The suspense and speculation continue to rise as the 2022 NFL draft is merely hours away, and things are really beginning to take form when it comes to who the “Elite” prospects are, and which guys have come back to earth or have seemingly been forgotten. Since the conclusion of the College Football Season, we have seen season long locks to be Top 10 Picks in DeMarvin Leal (Texas A&M), Kaiir Elam (Florida), Kenyon Green (Texas A&M), and Jahan Dotson (Penn State) all take back seats and see their stock plummet in favor of under the radar talent. Florida State Edge Rusher Jermaine Johnson is a solid example of a player who, prior to 2021, was touted as a mid-second-round pick. Now with the draft only weeks away, we could possibly hear his name called in the Top 5. Georgia’s Travon Walker is in discussions for the NO. 1 Overall Pick, and Leal may very well be an early-mid second-round pick now! Things have massively changed in regard to the draft landscape over the past seven months. There’s zero certainty at the moment pertaining to Picks 1 and 2, no top QB, and an Edge Rusher class that’s deep enough to deter teams from trading up. The RB position has been devalued so heavily over the past three drafts that it’s now to the point that first-round talents are mocked as mid-second-round bargains. If this was 2012, Breece Hall (Iowa State), Isaiah Spiller (Texas A&M), and Kenneth Walker III (Michigan State) would all be mid-late first-round selections. But with the insane surge of the passing game over the past decade, coupled with the need for more versatile receiving backs who can also play in the slot, the need for the talented bell cow is no longer a primary concern, but more so a luxury in 2022. Two ultra-talented signal-callers in Malik Willis and Matt Corral headline the QB Class, with a highly experienced and battle-tested Senior in Kenny Pickett right there contending for first off the board. The best athletes play Cornerback and Wide Receiver! Just my opinion, and in this draft those positions provide the highest level of quality players deep into the second and third rounds. We could potentially see a combination of 10 selected in the first round (6 WRs/4 CBs). Within a draft class this deep and talented, almost every need at any position can be addressed in multiple rounds; there just isn’t that “Figure Head” QB to headline the Class. After the first three, the pool really gets shallow in regards to finding even a potential solid backup. With that being said, the organizations also play a vital role in how their drafts classes develop over those first three-to-four years post-draft. Some rookies are thrown into positions they should logically not be in and have no shot at success, while others are allowed to develop and grow within the organization. Let’s take a look at the 100 players I have ranked going into Thursday nights NFL DRAFT.
1.EVAN NEAL, 6-7 340 LBS OT/ALABAMA
2.AIDAN HUTCHINSON, 6-6 265 LBS EDGE/MICHIGAN
3.IKEM EKWONU, 6-4 320 LBS OT/NORTH CAROLINA STATE
4.AHMAD GARDNER, 6-3 200 LBS CB/CINCINNATI
5.DEREK STINGLEY JR., 6-1 195 LBS CB/LSU
6.TRAVON WALKER, 6-5 275 LBS EDGE/GEORGIA
7.GARRETT WILSON, 6-0 192 LBS WR/OHIO STATE
8.JERMAINE JOHNSON, 6-5 260 LBS EDGE/FLORIDA STATE
9.DEVIN LLOYD, 6-3 235 LBS LB/UTAH
10.CHARLES CROSS, 6-5 310 LBS OT/MISSISSIPPI STATE
11.GEORGE KARLAFTIS, 6-4 266 LBS EDGE/PURDUE
12.KAYVON THIBODEAUX, 6-4 254 LBS EDGE/OREGON
13.MALIK WILLIS, 6-1 220 LBS QB/LIBERTY
14.DEVONTE WYATT, 6-3 315 LBS DT/GEORGIA
15.KYLE HAMILTON, 6-4 220 LBS S/NOTRE DAME
16.JORDAN DAVIS, 6-6 340 LBS DT/GEORGIA
17.CHRIS OLAVE, 6-1 188 LBS WR/OHIO STATE
18.JAMESON WILLIAMS, 6-2 189 LBS WR/ALABAMA
19.TYLER LINDERBAUM 6-2 296 LBS C/IOWA
20.DRAKE LONDON, 6-5 210 LBS WR/USC
21.DAX HILL, 6-0 192 LBS S/MICHIGAN
22.KENNY PICKETT, 6-3 225 LBS QB/PITTSBURGH
23.MATT CORRAL, QB 6-2 212 LBS QB/OLE MISS
24.NAKOBE DEAN, 6-0 225 LBS LB/GEORGIA
25.TRENT MCDUFFIE, 5-11 195 LBS CB/WASHINGTON
26.KAIIR ELAM, 6-2 192 LBS CB/FLORIDA
27.KENYON GREEN, 6-4 325 LBS G/TEXAS A&M
28.BOYE MAFE, 6-4 265 LBS EDGE/MINNESOTA
29.GEORGE PICKENS, 6-3 200 LBS WR/GEORGIA
30.ARNOLD EBIKETIE, 6-3 256 LBS EDGE/PENN STATE
31.JAHAN DOTSON, 5-11 184 LBS WR/PENN STATE
32.TRAYLON BURKS, 6-3 220 LBS WR/ARKANSAS
33.ZION JOHNSON, 6-3 316 LBS G/BOSTON COLLEGE
34.LEWIS CINE, 6-1 200 LBS S/GEORGIA
35.QUAY WALKER, 6-4 240 LBS LB/GEORGIA
36.TRAVIS JONES, 6-4 333 LBS DT/CONNETICUT
37.BERNHARD RAIMANN, 6-7 305 LBS OT/CENTRAL MICHIGAN
38.LEO CHENAL, 6-2 261 LBS LB/WISCONSIN
39.TREY MCBRIDE, 6-4 246 LBS TE/COLORADO STATE
40.CALVIN AUSTIN III, 5-8 170LBS WR/MEMPHIS
41.KENNETH WALKER III 5-10 210 LBS RB/MICHIGAN STATE
42.NIK BONITTO, 6-3 240 LBS LB/OKLAHOMA
43.TREVOR PENNING, 6-7 325 OT/NORTHERN IOWA
44.CHAD MUMA, 6-3 242 LBS LB/WYOMING
45.JALEN PITRE, 6-0 197 LBS CB/BAYLOR
46.ERIK EZUKANMA, 6-2 209 LBS WR/TEXAS TECH
47.SKY MOORE, 5-10 195 LBS WR/WESTERN MICHIGAN
48.JAQUAN BRISKER, 6-1 199 LBS S/PENN STATE
49.CAMERON THOMAS, 6-5 270 LBS EDGE/SAN DIEGO STATE
50.KYLER GORDON, 6-0 200 LBS CB/WASHINGTON
51.TROY ANDERSON, 6-4 235 LBS LB/MONTANA STATE
52.CHRISTIAN HARRIS, 6-2 232 LBS LB/ALABAMA
53.BREECE HALL, 6-1 220 LBS RB/IOWA STATE
54.ALEC PIERCE, 6-3 213 LBS WR/CINCINNATI
55.ROGER MCCREARY, 6-0 190 LBS CB/AUBURN
56.LOGAN HALL, 6-6 260 LBS DT/HOUSTON
57.BRANDON SMITH 6-3 241 LBS LB/PENN STATE
58.CARSON STRONG, 6-4 215 LBS QB/NEVADA
59.DAVID OJABO, 6-5 250 LBS EDGE/MICHIGAN
60.ANDREW BOOTH JR., 6-0 195 LBS CB/CLEMSON
61.BRIAN ASAMOAH 6-1 228 LBS LB/OKLAHOMA
62.DESMOND RIDDER, 6-3 215 LBS QB/CINCINNATI
63.DEMARVIN LEAL, 6-4 290 LBS DT/TEXAS A&M
64.DARIAN KINNARD, 6-5 345 LBS OT/KENTUCKY
65.KERBY JOSEPH, 6-1 200 LBS S/ILLINOIS
66.JALEN TOLBERT, 6-3 190 LBS WR/SOUTH ALABAMA
67.ISAIAH SPILLER, 6-1 215 LBS RB/TEXAS A&M
68.JUSTYN ROSS, 6-4 205 LBS WR/CLEMSON
69.KINGSLEY ENAGBARE, 6-4 258 LBS EDGE/SOUTH CAROLINA
70.DYLAN PARHAM, 6-3 285 LBS G/MEMPHIS
71.JAMAREE SALYER, 6-4 325 LBS OT/GEORGIA
72.CHRISTIAN WATSON, 6-5 208 LBS WR/NORTH DAKOTA STATE
73.DARRIAN BEAVERS, 6-4 255 LBS LB/CINCINNATI
74.KELLEN DIESCH, 6-7 300 LBS OT/ARIZONA STATE
75.CHANNING TINDALL, 6-2 230 LBS LB/FLORIDA
76.KHALIL SHAKIR, 6-0 190 LBS WR/BOISE STATE
77.PERRION WINFREY, 6-4 292 LBS DT/OKLAHOMA
78.ISAIAH LIKELY, 6-4 240 LBS TE/COASTAL CAROLINA
79.DANIEL FAALELE, 6-9 380 LBS OT/MINNESOTA
80.MARTIN EMERSON, 6-2 200 LBS CB/MISSISSIPPI STATE
81.ISAIAH THOMAS, 6-5 266 LBS EDGE/OKLAHOMA
82.JOHN METCHIE, 6-0 195 LBS WR/ALABAMA
83.MARCUS JONES, 5-8 185 LBS CB/HOUSTON
84.JOJO DOMANN, 6-1 230 LBS LB/NEBRASKA
85.NICK CROSS, 6-1 210 LBS S/MARYLAND
86.LUKE GOEDEKE, 6-5 310 LBS OT/CENTRAL MICHIGAN
87.WANDALE ROBINSON, 5-11 185 LBS WR/KENTUCKY
88.DRAKE JACKSON, 6-4 250 LBS EDGE/USC
89.ABRAHAM LUCAS, 6-7 319 LBS OT/WASHINGTON STATE
90.JOSH PASCHAL 6-3 278 LBS EDGE/KENTUCKY
91.TYLER SMITH, 6-6 332 LBS, OT/TULSA
92.DEANGELO MALONE, 6-4 240 LBS EDGE/W.KENTUCKY
93.CAM TAYLOR-BRITT, 6-0 197 LBS CB/NEBRASKA
94.RASHEED WALKER, 6-6 320 LBS OT/PENN STATE
95.DOHNOVAN WEST, 6-4 300 LBS ARIZONA STATE
96.DAMEON PIERCE, 5-10 215 LBS RB/FLORIDA
97.COLE STRANGE, 6-6 301 G/CHATTANOOGA
98.MAX MITCHELL, 6-6 297 LBS OT/LOUISIANA
99.JAMES COOK, 5-11 190 LBS RB/GEORGIA
100.TARIQ WOOLEN, 6-4 205 LBS CB/TEXAS-SAN ANTONIO
