Newsstand: All 18 of Michigan's combine invites find NFL homes
The Michigan Wolverines fell just short of setting the record for total players taken in a single NFL Draft by one school but did set a program record. Draft weekend in Detroit saw 13 U-M stars come off the board, and another five were signed in the hours after the event as undrafted free agents.
The class is headlined by quarterback J.J. McCarthy, who went No. 10 overall to the Minnesota Vikings on the first night of the draft. Six teammates joined him on the second night in rounds two and three with defensive tackle Kris Jenkins (Cincinnati Bengals), defensive back Mike Sainristil (Washington Commanders), linebacker Junior Colson (Los Angeles Chargers), running back Blake Corum (Los Angeles Rams), wide receiver Roman Wilson (Pittsburgh Steelers) and offensive guard Zak Zinter (Cleveland Browns).
The third and final day of the draft came with six more selections with tight end AJ Barner (Seattle Seahawks), offensive lineman Trevor Keegan (Philadelphia Eagles), linebacker Michael Barrett (Carolina Panthers), offensive lineman LaDarius Henderson (Houston Texans), EDGE Jaylen Harrell (Tennessee Titans) and wide receiver Cornelius Johnson (Los Angeles Chargers).
When the event was over, center Drake Nugent signed with the San Francisco 49ers, while offensive lineman Trente Jones (Green Bay Packers), cornerback Josh Wallace (Los Angeles Rams) and offensive lineman Karsen Barnhart (Los Angeles Chargers) joined their teams as undrafted free agents.
Tweets of the day
Michigan quote of the day
“Specifically from a film-study standpoint, what I don’t think JJ gets enough credit for is winning downs, where it’s great that you run the ball, but in our game in the NFL and the level JJ was at, you don’t get to sustain offense like that without converting the big-time third downs. 3rd and 7 plus, he was fantastic, which was a down that makes or breaks our ability to win football games each and every Sunday. He was great in the redzone where you saw him had to thread the needle and make some tight-window throws. In the two minute situations, when he had to take his team down and score points and give themselves an opportunity to win national championships, JJ checked all those boxes and then some. That was a big part of it.”
– Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell on what stands out about new quarterback J.J. McCarthy.
Headlines of the day
Minnesota Vikings HC on selecting J.J. McCarthy: ‘Checked all the boxes, and then some’
2024 NFL Draft recap: Michigan has 13 selections, sets new program record, UDFA tracker
Blake Corum on goals with Los Angeles Rams: ‘I believe in winning — that’s the only thing that matters’
Jim Harbaugh on seeing so many Michigan draft picks: ‘It got emotional for me’
Rising 2026 Ohio ATH Ace Brown talks return visit to Michigan for the spring game
