Five Wolverines drafted day three, two more sign as undrafted free agents

The Michigan football team has the National Football League seeing double.

After three days of the NFL Draft, four separate franchises had drafted at least two Wolverines to their incoming roster.

After the Dallas Cowboys selected senior defensive lineman Mazi Smith and fifth year tight end Luke Schoonmaker in rounds one and two of the draft, the Seattle Seahawks decided to join in on the party. The Seahawks selected senior edge Mike Morris with the 151st pick in the fifth round and then graduate center Olusegun Oluwatimi just three picks later, at 154th.

From there, the Cincinnati Bengals selected graduate punter Brad Robbins with the 217th pick in the sixth round, making him the seventh Michigan athlete to graduate to the professional level. The selection came on the heels of the Bengals’ third-round selection of senior defensive back DJ Turner.

The Miami Dolphins incited the seventh round for the Wolverines, selecting graduate offensive lineman Ryan Hayes at the 238th position. Hayes started 29 games at left tackle for Michigan. Serving as a rock on the back-to-back (2021-2022, 2022-2023) Joe Moore winning offensive lines, Miami hopes Hayes’ selection comes with copious upside.

While the Dolphins may have interrupted the Wolverines’ double trouble, the San Francisco 49ers provided a quick return to form. Selecting graduate senior wide receiver Ronnie Bell at 253rd in the seventh round, Bell joins a talented wide receiving corps in San Francisco featuring stars like Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk. The 49ers had previously selected graduate student kicker Jake Moody in the third round.

After tearing his ACL in his senior season, Bell’s return to Michigan cemented his meteoric rise to stardom for the Wolverine faithful during the 2022 season. The receiver returned to prolific form across a campaign that saw him haul in four touchdowns and 889 receiving yards. The 2022 Michigan offensive player of the year and 2021 team captain brings a wealth of personal and football experience to San Francisco.

To round out the group of Wolverines making the jump to the professional level, the Arizona Cardinals signed graduate student tight end Joel Honigford and the New York Giants inked graduate defensive back Gemon Green as undrafted free agents.

As it stands, the 2023 NFL Draft and early offseason have been a productive one for Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh’s program. With nine selections this year — the most in the Big Ten — the Wolverines have sent the third-most rookies to the NFL via the draft in Harbaugh’s eight years at the helm.