwin

2022 NFL Draft Preview: Michigan

It’s NFL Draft time! The draft starts tomorrow night at 7:00 p.m. EST. Here is a look at the various Michigan players eligible for the draft.

Aidan Hutchinson, DE
Captain and all-time season sacks leader Aidan Hutchinson will be the first Wolverine off the board. At 6’7″ and 260 pounds, Hutchinson showed off good (not great) speed with a 4.75 forty at the Combine and also has elite quickness with a 4.15-second 20-yard shuttle. His arms are considered to be a little short (32 1/8″), but that doesn’t seem to be limiting his draft stock. In general, he’s considered to be nearly a lock to go in the top two to the Jaguars or Lions.
Projected round: 1st

Daxton Hill, S
At 6’0″ and 191 pounds, Hill is a little bit small for a traditional safety role. However, his speed (4.38 in the forty) and athleticism (10’1″ broad jump) are tantalizing and he’s a willing and able tackler in the open field. He could be a starter from day one, especially as a nickel corner. Scouts seem to like his man coverage abilities, and he could also be a major asset on special teams. Most projections seem to have in the bottom half of the first round, and he’s battling with Notre Dame’s Kyle Hamilton to be the first safety off the board.
Projected round: 1st

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8 Michigan Players Invited to NFL Combine

There are eight Michigan players who have been invited to perform at the NFL Combine:

• CB Vincent Gray
• RB Hassan Haskins
• S Daxton Hill
• DT Chris Hinton
• DE Aidan Hutchinson
• DE David Ojabo
• LB Joshua Ross
• OG Andrew Stueber

A few draft-eligible players were not invited, including WR Daylen Baldwin, S Brad Hawkins, and C Andrew Vastardis. I guess this is my time to reiterate how weird it is for Baldwin to have declared for the draft, since he did not factor much into the Michigan attack this past season. It’s also interesting that Hawkins was not invited despite being literally the most experienced player in Michigan history (by games played).

Off to the NFL: Hutchinson, Ojabo, Hill, Hinton, Ross, Gray, Haskins, Baldwin

Michigan football news was overwhelmed this week with guys announcing they were either transferring or leaving for the NFL – oh, and the Jim Harbaugh-to-the-NFL drama – so yours truly just had no chance of keeping up with all those developments.

Posts on each one of these guys will be coming down the road to summarize their careers, but I wanted to address each one here and now.

DE Aidan Hutchinson: Hutchinson played four years at Michigan and could have returned for a fifth. He was the Heisman runner-up and set the school record for sacks with 14. He has nothing else to prove and will likely be a top-5 pick in the draft, so this was the right decision for him.
Draft projection: 1st round

OLB David Ojabo: Ojabo had 11 sacks rushing the quarterback opposite Hutchinson one year after making 1 total tackle. As a redshirt sophomore, he could have come back for a couple more seasons, but he’s striking while the iron is hot. Hutchinson and Ojabo surely helped each other out, and there would be a risk in returning for 2022, considering there’s no proven pass rusher on the opposite side. He could very well have returned and put up mediocre sack numbers, hindering his draft stock. Even though Ojabo is not a good run defender, he does have outstanding athleticism and could be a year one pass rusher for an NFL team.
Draft projection: 1st round

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2021 Michigan vs. Michigan State Awards

Let’s see more of this guy . . . Andrel Anthony. Anthony pulled a Ricky White and came out of nowhere to have a huge game. He caught 6 passes for 155 yards and 2 touchdowns. Both touchdowns were spectacular, with one 93-yard catch-and-run and a Moss-ing.

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2021 Michigan vs. Northwestern Awards

Let’s see more of this guy on offense . . . Andrel Anthony. Anthony has better speed than I thought he had coming out of high school, and he showed some playmaking ability on Saturday, squeezing a few yards out of what seemed to be doomed to be a big chunk loss on an end around. Maybe he’s not ready to be a big-time contributor, but I think he should earn a few more snaps.

Hit the jump for more.