Which former Wolverines are going to shine the most on Sundays this fall?
Coming off a national championship victory, the Michigan football program had 13 players selected in the 2024 NFL Draft and a few more added to professional rosters as undrafted free agents. While this marks the start of a new era for Michigan football in the NFL, stars from years past are still making an impact as well.
As of right now, Michigan has 63 former players in the NFL across 27 teams. While a chunk of this number is guys who are depth pieces or play rotational roles, the Wolverines still have several who are household names and are major reasons for their teams’ successes.
Today, we’ll be taking a look at five of these stars to see which non-rookies are poised to have the biggest impacts on their respective teams this season.
Rashan Gary – LB, Green Bay Packers
After being selected in the first round of the draft in 2019, Rashan Gary has slowly become one of the better edge rushers in the NFL and a key cog in the Packers defense. While Green Bay’s defense wasn’t great as a whole in 2023, Gary was still solid and helped form a formidable edge group alongside veteran Preston Smith.
In 2023, Gary appeared in all 17 of Green Bay’s games registering nine sacks and 44 total tackles. The hope is that those numbers can climb even higher and Gary’s impact can be maximized with a change in defensive philosophy under new defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley.
Another thing to remember is that Gary was slow getting out of the gates last year as he was still recovering from an ACL tear suffered during the 2022 season. With another year of recovery under his belt, it could be time for Gary to establish himself as one of the game’s best at his position.
Aidan Hutchinson – DE, Detroit Lions
As the No. 2 overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, Aidan Hutchinson has lived up to expectations so far and has been one of the reasons for the Lions’ resurgence in recent years. After an impressive rookie campaign in 2022, Hutchinson followed it up with a dominant 2023 season where he earned his first Pro Bowl selection.
In 2023, Hutchinson registered 11.5 sacks and made 51 tackles. He would also force three fumbles and have one interception. This season, he’ll be joined by the likes of Alim McNeill, DJ Reader, and Marcus Davenport up front to wreak havoc for opposing offenses.
Hutchinson’s impact thus far as been tremendous for the Lions franchise, taking on roles as both a leader and star player. The fact that he can continue to grow in both areas too should be encouraging for Lions fans. Should that continue in his third year, Hutchinson and the Lions might finally make it over the Super Bowl hump.
Kwity Paye – DE, Indianapolis Colts
Yet another edge rusher drafted in the first round, this time though at No. 21 overall in 2021, Kwity Paye has quietly been a solid contributor for the Indianapolis defense over the last three seasons, starting 43 total games.
In his third professional season last year, Paye started 16 games and registered 8.5 sacks with 52 total tackles. Despite the Colts selecting of another edge rusher in this year’s draft (Laiatu Latu), his performance in his career so far has been good enough for the squad to pick up the fifth-year option on his rookie contract.
Indianapolis has played great defense in recent years, thanks in part to guys like Paye and DeForest Buckner. Paye should continue to develop heading into his fourth year, and could play a sizable role in the Colts organization as a whole taking a step forward in 2024.
Nico Collins – WR, Houston Texans
The Texans were one of the NFL’s surprise teams in 2023, taking a massive step forward under first-year head coach DeMeco Ryans and rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud. Nico Collins, who’s been with the organization since 2021, made a pretty big leap in his own right too.
Collins broke out to become one of the league’s most productive receivers in 2023, securing 80 receptions for 1,297 yards and eight touchdowns. He showed some real chemistry with Stroud and showed the talent that Michigan fans had seen during his time in Ann Arbor.
In 2024, the Texans welcome in Stefon Diggs and Joe Mixon to their offense while bringing back Tank Dell and Dalton Schultz as well. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see Collins take a step back statistically with so many mouths to feed on offense, but he has certainly put opposing defenses on notice that he’s a threat that needs to be accounted for.
Jabrill Peppers – S, New England Patriots
After an exciting and successful stint at Michigan, Jabrill Peppers was selected in the first round of the 2017 NFL Draft , but hadn’t really lived up to his prospect hype. He didn’t have a huge impact for either the Browns or the Giants, but came over to the Patriots before the 2022 season for a fresh start.
Now, it would appear that Peppers is at home in New England and has settled into a full-time role as the Patriots starting strong safety. In 2023, Peppers registered 78 total tackles and two interceptions, becoming a big contributor on Bill Belichick’s defense.
The Patriots organization as a whole is looking to head in a different direction in 2024 under new head coach Jerod Mayo, and Peppers could play a sizable role in the team taking a step forward. With his athleticism and growing comfort in the organization and system, Peppers could take his game to new heights and finally live up to his first-round pedigree.
Other names to watch: Mike Danna (DE, Chiefs ), Graham Glasgow (IOL, Lions), Mazi Smith (IDL, Cowboys ), Josh Metellus (S, Vikings ), Mike Onwenu (IOL, Patriots), Josh Uche (OLB, Patriots), DJ Turner (CB, Bengals ), Jon Runyan (IOL, Giants ), Cesar Ruiz (IOL, Saints )