Best prospects available in the 2022 NFL Draft
Published: Apr 28, 2022 at 08:18 PM
Daniel Jeremiah
NFL Media analyst
Best players available on Day 2 | 'NFL Draft Today'
The Jacksonville Jaguars opened Round 1 of the 2022 NFL Draft by selecting Georgia defensive lineman Travon Walker at No. 1 overall. See where all 150 prospects on NFL Network draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah's big board land over the course of the seven-round event. See all the top players who have already been picked.
STILL AVAILABLE
17
Nakobe Dean
Georgia · LB · Junior
Dean is an undersized linebacker with exceptional instincts and play-making ability. Against the run, he is quick to read, flow and fill for tackles. He is two steps ahead of everyone on the field because of his combination of knowledge, vision and instincts. He has excellent speed and range. He is a firm, chest-up tackler with a high batting average in space. Against the pass, he has the athleticism to match up with RBs and TEs underneath. He has good feel and burst to close as a zone dropper. He is an outstanding blitzer, utilizing timing and the ability to slip blockers for sacks/pressures. The Georgia staff raves about his leadership. Dean reminds me a lot of Jonathan Vilma coming out of Miami.
26
Malik Willis
Liberty · QB · Senior (RS)
Willis is a thick, sturdy quarterback with elite arm strength and play-making ability. He has quick feet in his setup and he throws from a wide, firm base. He usually releases the ball out of a 3/4 arm slot and it jumps out of his hand. He generates incredible RPMs and flashes the ability to fit passes into tight windows. His accuracy is inconsistent. At times, he gets too wide with his feet and the ball sails to the perimeter. He has shown the ability to change ball speed, but he can improve on layer throws. He misses out on some completions because his throws are too flat. He's effective extending and creating against pressure (which he faced a ton of). He's outstanding on QB draws, powers and zone reads. He has a burst and pulls through tackles. Overall, Willis is still a work in progress, but he has the most upside on any QB in this class.
28
Breece Hall
Iowa State · RB · Junior
Hall is a big, smooth runner with outstanding patience and balance. He has a unique style -- almost walking to the line of scrimmage before finding a crease, getting skinny and exploding through. He has outstanding contact balance, absorbing defenders and driving his feet for extra yards. He is elusive in space. He doesn't possess elite top-end speed, but he still hits some home runs (SEE: first play from scrimmage vs. Kansas State). He is an outstanding weapon in the passing game as a clean route runner with exceptional hands. Check out his one-handed catch vs. Oklahoma. He is firm in pass protection, but has been late to identify blitzers at times. Overall, Hall has an ideal skill set for today's game.
31
Boye Mafe
Minnesota · Edge · Senior (RS)
Mafe is an ascending edge rusher with an enticing blend of speed and power. He steadily improved throughout the season, culminating with an outstanding performance at the Reese's Senior Bowl. As a pass rusher, he has an explosive first step and his hand usage has started to come together. Early in the year, he was thinking too much and segmented in his movement. But as the season went on, he played much faster and connected his feet and hands. He can generate speed to power, and he is an exceptional finisher once he gets to the top of his rush. He can stack blocks and hold the point of attack in the run game. Overall, Mafe is still a raw prospect, but he’s trending in the right direction and provides double-digit sack upside.
32
Andrew Booth
Clemson · CB · Junior
Booth is an athletic, quick-footed cornerback with very good ball skills. In press coverage, he doesn’t throw his hands to re-route, but does a nice job of staying in the hip pocket of the wideout. He is fluid to open up and has enough speed to stay in phase versus vertical routes. He has been inconsistent in off coverage. Occasionally, he’s caught flat-footed and gives up plays over the top. However, he's very good on balls thrown in front of him. He has some pop out of his plant and he can find and play the ball. He’s a willing tackler, but he had some costly misses in the games I studied. Overall, Booth is still a work in progress, but I believe he’ll develop into a solid number No. 2 cornerback.
33
Kenneth Walker III
Michigan State · RB · Junior
Walker is a strong, compact runner with remarkable burst and balance. He excels running between the tackles. He is patient, setting up blocks and exploding through the line of scrimmage. He can absorb contact and powers through tacklers. Walker has enough speed to capture the perimeter and he hit a lot of home runs in the MSU offense. He wasn't much of a threat in the passing game, where he was utilized primarily on screens and checkdowns. He needs to improve his anchor in pass protection. Overall, Walker is a dynamic runner with plenty of growth potential in the passing game.
34
Arnold Ebiketie
Penn State · Edge · Senior (RS)
Ebiketie is a long, twitched-up edge rusher with a nonstop motor. He has an explosive get-off and routinely rocks offensive tackles with the power in his hands. He charges upfield before powering through the outside shoulder. He also has a violent swipe move and will occasionally cross the face of the tackle with a nifty inside counter move. He can really corner and finish at the top of his rush. He isn’t as dominant against the run, however. He ducks his head too often and gets washed by OTs and TEs. He lacks ideal block awareness, too. Still, the effort is always there to hustle and chase from the back side. Overall, Ebiketie is a gifted rusher who should rack up pressures/sacks while he learns to play the run with more consistency.
35
Kyler Gordon
Washington · CB · Junior (RS)
Gordon is a smooth athlete with an aggressive/physical play style. In press coverage, he doesn’t like to use his hands, but he is very smooth/fluid to open up and stay in position. He has great play speed and can gear down efficiently to work back downhill. He is very instinctive in off coverage. He is aware of down/distance and that allows him to take some chances and drive on the ball. He did lose one 50/50 battle in the tape I studied, but he has refined ball awareness/skills. Against the run, he is often used as a blitzer and he collected a handful of tackles right at or behind the line of scrimmage, including a big-time stop on the goal line against Michigan.
37
Travis Jones
Connecticut · DT · Senior
Jones is a big, powerful defensive tackle with surprising quickness. Against the pass, he can generate immediate knock-back and collapse the pocket. He uses a long inside-arm maneuver to walk centers right back to the quarterback. He flashes an explosive club move, but he needs to continue to add to his arsenal of pass-rush techniques. Against the run, he is stout versus both single and double teams. He can sink his weight and resist pressure on angle blocks. His effort is solid. Overall, Jones took his game to another level at the Reese's Senior Bowl and he has the ability to play on the other side of the line of scrimmage against both the run and pass.
38
Christian Harris
Alabama · LB · Junior
Harris is an explosive linebacker with intriguing upside, who improved every week. Against the pass, he’s been asked to cover RBs, TEs and occasionally slot receivers. He has the speed to match up and can find/play the ball, as evidenced by a deft pass breakup vs LSU. He is quick to identify screens and then explodes to make the play. He is an excellent tackler in space. Harris is also a very dynamic blitzer, rocketing through gaps for sacks and pressures. Against the run, he isn’t an instant key/diagnose player, but once he sees it, he has a burst to the line of scrimmage. He flashes the ability to aggressively take on blockers with his shoulder, but he gets stuck and swallowed too often. I’d like to see him use his hands more. Overall, the arrow is pointing up for Harris. His best football is ahead of him.
40
Matt Corral
Mississippi · QB · Junior (RS)
Corral is an undersized QB with excellent athleticism and a strong arm. He has quick feet in his setup and creates a lot of force from the ground to generate velocity. He has fast hands in the RPO game and a compact delivery. There are a lot of schemed winners in this system, and he delivers the ball accurately for big plays. He does a great job avoiding pressure to create with his legs or simply throw the ball away. His accuracy did suffer when he was forced to move and reset. He protected the ball better in 2021, throwing 10 fewer interceptions than he did in 2020. He is an explosive ball-carrier on scrambles and designed runs. However, he takes too much punishment because of his reckless/aggressive style. Overall, Corral has an intriguing skill set, but the size combined with his play style is a concern.
41
Jalen Pitre
Baylor · S · Senior (RS)
Pitre is a versatile safety with experience playing deep and in the slot. He has superb quickness, instincts and toughness. He has the fluidity to match up in man coverage underneath and he’s a dynamic blitzer. When aligned deep, he is quick to key/read and takes proper angles. He is a very reliable tackler. He doesn’t possess an elite size-speed combination, but he makes up for it with his natural feel for the game. Overall, I see Pitre as an immediate-impact defender.
43
Bernhard Raimann
Central Michigan · OT · Senior
Raimann has a fascinating story. He was a foreign exchange student from Austria, and he developed himself into a tight end prospect. In his third season at Central Michigan, he made the transition to left tackle. He is a fun player to study. In the passing game, he has enough foot quickness to handle speed rushers, and his combination of core and hand strength jumps off the screen. When he lands his punch, the play is over. He will occasionally get too wide with his base, which left him susceptible to counter moves. He is a mauler in the run game. He has knock-back power and looks to finish consistently. Overall, Raimann has picked up the position incredibly fast and should be a reliable starter early in his career.
44
Nik Bonitto
Oklahoma · Edge · Junior (RS)
Bonitto was a loose, explosive and versatile defender for the Sooners. Against the pass, he has fantastic snap anticipation and burst to win right away. He can really dip, bend and close at the top of the pass rush. He is fluid and fast in everything he does on the field. He has shown the agility to peel off and mirror tight ends in coverage, too. Oklahoma used him quite a bit to spy athletic QBs. Bonitto explodes to the alley and collects tackles when those QBs attempt to take off. Against the run, he needs to win with quickness. He will get pushed around and give up the edge. Overall, Bonitto is an exceptional athlete with pass-rush production and cover ability. If he adds some strength, he could emerge as a Pro Bowl talent.
45
Skyy Moore
Western Michigan · WR · Junior
Moore is an undersized wideout (5-10, 195) with phenomenal quickness, play strength and route polish. He split his time between lining up outside and in the slot for WMU. He is very sudden in his release and doesn't waste any steps at the top of routes. He attacks the leverage of cornerbacks and creates a lot of separation out of the break point. He has strong hands to attack the ball and he's very tough/sturdy after the catch. Moore bounces off tacklers on quick hitters and jet sweeps. He has excellent top speed when he gets in the open field. Overall, the lack of ideal size is the only knock on Moore. He should emerge as a dangerous playmaker very early in his career.
46
Christian Watson
North Dakota State · WR · Senior (RS)
Watson is a long, rangy wideout with remarkable fluidity and explosiveness. He lined up outside and was primarily used as a vertical weapon at NDSU. He gains ground in a hurry with his long stride, and he can change speeds when the ball goes up in the air. He ran by everyone he played against last season. Watson showed surprisingly good route skill at the Reese's Senior Bowl in February. He was able to win with quickness off the line and showed the ability to efficiently drop his weight and burst out of the break point down the field. He has a large catch radius, too. Overall, I thought Watson was a solid vertical/stretch receiver based on his game tape, but the Senior Bowl performance showed a more well-rounded talent. He could emerge as one of the best pass-catchers in this class.
48
Sam Howell
North Carolina · QB · Junior
Howell is a thick, compact quarterback with excellent arm strength, toughness and athleticism. I love the urgency in his drop before he settles at the top of the pocket. He has a quick release and he can really power the ball outside the numbers and down the field. He does this despite very little engagement from his lower half. He transfers his weight too early, with his back foot way off the ground. He has the ability to layer the ball accurately in the intermediate area of the field and he throws a beautiful, lofting deep ball. He has the athleticism to extend and create plays. He also has been effective on designed QB runs, bouncing off tackles and showing surprising burst in the open field. Howell does take too many sacks (at least 33 in each of his three seasons, including 48 in 2021) and tried to force too many throws this past season. However, his entire supporting cast left after the 2020 campaign and that had an impact on his production in 2021. Overall, he has NFL-starter ability.
49
David Ojabo
Michigan · Edge · Sophomore (RS)
Ojabo was a very productive edge rusher for the Wolverines despite sharing play time. He has ideal size, explosiveness and fluidity for the position. He brings a dynamic get-off, and once he gets to the top of his rush, he can bend and flatten to the quarterback. His hands are still a work in progress. The dip/rip move is his bread and butter, but he needs to add to his arsenal. He does flash the ability to generate power and is an outstanding finisher, often dislodging the ball upon arrival. He is raw against the run. He turns his shoulder instead of using his hands to hold the point of attack. Overall, Ojabo is still learning how to play the game, but he has as much talent as any pass rusher in this draft. Unfortunately, his 2022 season is now in doubt after he suffered a torn Achilles at Michigan's pro day.
50
Logan Hall
Houston · DT · Senior
Hall is a long, rangy defensive tackle with room to add weight. As a pass rusher, he comes off the ball a little too high, but he's incredibly quick and has an assortment of maneuvers to generate pressure. He has a violent club/swim move, a rip move and pure power. He also has an explosive counter move, showcasing his agility. Against the run, he can get skinny to slip blocks and make plays in the backfield. He has big-time burst and lateral range. However, he does struggle versus double teams. He's too high and can be uprooted. He plays with excellent effort, though. I think he might benefit from a move to the perimeter, keeping him away from the noise/chaos inside. He reminds me of Marcus Davenport coming out of college.
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