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NFL Draft expert Mel Kiper Jr. calls Michigan’s Cesar Ruiz ‘underrated’ offensive lineman
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When the NFL Draft Combine rolls around in the next few weeks, there will be plenty of former Michigan stars participating. In total, eleven Wolverines received invitations to improve their stock for the 2020 NFL Draft.
One individual draft expert Mel Kiper Jr. is really high on right now is offensive lineman Cesar Ruiz. He started in each of the last two seasons for Michigan, and appeared in 36 career games.
Kiper compared the former Wolverine to star offensive lineman and former Wisconsin standout Tyler Biadasz in his podcast on ESPN.
“I think Ruiz is one of the more underrated linemen in this draft,” Kiper said. “He is right there with Tyler Biadasz. The more I watched him, the guy moves well for a big guy. He’s played guard early on. Then he has been a center the last two years. Pass protection, great kid, hard worker. I think he’s a guy that you could make a strong argument as the best center in this draft. Biadaszis a really good player. We’ll see how they test out when we get to Indianapolis in a couple of weeks.”
Ruiz declared for the NFL Draft following the 2019 season. He made his announcement following Michigan’s 35-16 loss to Alabama in the Citrus Bowl.
Biadasz has been considered by many to be essentially a first-round guarantee come April. Ruiz’s evaluation, at least so far, hasn’t been quite that consistent, but clearly Kiper thinks the Wolverine has a chance to move up on draft boards in the coming weeks and months.
Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB