Michigan nickelback Mike Sainristil has pushed himself into first-round consideration with an excellent evaluating season coming up to the NFL Draft on April 25 in Detroit. Sainristil ran a 4.47 40-yard dash at the 2024 NFL Combine, demonstrating the straight-line speed that helped him become one of the finest defensive playmakers in the country last season.
On Friday, Sainristil was in a good mood as he responded to a post on X from a Detroit-based sports media network, tagging former Michigan teammate and current Detroit Lions edge rusher Aidan Hutchinson.
Sainristil was listed as the potential missing link for the Lions’ 2024 secondary and the ex-Michigan DB seemed excited about the prospect of playing for the Great Lakes State’s NFL team.
Hutchinson was a consensus All-American for the Wolverines in 2021. He was the Heisman Trophy runner-up to Alabama quarterback Bryce Young and a Maxwell Award finalist at the end of the season.
After being picked second overall by the Lions, Hutchinson was named Pepsi’s Rookie of the Year in 2022 and made his first Pro Bowl appearance in 2023, leading the Lions to their first division title since 1993.
The Lions secondary is in need of a boost following the release of cornerback Cameron Sutton, who is wanted in Florida for domestic violence by strangulation. Sutton was reportedly at the Lions’ practice facility in Allen Park when Lions President Rod Wood learned about the situation.
Sainristil had 26 solo tackles, six interceptions, and six pass break-ups for the Wolverines last season. He had an 81-yard interception return in the College Football Playoff national championship game against the Washington Huskies, thus securing Michigan’s first national title since 1997.
Sainristil was not included in the first round of CBS Sports’ 2024 NFL Mock Draft.
He is anticipated as a second-round pick, which means the Lions may pass on him unless they decide to move up from their current 61st overall pick in the second round.
Lions General Manager Brad Holmes previously stated that the Lions are not required to sign another cornerback this offseason, but Sainristil would bring a different dimension to coordinator Aaron Glenn’s defense as a fast and physical nickelback who can hit, tackle, and make plays with the ball in the air against opposing receivers.
