Mike Sainristil, CB Michigan: 2024 NFL Draft Profile

Sainristil was a three-star wide receiver/athlete recruit from Everett High School in Everett, Mass. in the class of 2019

Michigan slot corner Mike Sainristil impressed in his first college season as a full-time, high-volume defender. The fifth-year prospect is on the smaller side but is still worth a top 100 selection in the 2024 NFL Draft.

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Mike Sainristil, CB Michigan: 2024 NFL Draft Profile

Classification: Fifth-year slot corner from Everett, Mass.

Background: Sainristil was a three-star wide receiver/athlete recruit from Everett High School in Everett, Mass. in the class of 2019. He was the No. 589 recruit according to 247Sports and No. 591 for On3.com. Sainristil was an unranked three-star recruit for Rivals and an unranked four-star recruit for ESPN with an 80 grade out of 100. He helped Everett to three straight state playoff appearances and consecutive Division 1 state championships in 2016 and 2017. He earned All-Scholastic honors from the Boston Herald and Boston Globe twice during his career. Sainristil amassed 1,740 receiving yards and 28 receiving touchdowns during his career, along with 11 rushing touchdowns, four defensive touchdowns, and a pair of special teams scores. As a high school senior, he totaled six interceptions on defense plus 32 receptions for 792 yards and 12 touchdowns and 290 rushing yards for five scores. Sainristil recorded 33 tackles and four interceptions as a junior to accompany 13 total touchdowns on offense. He was the 2018-19 Football Gatorade Player of the Year for the state of Massachusetts and won the Bouvier Award and Suite Sports Showtime Award. Sainristil originally committed to Virginia Tech before flipping to Michigan. He transitioned from wide receiver to playing defensive back full-time head of the 2022 season. Sainristil was born on Oct. 3, 2000, in Port Au Prince, Haiti.

Injuries & Off-Field: Exited Nebraska (2022) game with an injury

Awards: 2022 Honorable Mention All-Big Ten

Pros: Special teams experience on the kick return, kick coverage, punt return, punt coverage, and field goal block units, plenty of room for development and projected growth, wasn’t penalized in 2022, agility and loose hips to handle mirror-match coverage, short-area quickness, fast feet, impressive vertical jump, impressive range, impressive anticipation and play recognition for a first-year full-time defender, reads quarterback’s eyes to jump routes, enough burst to undercut routes for pass breakups, physical at the catch point, comfortable working through traffic in coverage, quality awareness in zone, smart zone defender with good processing speed, quick to trigger on short throws, quick to recognize and drive on screens, aggressive attacking screens, high-effort pursuit player, physical tackler who wraps up and plays above his weight, usually a patient and poised tackler

Cons: Enters 2022 with one season of more than 50 defensive snaps, age, arm length, not quite twitchy, short strides, speed is good but limited, receivers threaten to blow by him when he accelerates too late in off-man, outran on a slant for a touchdown by Emeka Egbuka (2022), stacked for a 44-yard reception by Emeka Egbuka (2022), punches in press miss the mark, gives a step to the receiver when aligned in press, sometimes loses track of his zone while reading the quarterback’s eyes, limited size to influence the play at the catch point, sometimes slips off larger ball carriers, limited play strength to stand up in the box, lacks the play strength to defeat blocking tight ends, outreached by blocking receivers

Overview: Sainristil switched from wide receiver to defensive back in 2022. This past season was his first playing more than 50 defensive snaps during his college career. Sainristil played some defensive back in high school, but he still has plenty of room to develop as he begins learning the position from college and NFL coaches. He mostly lines up in the slot but also gets some two-high safety looks. As a fifth-year player, Sainristil is an older prospect who is a slot-only option because of his limited size. He has limited arm length, short strides, good but not great speed, and lacks twitch. Fortunately, the former three-star recruit’s agility and loose hips allow him to mirror and match pass catchers. He flashes fast feet, an impressive vertical jump, and plus range. Sainristil wasn’t penalized in 2022 despite being aggressive in coverage and looking for opportunities to make big plays. He displays impressive anticipation and play recognition for a first-year full-time defender. Sainristil reads the quarterback’s eyes and uses his burst to jump routes. He is physical at the catch point and is comfortable working through traffic in coverage. The Massachusetts native is a smart zone defender with good processing speed. He quickly triggers on short throws and blows up screens. Sainristil is a high-effort pursuit player who plays above his weight as a tackler. He usually wraps up but sometimes slips off larger ball carriers. His limited play strength prevents him from consistently contributing against runs in the box. Sainristil doesn’t defeat blocking tight ends and is outreached by blocking receivers. Pass catchers threaten to blow by him in off-man coverage because he doesn’t turn and accelerate soon enough. There are some speed concerns with Sainristil as Emeka Egbuka outran him on a short touchdown slant and a deep 44-yard completion in 2022. Sainristil is unpolished in press coverage. He loses a step to the receiver when aligned in press. Sainristil sometimes loses track of threats in his zone while reading the quarterback’s eyes. He has limited size to influence the play at the catch point. The All-Big Ten honorable mention has special teams experience on the kick return, kick coverage, punt return, punt coverage, and field goal block units.

Overall, Sainristil is a slot-only prospect who showcases impressive short-area quickness and instincts for someone who recently transitioned to cornerback full-time. He comes with obvious physical limitations and an average to slightly above-average physical profile. Sainristil could be a starting-caliber slot option as a rookie if he continues to develop throughout 2023.

Role & Scheme Fit: Starting slot cornerback

Round Projection: Third Round

Size: 5'10", 182 lbs. (Unofficial)

Submitted: 05-15-23