Is Michigan DT Mazi Smith a first-round pick? Analysts with differing opinions weigh in

Michigan Wolverines football defensive tackle Mazi Smith was the No. 1 freak in college football last season, per The Athletic, but will he go in the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft? There are some conflicting opinions out there, with NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah listing him No. 26 to the Dallas Cowboys in his brand new mock draft and ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. leaving him out of the first round in his own projection.

“Smith has generated a lot of buzz in personnel circles for his combination of athleticism and power,” Jeremiah wrote. “His best football is ahead of him and he’d fill a need in Dallas.”

Jeremiah has Smith as the third of three defensive tackles going in the first round.

RELATED

• Michigan football: Olu Oluwatimi reveals message to current transfers

• Michigan football: Jake Moody talks monster kick at pro day, lack of contact with Detroit Lions

Kiper agrees that Dallas will look at defensive tackles, but he has the Cowboys going with former Texas running back Bijan Robinson at No. 26. The organization just let go of running back Ezekiel Elliott, after all, and position mate Tony Pollard is both injured and a free agent this offseason.

He added a note after his explanation on Robinson, and mentioned the former Michigan standout.

“I thought hard about defensive tackle with this pick, with Bryan Bresee (Clemson) and Mazi Smith (Michigan) as two possibilities,” Kiper wrote. “Dallas struggled at times stopping the run.”

Kiper has three defensive tackles going in the first round. He believes Smith is just outside that group and a likely second-rounder.

“Mazi has talent,” Kiper said of the former Michigan lineman while speaking on a recent conference call. “And you see him … when you get into the NFL and the defensive line coach will want to work with a guy who has that type of ability. I think he’s a second-round pick. He’s just touching the surface of what I think he can be.

“I’m going to say more second round for him. [At the] latest, third round.”

Mel Kiper thinks DJ Turner could ‘sneak into’ the first round

Former Michigan cornerback DJ Turner was the talk of the NFL Combine for his 4.26-second 40-yard dash time. Kiper discussed him as a prospect and why there’s a chance he climbs into the first round.

“For Turner, great kid, heck of a football player. He’s not really big. He’s got [5-foot-11 height] .. To the run the way he did, to test the way he did … the versatility — he played press, he played off, he was special teams before he became a starter.

“He was a [Michigan head coach] Jim Harbaugh favorite. He tackles, for a kid his size. He’s got versatility. To run 4.2s and a 37.5 vertical. Everything he did … and that 40 time was amazing. To see him play the way he did — he was consistent, he was reliable.

“I think he’s got a chance to sneak into the late first. I put him more in the early-to-late second; didn’t put him in the mock, but I’ll tell you what, he has improved his stock dramatically. I think he’s no worse than an early to mid two.”