Daily Brews: The Athletic rates Zak Zinter as the top interior lineman prospect in the 2024 NFL Draft

The NFL Draft has genuinely become a 365-day cycle of content. Once the 2023 iteration came to a close, 2024 “way-too-early” draft boards were already popping up across the internet. As the latest college football season inches closer and closer, the vicious cycle is beginning to ramp up.

In The Athletic’s latest positional preview for the 2024 NFL Draft, writer Dan Brugler broke down the top eligible interior offensive lineman prospects. Topping his list was Michigan Wolverines’ right guard Zak Zinter.

Brugler broke down Zinter’s game and potential in detail; below is his big-picture summary:

According to Pro Football Reference, former NFL running back Zach Zenner is the only player in league history to have a first and last name begin with the letter “Z” — and Zinter will soon become the second. Michigan has found a lot of success recruiting in the New England area, and that includes finding Zinter, a three-star recruit out of Massachusetts who has outplayed most of the players ranked above him. He earned his way into the starting lineup as a true freshman and now enters his senior year with 30 career starts under his belt.

Michigan has won the Joe Moore Award as college football’s top offensive line the past two years, and it has a strong chance of taking home that honor again this season. Despite the accolades, the Wolverines haven’t produced an offensive line prospect worthy of top-100 consideration over that span. But Zinter is on a different level than Olu Oluwatimi, Ryan Hayes and the blockers that came before him. He projects as a Day 2 prospect and has a chance to be the first interior blocker drafted in April.

Michigan has won the Joe Moore Award as college football’s top offensive line the past two years, and it has a strong chance of taking home that honor again this season. Despite the accolades, the Wolverines haven’t produced an offensive line prospect worthy of top-100 consideration over that span. But Zinter is on a different level than Olu Oluwatimi, Ryan Hayes and the blockers that came before him. He projects as a Day 2 prospect and has a chance to be the first interior blocker drafted in April.

Appearing as honorable mentions were two other Michigan Wolverines, left tackle LaDarius Henderson (who projects as a guard at the next level) and left guard Trevor Keegan. Henderson was ranked as the 10th-best interior linemen prospect and Keegan came in at No. 15.