Mike Carter-USA TODAY Sports
“Michigan has a chance to join their archrivals with double-digit draft-eligible players on the roster.”
There’s more than one kind of top 25.
CBS sports is breaking down the best college football teams in the country not by their playoff chances, but by the number of players they’re likely to place in the 2017 NFL Draft.
The Michigan Wolverines rank an impressive No. 4 on the list as the team could be poised for a breakout draft class.
Michigan is one of the most iconic programs in college football, but the Wolverines have struggled through some lean years with their last Big Ten title coming in 2004. Those struggles translated to the NFL Draft as Michigan produced only one first-round pick over the last six years and their 14 draft selections over the last five years ranks 28th in college football.
However, Michigan is poised for a bounce-back draft class in 2017 with an extremely talented senior group. Since the seven-round format started in 1994, Ohio State is the only program to produce 12+ selections in a single draft, doing so in 2004 and 2016. But Michigan has a chance to join their archrivals with double-digit draft-eligible players on the roster, making for a potentially memorable 2017 draft class for the Wolverines.
The site lists the top draft-eligible prospects on the Wolverines roster, which are Jabrill Peppers, Jake Butt, Jehu Chesson, Chris Wormley, Taco Charlton, Jourdan Lewis, Maurice Hurst, Erik Magnuson and De’Veon Smith.
The NFL could be a lot more Maize and Blue a few years from now.