nick eubanks

The NFL Draft is a nice weekend because no matter how the football team did the previous season, Michigan fans can be assured they'll see a Wolverine achieve a professional dream every single year since 1938, a streak unmatched by any school except USC. That run continued in last weekend's 2021 edition, though Michigan State's 80-year streak was snapped. Tragic.

Michigan had eight players drafted, tied for the fifth-most of any college with Florida—Alabama and (sigh) Ohio State had the most with ten, followed by Georgia and Notre Dame. Other Big Ten programs with at least three selections were Penn State (6), Iowa (4), Northwestern (3, including two first-rounders), and Wisconsin (3). That number is a bit misleading in terms of how much talent the Wolverines fielded last season, though:

Kwity Paye: injured off and on
Jalen Mayfield: DNP after MSU
Nico Collins: opted out
Ambry Thomas: opted out
Cam McGrone: injured off and on
Ben Mason: is a FB
Cameron Cheeseman: is a long snapper and opted out

— Dan (@ThiccStauskas) May 3, 2021

Sorry, sorry, this was supposed to be fun. Let's take a look at where the former Wolverines were picked and the roles they project to play at the next level.

DE Kwity Paye, Indianapolis Colts, Round 1, 21st overall

This is why the draft is worth watching:

“She’s done working. She’s retired.”

Kwity Paye shares a moment with his mom after getting drafted ❤️
pic.twitter.com/un4XDz7VrP

— PFF (@PFF) April 30, 2021

Paye was the second defensive end off the board in what's considered a down year for edge rushers. He joins a solid Indianapolis front four that could use some pass-rushing pop from strongside end, where he'll be in competition to start right away—as a first-round pick he'll get every opportunity to take hold of the job.

His disciplined run defense and high-level athleticism should translate right away, and the expectation is his pass-rushing production will improve with development (and not playing in front of M's 2020 secondary). He'll at least be a consistent rotation player.

No matter what, Paye's estimated $7.3 million signing bonus will afford his mom plenty of leisure time.

[Hit THE JUMP]

FORMATION NOTES: I've started some Serious Abbreviations about 10 years too late. How many times have I uselessly typed "shot" before "gun"? I don't know. No more. Shotgun is now Gun. "Trips Twin TE"…

two WR to one side, two TEs on the same side

is now TTE. "Trips Tight Bunch"…

three WR/TEs lined up in a bunch attached to the LOS

…is now TTB.

Anyway. M moved from their 1 RB, 1 TE stuff to a lot more 2TE or TE+Mason stuff in the second half, which radically improved the run game as the DTs shooting into the backfield were no longer that relevant.

SUBSTITUTION NOTES: McNamara replaced Milton after five drives and went the rest of the way. OL saw Vastardis replaced by Carpenter at C, reputedly because of injury. With the starting OTs still out this went Barnhart/Filiaga/Carpenter/Zinter/Stueber. At TE Eubanks got much of the early action but severe blocking issues saw All and Schoonmaker more prominent later.

WR and RB were the same mix they've been, with a lot of guys getting snaps. The main exception was Haskins getting 25 carries and seemingly establishing himself as RB1.

[After THE JUMP: gonna be a lot of yelling at me about QB stuff, probably

Previously: The Story. Podcast 12.4A, 12.4B, 12.4C. Quarterback. Running Back. Wide Receiver.

Depth Chart

We're in year two of Josh Gattis and the reshaping of the roster is underway. No more "Tight End and Friends." No more cornucopia of blocky/catchy guys, just a few tight ends who slant towards catching the ball downfield and a leftover dump truck with a mohawk.

Michigan has a mix of experience and promise here. The floor is high because there's a fifth year senior with a bunch of snaps under his belt. The ceiling is high because the two guys pushing the senior are both potential stars. And the dump truck is the best at what he does.

TIGHT END: A JOB, IF YOU CAN KEEP IT

RATING: 4

[Bryan Fuller]

Redshirt senior NICK EUBANKS has been around a while. He's seen his role increase, but as he's developed into more of a tight end his whiz-bang has dropped. It may be a little hard to remember, but this was his introduction:

Zipping by a Florida defensive back is no small item. He followed that up with a never bunt, hit dingers sophomore season where he only showed up to rip off chunks of yards. Last year, was more desultory. His catches tripled but the long stuff was gone; he averaged under ten yards a catch and was one of Michigan's least efficient guys on a yards per target basis. This is mostly about circumstance and not Eubanks regressing.

Eubanks may have bulked up and seen his yards per catch fall of a cliff but he did occasionally flash the athleticism he displayed early in his career. The clearest example came on a block. Eubanks is the guy zipping up on the outside after Bell makes this catch:

He's still fast.

When Eubanks got singled up against a four-star linebacker against Penn State it was no contest:

He continued to pluck balls outside of his frame and made some tough contested catches. We had him 8/9 on difficult catches, best on the team.

So what gives? My best guess is that a move towards RPOs is a move away from the heavy play action that gets tight ends down the seam for big chunks. That tough contested catch is a standard RPO slant on which a safety comes up to pop Eubanks after eight yards. Michigan was still working on the basics last year, and those basics didn't include tight ends downfield.

We some some bells and whistles make it to the field late in the year, particularly "RPOs" on which the offensive line stops before three yards to buy the QB and WR a moment to exploit the now-usual response to the RPO slant. If Michigan's able to expand on that Eubanks could be in line for more explosive plays.

[After THE JUMP: Erick All puts the throttle down]