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If an NFL team is looking for a smart, veteran offensive lineman late in the draft, they may not find a better option than former Michigan Wolverine Andrew Stueber.
The veteran finished last season as a second-team All-American, according to the American Football Coaches Association, and a first-team All-Big Ten selection by the coaches. That is going to say a lot about what the people around him and watching film notice about him.
Stueber had plenty of time to learn behind some NFL-caliber offensive lineman like Ben Bredeson, Jalen Mayfield, Jon Runyan Jr. and Ben Braden. Leadership was also apparent since he was named an alternate captain in his final season in Ann Arbor.
Rarely did Stueber make mistakes last season. He played extremely well against NFL talent from Penn State, Wisconsin and Ohio State, and he has found himself becoming a wrecker in the run game.
There is plenty of value Stueber brings to the table, and an NFL team will give him an opportunity to showcase his talents. Let’s take a look at where he would best fit.
Green Bay Packers
There is probably not a better team in the NFL that drafts and develops starting offensive lineman in the later rounds. David Bakhtiari, maybe the best left tackle in football when healthy, was picked in the fourth round. All-Pro Corey Linsley was a fifth round pick. T.J. Lang was a fourth-rounder before becoming one of the best guards in football. Mid-to-late offensive linemen drafted by the Packers typically turn out to be pretty good players.
Jon Runyan Jr. was a sixth round pick, turned starter by the Packers in the last couple seasons, so he would be the perfect person to show Stueber the ropes within the organization. Stueber may also make the same positional switch Runyan did from the outside to the interior. For all these reasons, Green Bay would be a great fit for him.
Dallas Cowboys
Coming with this one is a guy who coached up plenty of those great Packers offensive linemen in Mike McCarthy. He is certainly a polarizing head coach, but he sure knows how to coach the offensive line. Year in and year out in Green Bay and now in Dallas, he has led some of the best offensive line units in the NFL.
A plethora of talent on the line would give Stueber time to learn behind some of the best in the business.
New England Patriots
There is not a single organization that loves prospects out of Ann Arbor more than Bill Belichick and the Pats. They have used four selections in the last three drafts on a Wolverine including Mike Onwenu, Josh Uche, Cam McGrone and Chase Winovich.
It would not surprise me if they would go back to the barrel this season by selecting Stueber. With a pick in the fifth round and two picks in the sixth round, they will have a few chances to take him later in the draft.
Like the other two teams on the list, it’s not a huge area of need for the Patriots, as they had a top-10 unit in 2021. But this is a team that loves to run the football and has some veteran lineman at the top of their depth chart. It really wouldn’t be a surprise to see them pick Stueber here and get some quality depth behind their current starters.