MS #0

Mike Sainristil

Cornerback · Michigan

A national championship hero at Michigan who sealed the title game with an interception, now Washington's ball-hawking slot corner.

Mike Sainristil's journey from Haiti to a Michigan championship-clinching interception to a second-round pick made him one of the more compelling stories of the 2024 draft class. Two years into his NFL career, he has become a defensive centerpiece for Washington, leading the team in interceptions in 2025.

★ Second-round pick (50th overall) by Washington in the 2024 NFL Draft

★ First-team All-American and Big Ten Championship Game MVP (2023)

★ Sealed Michigan's 2024 national championship with an 81-yard pick-six-adjacent interception return

★ Led Washington with 4 interceptions in the 2025 season

Path to the league

Born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Sainristil's family fled the country when he was seven months old and settled in Everett, Massachusetts, where he was named the state's 2018 Gatorade Player of the Year. He committed to Michigan as a top defensive back recruit but was initially deployed at receiver, catching passes for two seasons before converting to cornerback in 2022. Washington drafted him 50th overall in the second round of the 2024 NFL Draft.

Career highlights

Sainristil's 2023 breakout at cornerback earned him first-team All-American honors from The Sporting News, ESPN, and FOX, along with Big Ten Championship Game MVP. He capped that season with the game-clinching interception in Michigan's 2024 College Football Playoff National Championship win, a diving pick off Michael Penix Jr. that he returned 81 yards.

2025 season recap

Sainristil's rookie 2024 season was immediately productive, with 93 tackles, 14 pass deflections, and 2 interceptions across 17 games, plus two interceptions in Washington's divisional-round playoff win over Detroit that earned him Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Week honors. In 2025, he shifted from nickel to outside corner after a Week 10 injury to teammate Trey Amos and led Washington with four interceptions on the season, including one against Atlanta's Michael Penix Jr., the same quarterback he picked off in the national title game.