Drafting the Michigan roster from scratch (2022 edition): What did we learn about this year's talent pool?
This post is locked and can be read by premium subscribers only.
With the start of the Michigan football season just a couple days away, I figured it was time to revive another favorite preseason staple: the third annual “draft the Michigan roster from scratch” exercise. And for the third straight year, I’m bringing in the same guest picker to help out — Isaiah Hole of WolverinesWire, powered by the USA Today network.
If you don’t already do so already, I highly suggest following Isaiah on Twitter (@isaiahhole). You can also subscribe to his YouTube channel here.
If you’re a long-time subscriber, the rules for this year’s draft are the same as usual. If you’re new to these parts, here’s a quick run-through: It’s a head-to-head fantasy draft where we both try and make our best versions of the Michigan roster using current players on the roster. Once a player is drafted, the other person can’t select him.
It’s a snake draft. And since it’s only two people, after the first person makes the first pick, the remainder of the draft alternates between each person drafting two players. I offered him the first pick, but he insisted I take it — so I ended up picking No. 1 overall. (Full disclosure: I offered it to him because I thought it was a better spot strategically to get two straight picks at Nos. 2 and 3 overall rather than getting the first overall pick. I’m not sure if his insistence on me taking it was strategy on his end or just proof that he’s a nicer guy than I am. My guess is both.)
Here’s a link to this exercise in advance of the 2021 season. And here’s the one we did before the 2020 season.
And with that, let’s get to the results. I’m presenting them below in four different ways: by pick, by owner, by position and then in overall team format. Even though it’s a silly two-person draft, I’m hopeful it’s a little telling in terms the roster hierarchy heading into the season — and if you’re a weird strategy/game theory nerd, it might be fun to try and get a glimpse into our heads and guess what our strategies were, too.
Let’s get to it:
Draft results
By pick
Here are all 78 picks of the draft, listed in chronological order.