Former Michigan Football star labeled a 2024 NFL Draft 'sleeper' by ESPN and Big Ten defensive coordinator
The 2024 NFL Draft is absolutely stacked with former Michigan players who could be labeled as "sleeper" prospects. They sent 18 players to the NFL Combine fresh off their national championship victory and should see almost all of them drafted here soon. But for some reason, the one former Michigan football star that has been […]
The 2024 NFL Draft is absolutely stacked with former Michigan players who could be labeled as "sleeper" prospects. They sent 18 players to the NFL Combine fresh off their national championship victory and should see almost all of them drafted here soon. But for some reason, the one former Michigan football star that has been standing out all spring more than any other (besides J.J. McCarthy) is still somehow getting the "sleeper" label by national media members.
According to Adam Rittenberg of ESPN, Roman Wilson, the former star wide receiver for Michigan, is one of the best "sleeper" prospects in the 2024 NFL Draft. He polled college coaches from around the country to identify top players who could exceed their draft day expectations and wrote up 40 prospects based on what he learned.
One Big Ten defensive coordinator from Rittenberg's piece had this to say on Roman Wilson:
"When you watch tape, you're like, 'Man, we're going to cover this dude up,' but that dude gets open against everybody," a Big Ten defensive coordinator said. "He's like super smooth, like Clark Kent. He goes out there and all of a sudden, he's dicing you up."
Roman Wilson was a tough wide receiver to cover all throughout his career thanks to his 4.4-second forty-yard dash speed and smooth route running ability. And while his raw stat totals might not impress, he accounted for 25% of Michigan's receiving yards and half of their receiving touchdowns last season.
Then he showed up to the Senior Bowl this spring and was clearly one of the top two receivers there. In fact, according to many I spoke to there, he had an even more incredible week than Ladd McConkey of Georgia. Here's a quick video I shot of him burning one of the better corners at the Senior Bowl. He made it look easy all week.
It's hard to believe that Roman Wilson would still be considered a "sleeper" to many at this point, but his true upside does seem to be overlooked by the majority of national NFL Draft media. As of this writing Roman Wilson is a projected late round two draft pick via the last 200+ mock drafts in the last month. If he does indeed fall that far or beyond he should be an easy candidate to potentially exceed his draft stock expectations.
Be looking for more Michigan Football coverage here at A to Z Sports all year long! Follow me (@FF_TravisM) and A to Z Sports (@AtoZSportsNFL) on X for all the latest football news!
And if you want to reflect on Roman Wilson's special Michigan career you can check out some of his 2023 highlights in the video below!
