Michigan nickelback Mike Sainristil has vaulted himself into first-round consideration with an impressive evaluating season leading up to the NFL Draft in Detroit on April 25. Sainristil ran a 4.47 40-yard-dash time at the 2024 NFL Combine, showcasing the straight-line speed that made him one of the best defensive playmakers in the nation last season.
On Friday, Sainristil was in a jovial mood as he replied to a post from a Detroit-based sports media network on X, tagging former Michigan teammate and current Detroit Lions edge-rusher Aidan Hutchinson.
The Lions secondary needs a boost after the release of cornerback Cameron Sutton, who has a warrant out for his arrest for domestic battery by strangulation in Florida. Sutton was apparently at the Lions’ practice facility in Allen Park when Lions President Rod Wood learned of the news.
Sainristil posted 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 that essentially sealed the Wolverines’ first national title since 1997.
Sainristil was not listed in the first round of CBS Sports’ latest 2024 NFL Mock Draft.
He is projected as a second-round pick, which could mean the Lions would miss out on him unless they decide to trade up from their current 61st overall slot in the second round
