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These dozen Michigan football players could hear their name called in 2026 NFL draft
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- These dozen Michigan football players could hear their name called in 2026 NFL draft
The 2025 NFL Draft is in the books and it was another success for Michigan football.
The Wolverines had seven players drafted in the first round which included a program-record tying three selected in the first round in Mason Graham (No. 5, Cleveland), Colston Loveland (No. 10, Chicago) and Kenneth Grant (No. 13, Miami).
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While Michigan doesn't appear to have as many top-tier stars on this year's roster, there are quite a few who could realistically hear their name called when the draft rolls around in Pittsburgh at this time next year. Here are a dozen players with the best shot to have their dreams come true.
Rod Moore , S
Ohio State Buckeyes running back TreVeyon Henderson is tackled by Michigan Wolverines defensive back Rod Moore in the second half at Michigan Stadium, Nov. 25, 2023.
Had Rod Moore entered his name in the 2024 draft after his junior season, there's little question he would've been selected. Instead, he returned to improve his stock when disaster struck and he tore his ACL, which cost him the entire 2024 season.
Worse yet, coach Sherrone Moore said on a recent episode of Inside The Trenches that "he had to have another surgery that took care of" the lingering issues. Still, he's said to be "trending in a super-positive direction" and there's no doubt when he's on the field he's the real deal. In three years, Moore has recorded 141 tackles and 2½ for to go with 13 pass breakups and six interceptions, the last of which secured the Wolverines' win over Ohio State in 2023.
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Moore, a 6-foot, 198-pound safety, was named a captain last year and will almost surely be again this season.
Derrick Moore , edge
Michigan defensive end Derrick Moore walks in with the college football national championship trophy with other members of the Michigan football team before the start of the second round of the 2024 NFL draft in Detroit on Friday, April 26, 2024.
Derrick Moore seems to be the next man up on the edge after waiting his turn and growing into his role behind a number of talented pass rushers. The 6-foot-3, 256-pound senior didn't put up eye-popping numbers in 2024, but defensive coordinator Wink Martindale consistently said he was in ways as productive as Josaiah Stewart , who lined up on the other edge and just went in the third round of the NFL draft.
Those words came to fruition when he sacked Alabama 's Jalen Milroe twice in the Reliaquest bowl as he finished tied for the team lead with 37 pressures as well as 23 tackles, six for loss, four sacks, four quarterback hurries, two pass breakups, and one fumble recovery as he was named All Big Ten honorable mention.
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TJ Guy , edge
Michigan defensive end TJ Guy holds up the Little Brown Jug as he heads towards the student section after the team's 27-24 win over Minnesota at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor on Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024.
The defensive line is U-M's deepest unit and another player who is expected to take a big leap in his final year in Ann Arbor is graduate edge TJ Guy. Named the most improved player on the defense in 2024, the 6-foot-4, 250-pound edge from Brockton, Mass. played in a career-high 13 games which included three starts at edge.
Guy finished with 32 tackles, seven of which went for loss and finished second on the team with 5½ sacks and six quarterback hurries. It will take another big year for Guy to safely be on big boards, but there's a decent chance.
Rayshaun Benny , DT
Michigan defensive lineman Rayshaun Benny (26) tries to block a pass from Ohio State quarterback Will Howard (18) during the second half at Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio on Saturday, Nov. 30, 2024.
If there is a singular player who's been identified as the next man up in Lou Esposito's group, it's Rayshaun Benny. The Oak Park alum opted to come back for a fifth year in order to improve his draft stock and is ready for his turn after playing for years behind NFLers Kris Jenkins, Mazi Smith , Mason Graham and Kenneth Grant .
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Benny has 71 career tackles including nine for loss and 2½ sacks, while he's also deflected three passes and forced a fumble. If there's a leader in the room, it seems to be Benny, and there's no doubt NFL teams like Michigan defensive linemen, which is why there's a decent chance he could be a day two selection.
Damon Payne, DT
Damon Payne was a part of a deep, talented defensive front in Alabama the past few years, which is why despite being a consensus five-star prospect per 247sports composite rankings as the No. 24 player in the Class of 2021 and the top player in Michigan, he's still only started three games.
Still, he's played in 31, and has made more of an impact with each passing season. Payne, now in year five in college, has 30 career tackles, which includes two for loss and just ½ a sack. Still, at 6-foot-4 and 303 pounds, there just aren't that many men built like the Belleville native which is why a team could take a flyer on him on day three just for the upside.
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Tre Williams , DT
Williams is a very similar story to Payne only now he's going to be in his sixth year. Once a top-100 recruit and the No. 3 player in Washington D.C. in the Class of 2020, Williams committed to Clemson where he spent the entirety of his career prior to transferring to Ann Arbor this offseason.
Williams has played 44 games in his career with four starts, racking up 35 tackles of which 10 went for a loss. The 6-foot-2, 315-pound space eater gotten after the pass rusher a bit with four sacks (two which came last year) as well as a pair of pass breakups. This has been a higher production level than Payne, and if he can stay on the field, could really boost his stock with a strong fall.
Jaishawn Barham , LB
Michigan linebacker Jaishawn Barham (1) tackles Michigan State running back Kay'Ron Lynch-Adams (15) during the second half at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor on Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024.
Just listening to the coaches in Ann Arbor rave about Jaishawn Barham is enough to show there's something special there. After a more-than solid two years at Maryland , it took Barham a while to catch on last year at Michigan, but Martindale said he learned how to be part of something bigger than himself by year's end.
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The 6-foot-3, 248-pound linebacker who also has shown ability to rush off the edge recorded 65 tackles last year, of which 3½ went for loss to go with one sack and two passes defended. If this were just off raw traits, Barham could be a first rounder, but he's going to have to prove he can handle pass coverage and be more consistent game-to-game before he's near the early rounds.
Ernest Hausmann , LB
Michigan linebacker Ernest Hausmann (15) celebrates a play against Michigan State during the first half at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor on Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024.
Ernest Hausmann led the Wolverines with 89 tackles last season, to go with seven tackles for loss, two sacks, two pass breakups and one interception at Washington. It was a more comfortable Hausmann in his second year in Ann Arbor, after it took him a while to learn the expectations behind Michael Barrett and Junior Colson in 2023 after transferring from Nebraska .
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Still, Hausmann has all the character traits a team could want − he recently went to Uganda during spring break − and is expected to be the vocal leader in the middle of a defense that should be elite. His athletic ability is not incredible, but its solid, and in every other regard he's the total package.
Donaven McCulley, WR
Team Maize wide receiver Donaven McCulley (13) makes a catch against Team Blue defensive back Mason Curtis (25), left, and defensive back Shamari Earls (2), right, during the first half of the spring game at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor on Saturday, April 19, 2025.
For the first time in a long time, the Wolverines have a big-bodied receiver. It's not that U-M hasn't put wideouts in the draft in recent years − Roman Wilson (third round, 2024), Cornelius Johnson (seventh round, 2024), Ronnie Bell (seventh round, 2023) − but Sherrone Moore said the program hasn't had a receiver with this skillset since Nico Collins (third round, 2021) who is now perhaps one of the top 20 wideouts in the game.
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McCulley stands 6-foot-5, 203 pounds and in an Instagram posted pictures in the No. 1 jersey, an honor in Ann Arbor circles. In his best year, McCulley had 48 grabs for 644 yards and six touchdowns, but the former quarterback turned wide out hasn't shown all that much outside that season. That could change this year catching the ball (likely) from Bryce Underwood and with a solid season there should be a team to take a chance on him at the next level.
Gio El-Hadi, OL
Michigan offensive lineman Giovanni El-Hadi (58), left, and offensive lineman Dominick Giudice (56) pray together before kickoff against Oregon at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor on Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024.
This could be where it becomes a stretch. Gio El-Hadi was expected to step into the starting guard role previously held down by Zak Zinter , but struggled off-and-on in his first year as a starter. He told reporters earlier this spring that it was because he didn't feel comfortable on the right side and has since moved to left guard which U-M hopes could spark him.
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He's got the size at 6-foot-5 and 310 pounds, he just needs to put some good film on tape, prove he can pave holes for a pair of dynamic running backs and improve his pass blocking. El-Hadi is a known leader in the locker room, so he should do well in interviews.
Max Bredeson , FB/TE
Blue Team tight end Max Bredeson (44) celebrates a first down against Maize Team during the first half of the spring game at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor on Saturday, April 20, 2024.
There is nobody in the program held in as high regard as Max Bredeson and bookmark this right now, he will end up on a team coached by somebody named Harbaugh. There's nothing pretty about his game. He doesn't run the ball much and has just 10 receptions in his career but there's nobody who grinds as hard or who is as gritty of a football player as Bredeson.
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He paved the way for Kalel Mullings ' game-winning touchdown vs. USC and brings a winning culture and attitude to the locker room.
Dominic Zvada , PK
Michigan place kicker Dominic Zvada (96) attempts a field goal against Texas during the first half at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor on Saturday, September 7, 2024.
There were only three kickers selected in the draft in each of the past two years, however there's reason to believe Dominic Zvada is truly as good as any of them. The former Arkansas State transfer came to Ann Arbor and set multiple records in year one, as he made 21 of his 22 field goal attempts with the lone miss coming via a block on a chip shot.
He set a career program-record 7 makes of 50-plus yards and did so in less than one season. According to coaches, he banged home a 60-yarder this spring and is a threat to come onto the field anytime U-M hits the opponents 40.
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Zvada was snubbed last year not even becoming a Lou Groza Award finalist (there's an argument he should've won it out-right) and if he can come close to replicating what he did last year, he should absolutely be taken by an NFL team, not just as an undrafted free agent, but with a true draft pick.
Tony Garcia is the Michigan Wolverines beat writer for the Detroit Free Press. Email him at apgarcia@freepress.com and follow him on X at @RealTonyGarcia .
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: A dozen Michigan football players who might get picked in 2026 NFL draft
