3 Wolverines Land in First Post-Season ESPN Mock Draft

The Michigan Wolverines didn't quite have the follow-up season to last year's national championship as they'd have hoped. Of course, a win over Ohio State cures most wounds in Ann Arbor.

Still, Michigan housed plenty of NFL talent in 2024, and now that the college football regular season is over, it's draft season for all who celebrate.

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It's time for mock drafts to start filling your feeds as experts and pundits alike look to play matchmaker between NFL franchises and the top college prospects in the country. Several Wolverines are in the conversation to hear their name called during the selection process, but four have a stronger chance of going in round one.

ESPN analyst Field Yates was the first at the "World-Wide Leader" to drop a post-regular-season mock draft Wednesday,  and he saw three from the Maize and Blue going in the first round.

While no draft pick is set in stone, it does give a good idea as to what teams need to improve on next year and what value the prospects have on their body of work in college alone.

The first player off the board from Michigan was defensive tackle Mason Graham, who was mocked to the New York Jets at No. 6 overall. Most anticipate Graham to go within the top five to 10 picks, so the value matches. Graham lining up next to Quinnen Williams would be quite problematic for NFL offensive lines.

The next didn't wait much longer as Will Johnson was mocked as No. 8 overall to the Jacksonville Jaguars. Johnson struggled with injuries toward the end of 2024, but he's still one of the best defensive players in this class, regardless of position. The Jags would be an interesting fit, though the franchise has had a tough history of first-round picks at cornerback outside of Jalen Ramsey.

The next and final Wolverine in the mock draft is tight end Colston Loveland to the Denver Broncos at No. 21 overall. Denver lacks a game-breaker at tight end, which is something head coach Sean Payton has usually had at his disposal in the NFL.