NFL Draft: 2022 NFL Mock Draft - Wide Receivers Dominate the First Round
NFL Draft: 2022 NFL Mock Draft
As we near the end of the college football season, let's take a look at the latest first-round 2022 NFL Mock Draft. View the breakdown of each team's picks and their scouting reports.
With the semi-finals of the College Football playoffs in the books, it's time to dive deep into these mock drafts. The NFL Draft order at the top will be solidified soon enough and we can start predicting the early portion of the first round. Let's dive into the first round of the latest 2022 NFL Mock Draft.
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1. Jacksonville Jaguars: OT Evan Neal, Alabama
"Neal has rare athleticism for his size, possessing quick feet and lower body flexibility to get out of his stance and work to the second level."
2. Detroit Lions: DE Kayvon Thibodeaux, Oregon
"Each draft class has at least one highly-anticipated prospect that has thrived under a microscope since their freshman year. Kayvon Thibodeaux is one such prospect who has been considered a future first-overall pick contender since his debut college season."
3. Houston Texans: QB Kenny Pickett, Pittsburgh
"Pickett has very good athletic ability, displaying the foot speed+acceleration to escape the pocket and some agility to make a LB miss in space. While he has a large amount of career rushing attempts, Pickett is always keeping his eyes downfield, scanning the defense while he scrambles, exhibiting a pass-first mentality when the play breaks down."
4. New York Jets: DE Aidan Hutchinson, Michigan
"Aidan Hutchinson is an experienced, productive and well-built defensive end. He primarily wins with his length and technique, managing distance well. Hutchinson also fights hands to keep his frame clear. What’s more, he employs early hands and strings a wide variety of moves together with an incredible work rate."
5. New York Giants: DE David Ojabo, Michigan
"Explosive two-point stance rusher with very good length. Ojabo possesses a great get-off and burst to consistently threaten and win the outside shoulder of tackles from wide alignments. His speed causes tackles to be off-balance, allowing him to extend and knock them off balance at the top of the rush."
6. Carolina Panthers: S Kyle Hamilton, Notre Dame
"Kyle Hamilton has both in a 6040, 220-pound frame. The Notre Dame product exhibits excellent short-area burst, long speed, change of direction and clean transitions. The oversized safety also has excellent play strength. The Fighting Irish’s defensive chess piece has experience in the slot, in the box, in two-high, in single-high and more."
7. New York Jets (via SEA): CB Derek Stingley Jr., LSU
"Instinctive reactionary quickness at the line of scrimmage to slide feet and mirror releases while utilizing a kick step to cut off vertical releases. Easy mover with excellent hip flexibility to transition and flip without losing speed to stay in phase."
8. New York Giants (via CHI): OC Tyler Linderbaum, Iowa
"In the run game, Linderbaum excels in Iowa’s zone-heavy scheme, where his lightning-quick first step allows him to make special reach blocks and gain playside leverage."
9. Washington Football Team: QB Sam Howell, North Carolina
"Very accurate passer who throws to leverage and away from defenders. Howell makes easy throws look easy underneath and has a pretty deep ball with lots of air underneath it to drop it over the shoulder into the bucket."
10. Atlanta Falcons: DE George Karlaftis, Purdue
"A player’s draft profile largely comes down to traits, production and favorable projection to an NFL scheme. Purdue’s George Karlaftis boasts all three. A well-built athlete, the Boilermakers’ star has high-level starter potential at defensive end in both a 4-3 and a 3-4 defense; he is a better fit in a 4-3 front."
11. Denver Broncos: OT Ikem Ekwonu, North Carolina State
"Having lined up at left guard and left tackle, Ekwonu is a very aggressive run blocker who creates a push upfront with great strength. He is very competitive, looking to finish defenders and successfully doing so."
12. Minnesota Vikings: CB Andrew Booth Jr., Clemson
"Great overall athlete with springy explosiveness. Booth is shot out of a cannon, allowing him to break and make up lost ground quickly. Trusting his deep speed, he does not have to get hands on receivers as he can run with them stride for stride."
13. Cleveland Browns: WR Treylon Burks, Arkansas
"Extremely fluid athlete, long strider who showcases his acceleration and burst in a flash. Release is smooth with very few hiccups. Impressive hands - high points the ball well and has the ability to contort his body to haul in wayward passes."
14. Philadelphia Eagles (via MIA): CB Kaiir Elam, Florida
"Well put together outside cornerback with desired size and length. Elam is a good athlete with sufficient long speed, acceleration and above-average recovery speed."
15. New Orleans Saints: WR Garrett Wilson, Ohio State
"Garrett Wilson is a twitched up athlete with excellent suddenness and flexibility. He displays inside-outside versatility with a diverse route tree. Excellent overall release package vs a variety of techniques and coverages."
16. Baltimore Ravens: OT Charles Cross, Mississippi State
"Keeping a wide base with great knee bend, Cross stays on balance and can recover quickly because of it. His reactive quickness to mirror in pass protection is excellent. Anchoring at an above-average level, he uses his base to maximize his strength."
17. Pittsburgh Steelers: DT DeMarvin Leal, Texas A&M
"His size suggests he will move to an interior role on the defensive line, but he has shown to be proficient in every technique."
18. Las Vegas Raiders: WR Drake London, USC
"Natural catcher of the ball. Tough runner after the catch and runs with an edge to him. Possesses good body control and a large catch radius to haul in passes in his relative area."
19. Philadelphia Eagles: DE/OLB Jermaine Johnson, Florida State
"Jermaine Johnson is an athletic playmaker on the defensive line with a muscular build and long arms giving him a physical advantage. Johnson excels versus the run, playing from 4, 3 and 2 point stances from both the strong and weak side."
20. Los Angeles Chargers: DT Jordan Davis, Georgia
"Nose tackle with great size and strength. Davis eats up space on the interior with his strong anchor. Putting on a clinic in how to stack and shed, he takes advantage of his length and upper body power to extend as he pleases."
21. Philadelphia Eagles (via IND): WR Jameson Williams, Alabama
"Williams displays track-level speed and explosiveness at all times. Hard cuts at the top of routes are able to create separation. Has a unique ability to drop his hips and stop his momentum instantly."
22. Miami Dolphins (via SF): OT Trevor Penning, Northern Iowa
"Penning possesses powerful hands that can uproot defenders. He plays in a calm and composed manner, his footwork is smooth. He isn’t the most athletic, free-moving guy but he showed enough competence to block in space."
23. New England Patriots: CB Ahmad Gardner, Cincinnati
"Has extreme length on the outside at corner. Is able to bump and run at the line of scrimmage in press coverage with his longer frame and is able to stay with receivers stride for stride down the field."
24. Arizona Cardinals: OG Kenyon Green, Texas A&M
"Kenyon Green has a thick build at his position of offensive guard. Furthermore, his frame is very balanced so his athleticism does not slack because of his size."
25. Buffalo Bills: ILB Nakobe Dean, Georgia
"Dean reads and reacts quickly in the run game, coming downhill well and especially excelling in pursuit. The further the season progressed, the more of a communicator he became."
26. Cincinnati Bengals: CB Roger McCreary, Auburn
"A feisty cornerback who won’t back down from a battle, McCreary possesses great hip fluidity and good change of direction to stick with receivers at the top of routes."
27. Dallas Cowboys: OLB Devin Lloyd, Utah
"Displaying versatility, Lloyd lines up as the middle and weakside linebacker as well as on the line of scrimmage for the Utes. He possesses great length and quick hands which he uses to avoid second-level blockers."
28. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: WR Jahan Dotson, Penn State
"As a receiver with extremely quick feet and flexible ankles, Dotson excels as a receiver on underneath routes. He makes it hard for defenders to stay with him completely because of his acceleration into the top of his route."
29. Kansas City Chiefs: DE Travon Walker, Georgia
"Lining up as a five-technique on base downs, Walker has the positional versatility to kick all the way out to a seven or reduce inside and rush from a three-tech alignment."
30. Detroit Lions (via LAR): QB Carson Strong, Nevada
"He possesses solid size for a potential starting QB in the NFL, just under 6’3” and a proportioned 215 pounds on a frame that can easily add some muscle. Arm strength is simply phenomenal."
31. Tennessee Titans: WR Chris Olave, Ohio State
"Olave constantly threatens secondaries with his speed. Defenders always have to stay on their toes from the snap of the ball and leave cushion which opens up a lot for Olave’s overall game."
32. Green Bay Packers: WR John Metchie III, Alabama
"Great route-runner who has the tremendous foot speed and ankle flexion allowing him to change directions at high speeds. Metchie sells his routes, keeping his head and pads square."
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