If you haven’t paid attention to all things NFL since the Los Angeles Rams hoisted the Lombardi Trophy after winning the Super Bowl, it may take a few weeks to bring you up to speed.
The condensed version is Tom Brady retired for 41 days and returned to Tampa Bay; premier wide receivers like Davante Adams and Tyreek Hill changed teams; the Cleveland Browns gave the gross national product of Portugal for quarterback Deshaun Watson; virtually every team in the AFC now is a super team; and Aaron Rodgers is back with the Green Bay Packers.
It’s been busy, real busy.
So fast forward to now on the calendar. The NFL Draft is here with all its possibilities up and down the seven rounds. Well, this year you can multiply the possibilities factor by a thousand because 2022 is not a draft with THE prospect.
It is always a challenge to try to predict the first round, but this year looks to be incredibly hard. Those annually good at mock drafts average correctly picking eight of the first 32 selections. An excellent year means getting 10 in round one right.
This year getting six correct may be expert level. Currently, four players apparently are still in play for the No. 1 overall pick and eight teams – yes, eight – do not own a first-round pick heading into Thursday’s start of the draft.
Round 1 coverage is April 28; rounds two and three on Friday; and four through seven are on Saturday. It promises to be extremely entertaining television entertainment.
For me, I have composed mock drafts for two dozen years and for the last five years I have been honored to be included in the invitation-only The Huddle Report competition against best draft analysts. My picks and other mock drafts can be followed at www.thehuddlereport.com.
So here are my projections for the first round and the players – in no particular order -- from No. 33 to No. 100 who will be selected.
1. Jacksonville Jaguars – Aidan Hutchinson, Edge, Michigan – Last year it was the easy selection of Trevor Lawrence for the Jaguars, but this year questions still remain. I am opting for the player who will strengthen the maligned D-line.
2. Detroit Lions – Kayvon Thibodeaux, Edge, Oregon – With Hutchinson now off the board, a Lions front office moves on to its second option. Thibodeaux may become the best defensive end in the entire draft.
3. Houston Texans – Ahmad “Sauce” Gardner, CB, Cincinnati – The Texans have traded Watson to add more draft picks in this and upcoming years. They could use an offensive tackle, but their defensive backfield needs an upgrade.
4. New York Jets – Ikem Ekonu, OT, NC State – Ekonu and Evan Neal have been 1a and 1b in which tackle would go first. Both players have been in the discussion to go No. 1 overall. The Jets will be back on the clock at No. 10.
5. New York Giants – Evan Neal, OT, Alabama – With the Giants’ first of two picks inside the top 10, the other New York team takes the other superior tackle.
6. Carolina Panthers – Charles Cross, OT, Mississippi State – The Panthers could go with a quarterback here, but this draft does not have signal callers who warrant a pick this high. Also, the Panthers do not have another pick until the fourth round.
7. New York Giants – Travon Walker, Edge, Georgia – The Giants go with another player on the line, but this time it’s the D-line. Walker has received more hype than any other player in the last two months. He is a super athlete.
8. Atlanta Falcons – Garrett Wilson, WR, Ohio State – Matt Ryan now is the Indianapolis Colts’ quarterback and Marcus Mariota is taking the snaps in Atlanta. It’s still too early for a QB in this class so the Falcons opt for the top wideout.
9. Seattle Seahawks – Kyle Hamilton, S, Notre Dame – Deemed the “unicorn” of this draft, the Seahawks have memories of Jamal Adams in Hamilton who can moved around on the defensive side.
10. New York Jets – Jermaine Johnson, Edge, Florida State – Johnson left Georgia and became a top-10 selection as the ACC Defensive Player of the Year.
11. Washington Commanders – Derek Stingley, CB, LSU – If Stingley could have gone into the draft after his freshman year of college, he probably would have been selected in the first five picks. Injuries and non-elite play drops him to outside the top 10.
12. Minnesota Vikings – Jordan Davis, IDL, Georgia – Some Bulldog fans may have wanted Davis to go earlier because of how well he moves for his size. Teams have lingering questions about whether he will be able to keep his weight under control.
13. Houston Texans – Jameson Williams, WR, Alabama – And the Texans are back on the clock. Williams is coming off his injury he suffered in the national championship game against the Bulldogs. Without the injury, he potentially would have been picked in the first 10 choices.
14. Baltimore Ravens – Devonte Wyatt, IDL, Georgia – Wyatt just looks like a Ravens player. Baltimore will move the Georgia stud around like how Calis Campbell was used.
15. Philadelphia Eagles – Drake London, WR, USC – The Eagles had their eyes on Williams, but go with London who has incredible size to work opposite of ddddd Smith for QB Jalen Hurts.
16. New Orleans Saints – Chris Olave, WR, Ohio State – Olave is the best route runner in the draft and he has top-notch speed. In college, his yards per catch were not as much as some of the other big-name receivers but he is capable to get more big-chunk yardage.
17. Los Angeles Chargers – Trevor Penning, OT, Northern Iowa – QB Justin Herbert had too much dirt and grass stains on his pants last year. The franchise quarterback needs to be upright and Penning has a quality nasty streak to him.
18. Philadelphia Eagles – Trent McDuffie, CB, Washington – The Eagles are back up and go with a solid cornerback after taking a receiver three picks earlier.
19. New Orleans Saints – Zion Johnson, IOL, Boston College – The Saints desire more quality linemen and Johnson has a lot of versatility for the interior spots.
20. Pittsburgh Steelers – Malik Willis, QB, Liberty – And the first quarterback is finally selected at No. 20. This is not a good draft for QBs, unlike last year and what is expected to be next year. Willis has super amount of ability if it can be harnessed so he can eventually take the helm after the Ben Roseilberger retirement.
21. New England Patriots – Devin Lloyd, LB, Utah – Bill Belicheck will enjoy what Lloyd, the best linebacker in the draft, brings to the Patriots’ defense. The Patriots relish in players who can be shifted from one spot to another.
22. Green Bay Packers – George Karlaftis, Edge, Purdue – The Packers picked up another first-round draft pick for trading Adams to the Las Vegas Raiders. Here the Packers go with a defensive end before getting another receiver a few picks from this one.
23. Arizona Cardinals – Andrew Booth Jr., CB, Clemson – The Cardinals could use a wideout to replace Christian Kirk who signed as a free agent with Jacksonville, but their defensive backfield needs a leader.
24. Dallas Cowboys – Daxton Hill, S, Michigan – Speaking of backfield leader, Hill can play nickel cornerback as well as his safety position. Hill is the second-best rated safety in this draft.
25. Buffalo Bills – Kaiir Elam, CB, Florida – Reviewing the Bills’ play, its obvious Buffalo can score points. They, however, need more assistance in stopping their opponents from scoring as much.
26. Tennessee Titans – Nakobe Dean, LB, Georgia – Taking Dean’s teammate linebacker Quay Walker definitely was a thought here, but Dean not only made tackles for the Bulldogs’ defense as he also was the leader of the squad.
27. Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Kenyon Green, IOL, Texas A&M – The Buccaneers, for the most part, have gotten the band back together after Brady decided to return. With that said, Tampa Bay lost both starting guards from its 2021 team.
28. Green Bay Packers – Treylon Burks, WR, Arkansas – The Packers rarely ever take a receiver in the first round. Well, this year the Packers have two first-round picks and a vacancy with the departure of Adams.
29. Kansas City Chiefs – Jahan Dotson, WR, Penn State – Of course, the Chiefs add another offensive weapon for Patrick Mahomes. Tyreek Hill now is in Miami and Kansas City needs to replenish some of the lost speed.
30. Kansas City Chiefs – Boye Mafe, Edge, Minnesota – Having two selections in the first round thanks to the Hill trade, the Chiefs utilize its other pick to get a defensive end to get after opposing quarterbacks.
31. Cincinnati Bengals – Tyler Linderbaum, IOL, Iowa – Linderbaum is one of the best offensive linemen in this year’s draft, but he is limited to only playing center. The Bengals are the perfect fit for Linderbaum’s superior talents.
32. Detroit Lions – Kenny Pickett, QB, Pittsburgh – The second quarterback of the first round goes off the board in the last selection of the opening round. Pickett can be the QB of the future for the Lions who took an edge rusher way back with the second pick in the first round.
The following are projections of picks 33-100 in no particular order of their selection.
33. Christian Watson, WR, North Dakota State
34. Lewis Cine, S, Georgia
35. Jaquan Brisker, S, Penn State
36. Skyy Moore, WR, Western Michigan
37. Arnold Ebiketie, Edge, Penn State
38. Perrion Winfrey, IDL, Oklahoma
39. Bernhard Raimann, OT, Central Michigan
40. Desmond Ridder, QB, Cincinnati
41. David Ojabo, Edge, Michigan
42. Kyler Gordon, CB, Washington
43. Matt Corral, QB, Ole Miss
44. DeMarvin Leal, IDL, Texas A&M
45. Travis Jones, IDL, UConn
46. Tariq Woolen, CB, UTSA
47. George Pickens, WR, Georgia
48. Tyler Smith, IOL, Tulsa
49. Daniel Faalele, OT, Minnesota
50. Jalen Pitre, S, Baylor
51. Cameron Thomas, Edge, San Diego State
52. Sean Rhyan, IOL, UCLA
53. Quay Walker, LB, Georgia
54. Jamaree Salyer, IOL, Georgia
55. Nik Bonitto, Edge, Oklahoma
56. John Metchie III, WR, Alabama
57. Breece Hall, RB, Iowa State
58. Christian Harris, LB, Alabama
59. Trey McBride, TE, Colorado State
60. David Bell, WR, Purdue
61. Roger McCreary, CB, Auburn
62. Kenneth Walker III, RB, Michigan State
63. Isaiah Likely, TE, Coastal Carolina
64. Logan Hall, Edge, Houston
65. Leo Chenal, LB, Wisconsin
66. Chad Muma, LB, Wyoming
67. Sam Howell, QB, North Carolina
68. Nicholas Petit-Frere, OT, Ohio State
69. Calvin Austin III, WR, Memphis
70. Dylan Parham, IOL, Memphis
71. Josh Paschal, Edge, Kentucky
72. Abraham Lucas, OT, Washington State
73. Kingsley Enagbare, Edge, South Carolina
74. Drake Jackson, Edge, USC
75. Brian Asamoah, LB, Oklahoma
76. Darian Kinnard, IOL, Kentucky
77. Darrian Beavers, LB, Cincinnati
78. Troy Andersen, LB, Montana State
79. Channing Tindall, LB, Georgia
80. Isaiah Spiller, RB, Texas A&M
81. Ed Ingram, IOL, LSU
82. Phidarian Mathis, IDL, Alabama
83. Cole Strange, IOL, Chattanooga
84. Alontae Taylor, CB, Tennessee
85. Jalen Tolbert, WR, South Alabama
86. Zachary Carter, IDL, Florida
87. James Cook, RB, Georgia
88. Sam Williams Edge, Ole Miss
89. Kyle Phillips, WR, UCLA
90. Cade Otton, TE, Washington
91. Cam Taylor-Britt, CB, Nebraska
92. Rasheed Walker, OT, Penn State
93. Alec Pierce, WR, Cincinnati
94. Marcus Jones, CB, Houston
95. Martin Emerson, CB, Mississippi State
96. Mario Goodrich, CB, Clemson
97. Wan’Dale Robinson
98. Carson Strong, QB, Nevada
99. Tyreke Smith, Edge, Ohio State
100. Myjai Sanders, Edge, Cincinnati
Enoch Autry is the publisher of The Clayton Tribune.