NFL Draft: 2022 Mock Draft - Receivers Dominate First Round

With the College Football season over and the NFL Playoffs underway, 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.

Author:
Zack Patraw
Publish date:
Jan 25, 2022 10:05 AM EST

NFL Draft: 2022 NFL Mock Draft

With the College Football season at an end and the NFL Playoffs underway, 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.

2022 NFL Draft Prospect: OT Evan Neal, Alabama — With the College Football season over and the NFL Playoffs underway, 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.

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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. His length is great and once he lands his hands, he is able to latch on, move his feet and control opponents.

2. Detroit Lions: DE Kayvon Thibodeaux, Oregon

"Thibodeaux boasts excellent burst, change of direction and long speed. His first step makes him a threat to reach his opponents’ chests on every play. What’s more, Thibodeaux has an extremely flexible frame. He exhibits impressive bend and balance to work the outside track."

3. Houston Texans: 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."

4. New York Jets: FS Kyle Hamilton, Notre Dame

"Kyle Hamilton exhibits excellent short-area burst, long speed, change of direction and clean transitions. A long athletic frame that is both flexible and powerful. The definition of versatility on defense. Can play as single high post safety, nickel, box safety, and even aligned at boundary corner and weakside linebacker."

5. New York Giants: 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."

6. Carolina Panthers: 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."

7. New York Giants (via CHI): OC Tyler Linderbaum, Iowa

"Linderbaum aligns as the starting center along the Hawkeyes’ offensive line. For an undersized offensive lineman, his strength is absolutely phenomenal. A former high school state champion wrestler, firmly understands how to use his hands and basically wins every battle in the trenches."

8. Atlanta Falcons: 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."

9. Denver Broncos: 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."

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10. New York Jets (via SEA): DE George Karlaftis, Purdue

"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. He can kick inside to 4-3 defensive tackle on passing downs. Karlaftis has consistently won since reaching the college level, in part, because of his active and precise hands."

11. Washington Football Team: QB Matt Corral, Ole Miss

"Matt Corral has improved every year as the Rebels quarterback and should hear his name called early in the 2022 draft. Corral has tremendous feel for maneuvering around in the pocket and while keeping his eyes downfield he gets low to slide up, back, or to the side to evade incoming defenders."

12. Minnesota Vikings: 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."

13. Cleveland Browns: 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."

14. Baltimore Ravens: CB Ahmad Gardner, Cincinnati

"Is able to bump and run at the line of scrimmage in press coverage with his long frame and is able to stay with receivers stride for stride down the field."

15. Philadelphia Eagles (via MIA): 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."

16. Philadelphia Eagles (via IND): WR Treylon Burks, Arkansas

"A stout frame that embodies much of what you look for in a running back much less a receiver. Outstanding after the catch where he uses strength and quickness to gain extra yards. Catches the ball naturally as evident by his use in screens and routes over the middle of the field."

17. Los Angeles Chargers: 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. Excellent concentration in traffic and over the middle of the field to keep his eye on the ball throughout the catch process."

18. New Orleans Saints: 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."

19. Philadelphia Eagles: CB Andrew Booth Jr., Clemson

"Twitchy athlete who brings a compact frame and long limbs to the cornerback position. Energy jumps off the tape with his effort and urgency he plays with."

20. Pittsburgh Steelers: QB Malik Willis, Liberty

"Malik Willis has a thicker, more well-built frame than some people may give him credit for. He is a dynamic runner who can execute on designed run plays and also extend plays with his legs to save a bad situation."

21. New England Patriots: OT Sean Rhyan, UCLA

"Rhyan’s well-rounded game is predicated on his refined hands and athleticism. The two-year starter typically aims his punches accurately and uses his placement to achieve leverage."

22. Las Vegas Raiders: 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."

23. Arizona Cardinals: 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. His hips are low and fluid in space allowing him to flip them easily."

24. Dallas Cowboys: DT DeMarvin Leal, Texas A&M

"Leal was moved all over the defensive line in 2020 for the Aggies defense, which hints at one of his biggest strengths, versatility. His size suggests he will move to an interior role on the defensive line, but he has shown to be proficient in every technique"

25. Buffalo Bills: CB Roger McCreary, Auburn

"A feisty man cover cornerback, McCreary is technically sound, patient and confident when mirroring receivers. He rarely makes false steps and is patient at the line of scrimmage to not shoot his hands too early."

26. Tennessee Titans: 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."

27. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 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."

28. Green Bay Packers: 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. He sets up releases as games go on by working them into different route stems."