Michigan’s Mason Graham heads deep group of defensive tackles for the NFL draft

A two-time All-American, Graham anchored the Wolverines defensive front for the past three seasons.

“Just how hard I work, no off-the-field stuff, all about business,” Graham said when describing his upside. “No one’s really concerned about that, but I’m not a mysterious guy. You don’t need to look deep into me to find out about me. Everything’s out there. Nothing to hide.”

Graham was a one-man wrecking crew in the Wolverines’ upset of Ohio State last season.

“I’d probably consider that one or (when) I broke my thumb my sophomore year and I missed two weeks,” Graham said. “I came back and played Minnesota my sophomore year. I thought that was also one of my better games.”

Graham likely will be a top-10 pick. He has met with the Patriots (fourth pick), Jaguars (fifth) and Saints (ninth).

“Yeah, I’ve met with the Jaguars, great organization,” Graham said. “Obviously new staff, new GM, so good meeting those guys. I thought the meeting went well.”

Graham believes he can play in a 4-3 or 3-4 defensive alignment.

“I just feel like, physicality, doing your job every play,” he said. “As (defensive) linemen, we’re told to do the same thing playing throughout, maybe like 70 snaps a game. So, I mean, doing the same thing over and over again is probably the hardest part. … I pride myself on doing that.”

Graham helped the Wolverines win the national championship after the 2023 season. After coach Jim Harbaugh left for the Chargers, the Wolverines (8-5) slipped back to the college football pack last season. But Graham enjoyed his time in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

“I feel like I’ve put in a lot of hard work,” Graham said. “I’ve been coached really well. All throughout high school and college, put in the extra time, put in the extra work, try to (be) perfect and become the best player I could for my teammates.”

Graham made nine sacks and 18 tackles for losses over his career. Graham ranked in the 97th percentile in pass rushing and 99th percentile in run stuffing among college players this season, as rated by SumerSports.com.

“I rate it pretty high,” Graham said about his pass-rush ability. “I pride myself on playing the run and the pass because I feel like that’s what a complete (defensive) lineman does. But obviously rushing the passer, I feel like I’m really good at too. I can run through guys or I can be a finesse guy, too.”

Graham was a wrestler in high school, and that helped in college.

“Probably just my everyday drills, footwork drills going into the week,” Graham said of his lateral quickness. “Especially at Michigan, we moved a decent amount. It was a lot of our game plan.”

Graham was part of the line with Kenneth Grant (6-foot-4, 331 pounds), who’s also one of the top defensive tackles in the draft.

“I feel like the combination, he’s a bigger dude,” Graham said. “We’re both very athletic players. I feel like we work well off each other. Having two big guys that are dominating inside, I feel like we helped each other. He’s an awesome player.”

In addition to Graham and Grant, Mississippi’s Walter Nolen and Oregon’s Derrick Harmon also are considered top defensive tackle prospects.

Harmon started his career at Michigan State.

“Definitely Cam (Heyward),” Harmon said about NFL players he watches. “I watch Chris Jones, how he just grabs wrists, grabs elbows so quick. I feel like that comes naturally to him, just like it comes naturally to me.”

Georgia Tech’s Zeek Biggers and Georgia’s Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins are players to watch later in the draft.

“Zeek is a young guy for his class,” Tech coach Brent Key said. “He really is. Just to see (how) he’s improved the last three years. How he’s made those improvements. How he really, I thought, started to flourish last year under (defensive line coach) Jess (Simpson).”

Ingram-Dawkins ran the 40-yard dash in 4.86 seconds at the scouting combine.

“He’s ready to do it, with the tools to do it, but is still learning how to do it,” draft analyst Lance Zierlein wrote on NFL.com. “Ingram-Dawkins’ relative lack of experience shows up with inconsistent instincts in the run game and a lack of development as a rusher.”