Michigan’s defense has room to be good without Cameron Brandt, but the Wolverines are clearly counting on the senior edge to be more than just a supporting piece in 2026. That’s why he checks in at No. 19 in the program’s annual countdown of the most important players for the upcoming season.
Brandt enters his senior year at 6-foot-4, 270 pounds, coming off a 2025 campaign that showed progress without quite delivering the jump Michigan had hoped for. He played 405 defensive snaps as a junior, which ranked ninth on the team, and finished with 22 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, 0.5 sacks, seven run stops and 15 quarterback pressures.
There were clear signs of growth. Brandt became a more reliable tackler, cutting his missed tackle rate to 8.3 percent after sitting at 18.9 percent in 2024.
He also didn’t miss a tackle all season as a run defender. But the pass-rush production didn’t move in the direction Michigan wanted.
In 2024, he had 2.5 more sacks and one fewer pressure on 50 fewer pass-rushing snaps, a reminder that his impact still has room to expand.
Even with that uneven profile, Brandt gave Michigan a useful season. He was efficient against the run, though the numbers show there’s still another level to reach there too.
His seven run stops on 166 run defense snaps ranked 188th out of 243 qualified power-four edge rushers in run-stop rate, according to Pro Football Focus. Still, with Derrick Moore, Jaishawn Barham and TJ Guy all excelling at edge last season, Brandt’s step forward didn’t end up being central to Michigan’s overall success.
The setup is different now. Michigan’s coaches are expecting Brandt to play starter-level snaps and deliver starter-level production, even in a deep edge room that also includes preseason All-American John Henry Daley, Dominic Nichols, and blue-chip underclassmen Nate Marshall and Carter Meadows. The staff sees Brandt as an experienced, dependable presence who can keep growing.
His size gives Michigan some flexibility, too. Because he’s a stronger edge with good length, he can handle more true defensive end responsibilities on the line, similar to Mike Morris a few years ago. That kind of versatility matters when the defense wants to adjust based on the game situation.
The expectation is straightforward: Brandt starts, leads, and gives Michigan a high-IQ presence up front. If the senior takes another step, the stat sheet should finally show it.
His ranking at No. 19 comes down to role and room depth. Michigan likes its edge group, which naturally limits how singularly important Brandt is compared with some others on the roster.
Daley is expected to be the headliner, but the Wolverines also know great teams usually have more than one edge threat. If Brandt turns in a senior-year breakout, it could be a big reason the defensive front becomes disruptive.
Fans were a little cooler on him, slotting Brandt at No. 22.
He was the highest-ranked player not to receive a top-eight vote, and 36 different players earned at least one top-eight nod. Even so, just under one-third of voters placed him between 11 and 20, keeping him inside the top 25.
Outside of Daley, the fan vote showed plenty of uncertainty at edge, with Brandt, Nichols and Marshall finishing 22nd, 26th and 27th, respectively.
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