Preview: Michigan’s first-round NFL Draft streak likely ends — but the class still has value

We will have to wait for the first Michigan Wolverines football player off the board in this year’s 2026 NFL Draft, which gets underway Thursday night in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. That is a bit of a departure from recent history.

Michigan will likely see its 7-year first-round pick streak snapped in this event, but it still has a healthy helping of talent to send to the next level. That makes Friday and Saturday the days to watch for fans hoping to see Maize and Blue talent headed to the NFL.

ESPN, ABC and NFL Network will have coverage of the draft all weekend, with the schedule as follows:

• Thursday, April 23: First round (8 p.m.)
• Friday, April 24: Second and third rounds (7 p.m.)
• Saturday, April 25: Fourth through seventh rounds (12 p.m.)

Where Michigan players are ranked and projected to go this weekend

Rankings via Jack Lichtenstein’s consensus board (Overall ranks from The Athletic, Bleacher Report, CBS Sports, Drafttek, ESPN, NFL.com, Pro Football Focus, Pro Football Network, Sports Illustrated, Sports Info Solutions, Tankathon, USA Draft Wire, Walter Football, and Yahoo)

• EDGE Derrick Moore: No. 55 overall (2nd-3rd round)
• EDGE Jaishawn Barham: No. 96 overall (3rd-4th round)
• DT Rayshaun Benny: No. 113 overall (4th round)
• TE Marlin Klein: No. 150 overall (5th round)
• LB Jimmy Rolder: No. 188 overall (5th-6th round)

Likely priority free agents: TE Max Bredeson (No. 333 overall), K Dominic Zvada (No. 354), EDGE TJ Guy (No. 391), LB Ernest Hausmann (No. 440), WR Donaven McCulley, OL Giovanni El-Hadi and Greg Crippen, DT Damon Payne and Tre Williams

Three Wolverine draft storylines

Who will be the second player off the board?
Moore seems universally picked as the first Michigan player in the mock drafts, so we feel somewhat safe assuming that will be the case this time around. Who comes off next will be a plotline worth keeping tabs on. Pass rushmate Jaishawn Barham is next on most boards, but could his raw ability and athleticism help him go higher than expected? That has been some second-round buzz for both players this week, and it might be board and team-dependent. Either way, both feel like relatively safe bets to go Friday night. The clock on them probably starts midway through the second round.

Potential draft surprises
Benny and Rolder are somewhat polarizing in terms of their draft stock. Benny is a top-100 talent on both the PFF and Sports Illustrated big boards, while Rolder is No. 93 on NFL.com’s board and No. 112 at The Athletic. Could one of them sneak into day two along with Moore, and likely Barham?

From there, we keep our eyes on the third day of the draft. A team taking a flier on Bredeson in the later rounds would be a heck of a story for a guy who helped set the tone and mentality in this program over the last several years. Someone else to keep an eye on late is McCulley, with some teams using their top-30 visits on him late in the pre-draft process.

Calling a shot: Here’s how many Michigan players get drafted
We say Michigan finishes with 6 selections, and a mess of undrafted free agent signings on Saturday night into Sunday. That group is comprised of the 5 guys inside the top-200 on the consensus board and a surprise somewhere else, potentially in the form of McCulley or Guy.

The Wolverine’s only 2026 first-round mock draft

1. Las Vegas Raiders: QB Fernando Mendoza, Indiana
2. New York Jets: EDGE Arvell Reese, Ohio State
3. Arizona Cardinals: RB Jeremiyah Love, Notre Dame
4. Tennessee Titans: EDGE David Bailey, Texas Tech
5. New York Giants: WR Carnell Tate, Ohio State
6. Cleveland Browns: OT Francis Mauigoa, Miami (FL)
7. Washington Commanders: S Caleb Downs, Ohio State
8. New Orleans Saints: LB Sonny Styles, Ohio State
9. Kansas City Chiefs: EDGE Rueben Bain Jr., Miami (FL)
10. New York Giants (via Cincinnati Bengals): G Olaivavega Ioane, Penn State
11. Miami Dolphins: CB Mansoor Delane, LSU
12. Dallas Cowboys: CB Jermod McCoy, Tennessee
13. Los Angeles Rams (via Atlanta Falcons): OT Spencer Fano, Utah
14. Baltimore Ravens: WR Makai Lemon, USC
15. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: TE Kenyon Sadiq, Oregon
16. New York Jets (via Indianapolis Colts): WR Jordyn Tyson, Arizona State
17. Detroit Lions: OT Monroe Freeling, Georgia
18. Minnesota Vikings: S Dillon Thieneman, Oregon
19. Carolina Panthers: WR Omar Cooper Jr., Indiana
20. Dallas Cowboys (via Green Bay Packers): DT Peter Woods, Clemson
21. Pittsburgh Steelers: QB Ty Simpson, Alabama
22. Los Angeles Chargers: S Emmanuel McNeil-Warren, Toledo
23. Philadelphia Eagles: OT Kadyn Proctor, Alabama
24. Cleveland Browns (via Jacksonville Jaguars): WR Denzel Boston, Washington
25. Chicago Bears: EDGE Keldric Faulk, Auburn
26. Buffalo Bills: DT Kayden McDonald, Ohio State
27. San Francisco 49ers: OT Blake Miller, Clemson
28. Houston Texans: OG Emmanuel Pregnon, Oregon
29. Kansas City Chiefs (via Los Angeles Rams): WR KC Concepcion, Texas A&M
30. Miami Dolphins (via Denver Broncos): OG Chase Bisontis, Texas A&M
31. New England Patriots: OT Caleb Lomu, Utah
32. Seattle Seahawks: EDGE T.J. Parker, Clemson

Michigan NFL Draft facts

The Wolverines have had at least one player selected in 87 consecutive drafts dating back to 1938, and 421 players selected overall. It will add to that number this year with Moore leading the way, coming in at No. 65 overall on Pro Football Focus’ Big Board for the 2026 class.

Last year, Michigan had seven players drafted in the event, including a trio of first-rounders in defensive tackles Mason Graham (Cleveland Browns) and Kenneth Grant (Miami Dolphins) and tight end Colston Loveland (Chicago Bears).

The Wolverines had a school-record 13 players selected in the 2024 NFL Draft, coming off of its College Football Playoff National Championship season in 2023, topping the previous mark of 11 players chosen in the 2017 draft.

If the board holds, expect Michigan to have fewer headlines than last year, but plenty of names called once the second night arrives.