Michigan Football PFF grades and snap counts for Minnesota game

The Michigan Wolverines wrapped up its five-game home stretch to begin the 2024 season with a narrow 27-24 victory over Minnesota on Saturday in Ann Arbor. The 12th-ranked Wolverines (4-1, 2-0 Big Ten) held off Minnesota (2-3, 0-2 Big Ten) to maintain their perfect conference record, despite almost squandering a 21-point lead in the fourth quarter.

Although the Wolverines once again saw their momentum wane significantly in the second half, they still managed to come away with the win and retained the Little Brown Jug.

Today’s grades from Pro Football Focus (PFF) more so reflect how the team played in the second half, with the Wolverines tallying their second-lowest overall mark of the season at 73.2. Below is a detailed analysis of Saturday’s snap counts, key performance grades and significant trends.

Offensive snap counts

OL Evan Link - 62

QB Alex Orji - 62

OL Dominick Giudice - 62

OL Josh Priebe - 62

RB Kalel Mullings - 47

TE Marlin Klein - 46

OL Myles Hinton - 43

WR Kendrick Bell - 40

WR Tyler Morris - 37

FB/TE Max Bredeson - 32

RB Donovan Edwards - 24

WR C.J. Charleston - 22

WR Peyton O’Leary - 19

OL Jeffrey Persi - 19

WR Fredrick Moore - 15

TE Colston Loveland - 14

TE Zack Marshall - 5

OL Andrew Gentry - 4

TE Hogan Hansen - 3

FB Jalen Hoffman - 2

Five Best Grades (min. 20 snaps played)

Marlin Klein - 78.1

Dominick Giudice - 76.6

Myles Hinton - 67.7

Kalel Mullings - 67.3

Giovanni El-Hadi - 66.4

Analysis: Kalel Mullings, who once again ranked among the five highest-rated players with an overall grade of 67.3, led the Wolverines’ ground attack in snaps this week with a season-high 47. Michigan’s offense was brightest during the team’s first drive, in which Mullings broke free for a 27-yard run. Giudice also made his presence felt, earning a standout 76.6 grade after flattening a defensive lineman with a textbook pancake block on that first Mullings touchdown.

Five Worst Grades

C.J. Charleston - 49.8

Kendrick Bell - 52.9

Max Bredeson - 55.6

Tyler Morris - 59.8

Evan Link - 60.9

Analysis: Stop me if I sound like a broken record, but it’s a familiar group of faces in the bottom five. You can rest assured the Alex Orji experiment already won’t be kind for wide receiver metrics, but C.J. Charleston and Kendrick Bell’s subpar grades have stood the test of time for both Michigan quarterbacks that have played so far. Long story short? It’s a bad season to be a wideout at Michigan.

Defensive snap counts

CB Jyaire Hill - 70

CB Aamir Hall - 70

S Quinten Johnson - 67

S Makari Paige - 66

LB Ernest Hausmann - 60

Edge TJ Guy - 60

CB Zeke Berry - 56

LB Jaishawn Barham - 50

DL Mason Graham - 48

Edge Derrick Moore - 45

DL Kenneth Grant - 44

DL Rayshaun Benny - 31

LB Jimmy Rolder - 30

Edge Cameron Brandt - 25

S Brandyn Hillman - 20

DL Ike Iwunnah - 13

Edge Dominic Nichols - 7

DL Enow Etta - 3

Edge Kechaun Bennett - 3

DL Trey Pierce - 2

Five Best Grades (min. 20 snaps played)

Jyaire Hill - 80.3

TJ Guy - 76.8

Rayshaun Benny - 69.8

Mason Graham - 67.0

Quinten Johnson - 66.6

Analysis: Mason Graham and the defensive front controlled the first half, with Graham recording two sacks on the day and earning one of the game’s highest defensive grades at 67.0. Stepping up in Josaiah Stewart’s place, TJ Guy made a significant impact with a solid 76.8 grade. Meanwhile, Jyaire Hill, who logged 70 snaps, delivered the team’s top performance of the day with an impressive 80.3 grade.

Five Worst Grades

Cameron Brandt - 48.3

Jaishawn Barham - 53.9

Derrick Moore - 60.5

Ernest Hausmann - 60.9

Brandyn Hillman - 61.8

Analysis: Whatever strategy Wink Martindale is using with Jaishawn Barham, it’s not resonating well with PFF. Barham has been consistently rated among the lowest on the team this season. He has failed to earn a defensive grade higher than 60.8 up to this point, already exceeding the number of performances where he notched an equal or lower grade in 2023 at Maryland.

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