The 2021 NFL Draft just finished up, so why not try to rank the quarterbacks for next years draft a year before the draft?
Basically, I'm bored. I spent a lot of time covering the 2021 Draft and now that it's over, I don't have as much stuff to talk about, expect for next year's draft!
Now, this list is subject to change and I know not everyone is going to like where their quarterback is on the list, but this is how I'd rank them as of right now. So please don't get too mad at me as you go through our WAY TOO EARLY quarterback rankings for the 2022 NFL Draft!
10. Tyler Shough, Texas Tech
Tyler Shough is one of the more intriging quarterbacks in the 2022 class. There were times at Oregon where he looked very good, and other times where he'd get benched for Boston College transfer Anthony Brown, who is assumed to be the Ducks starting QB this upcoming season.
It'll be interesting to see how Shough does at Texas Tech. We know he's going to put up some good numbers because of Tech's QB friendly system, but will that be enough to reward him with a possible first round pick? Time will tell.
He's got the size, molibity/skill set, and potential to be a good NFL quarterback, he just needs to find some sort of consistancy at the collegiate level. Hopefully he can find that at Texas Tech.
9. Matt Corral, Ole Miss
One of the more exciting quarterbacks in college football, Matt Corral is perfect for Lane Kiffin's offense at Ole Miss. During this past season at Ole Miss, Corral never feared from the compitition, putting up some great numbers against the best in America.
In loses against Florida and Alabama, Corral put on a show. Against Florida, Corral almost went stride-for-stride with Kyle Trask, throwing for 395 yards with three touchdowns while completing 71% of his passes as well as rushing for 50 yards.
Against Alabama, Corral threw for 365 yards with two touchdowns with 40 yards on the ground. Two very impressive games against two of the best. Now, though he played well against those teams, he did throw out some stinkers as well.
Last season, Corral threw 14 interceptions, 11 of them came in two games. He threw six against Arkansas in a 33-21 loss and threw five against LSU in a 53-48 loss. Both games Ole Miss should've probably won, if not for the insane number of interceptions.
I really like Matt Corral because, again, of how exciting he is at times. The interception numbers, though bad, can be fixed. He trys to make a play every single snap, which can put him and his team into sticky situations. He's like a wild stalion that just needs to be tamed.
If he can get those interception numbers down, Corral has the chance to make even more noise as the 2022 Draft approaches. I'm excited to see what him and Kiffin do in their second year together.
8. Jayden Daniels, Arizona State
Jayden Daniels is one of my favorite quarterbacks in college football. As a true freshman at Arizona State, Daniels put on an absolute show against the then sixth ranked Oregon Ducks, quarterbacked by NFL ROY Justin Herbert.
Not only did Daniels put on a show, he out played the future sixth overall pick. In the game, Daniels threw for a career high 408 yards with three touchdowns while completing just under 70% of his passes. Whereas Herbert threw two intercpetions and threw for 104 less yards.
Daniels can play the position very well. He's an athletic quarterback with a good arm and doesn't turn the ball over. Over his college career, Daniels has thrown just three interceptions. Where he struggles, at times, is his accuracy, which is why I have him lower than I'd like to.
I think once Daniels gets his completion percentage up and puts on a few more pounds we may be talking about a potential first round draft pick. But at a generously listed 185 combined with his below average completition percentage may see him slip out of the first round conversation, for now.
I have no doubt in my mind that he will have a very good season. But for right now, I think it's only fair we rank him here at number eight.
7. Carson Strong, Nevada
When I made my top 10 quarterbacks list on Twitter, I completely forgot about Nevada quarterback Carson Strong, which is my bad because dude can absolutely sling the football.
Though he's not as good of an athlete as some of the other quarterbacks on this list, he put up come great numbers in his second year starting at Nevada. Posting 2,858 passing yards with 27 touchdowns and only four intercpetions while completing 70.1% of his passes.
Those numbers were massive upgrades from the season prior, with Strong throwing for about 500 more yards, 16 more touchdowns, three less interceptions, and having a seven percent increase on his competition percentage.
I'm intrigued to see what Strong will do this upcoming season. Again, though he's not the most mobile quarterback in this class, he has a very 'strong' arm (pun intended) and improved his accuracy immensely (statistically) in 2020.
If he posts similar or better numbers than last year, we may be seeing a possible first round quarterback. (mobility is my only real issue)
6. JT Daniels, Georgia
I never know what to make of JT Daniels. Ever since he was in high school, people have been talking him up as the next great college quarterback. Then, after winning USC's starting job as a true freshman, only the second in school history, the hype only intensified.
After a sub-par freshman season, expecations were for him to improve in his sophomore season. Sadly for him, he suffered an ACL tear. Not only did the injury sideline him for the season, it looked to have sidelined him for the rest of his USC career, as Kedon Slovis took the job and ran with it.
After losing the job to Slovis, Daniels transferred down to Georgia, where he'd face compition from Jamie Newman, D'Wuan Mathis, and Stetson Bailey. After Newman opted out, eventually, Daniels became the starter, and the hype was back on.
In his lone seaon at Georgia, Daniels performed well. In four games as the starter, Georgia went 4-0 with Daniels throwing for 1,231 yards with 10 touchdowns and only two interceptions.
I'm intrigued to see how Daniels does as the full time starter at Georgia. He doesn't have an incredibly strong arm and he's not that mobile, but he's a good decision maker and has decent to good accuracy.
Again, I never know what to make of him. He could turn out to be an absolute beast and become the number one overall pick, but for now, consistancy's been a little bit of an issue. He has the potential, let's just see if he can rediscover it.
5. Desmond Ridder, Cincinnati
If you were trying to build a quarterback, you'd probably want him to have Ridder's combination of size, speed, and athleticism. At 6'4" 215 lbs., Ridder has the ideal size for an NFL quarterback.
Like I said above, Ridder is a fantastic athlete, and at that size, makes him a scary player to bring down when running the ball. Last season at Cincy, Ridder rushed for 592 yards with 12 touchdowns, with 1,814 totaql rush yards and 22 touchdowns over his career.
Though he's a great and willing runner, he can sling the ball around the field as well. With Cincy having an outside chance at the CFP last season, Ridder threw for 2,296 yards with 19 touchdowns, with his completition percentage jumping up 11% from his sophomore to junior year, from 55% to just over 66%.
Ridder has all the tools to tear up the league. He's been working with QB coach Jordan Palmer to help improve his passing game, which will definitely help. I think once Ridder becomes more consistant as a passer, he could cause even more problems than he already does.
I'm very excited to see what he can do this season. With a 30-5 career record, combined with his size and athleitcism, Ridder will be a name that could be rising up more boards come next April.
4. Kedon Slovis, USC
Probably the most accurate passer in this draft class, Kedon Slovis took the USC starting job from the afforementioned JT Daniels, who transferred to Georgia. His insane freshman season also saw Mater Dei star Bryce Young de-commit from USC and sign with Alabama.
In that season, Slovis threw for over 3,500 yards, had 30 touchdowns, and completed 71.9% of his passes. His freshman season at USC really put people on notice and re-started the convorsation of USC being one of the top teams in college football again.
Prior to last season, Slovis was the number two QB for me in the 2022 Draft class. But his inconstant play during the 2020 season sees him drop a few spots for me (mostly due to injury). I have no doubt he could be back towards the top after this season.
Now, Slovis is more of a traditional pocket passer, he's not the most fleet footed quarterback in this draft class, but his leadership qualities and his accuracy are tops in the class. Once he finds his touch again, he may be battling for the number one spot in the draft again.
3. Malik Willis, Liberty
Malik Willis is a name that you should get used to hearing once the 2022 college football season kicks off. Though a quarterback at a smaller school, Willis can absolutely ball and is the most natural athlete from the quarterback position in this draft class.
Willis can do everything from the quarterback position. He combines track like speed with a very natural throwing motion to tear defenses apart. Everytime he throws it just looks so effortless, yet he leads his receivers almost every single time.
It's very easy to compare Willis to Michael Vick. Like Vick, Willis can put the ball anywhere on the field. He's got an absolute hose for an arm and can fit the ball into very tights windows.
Again, like Vick, when teams think they've taken away all of Willis' receivers, dude beats 'em with his legs for a 15+ yard run. You can definitely tell Vick had an infulence on Willis' style of play.
In his last season at Liberty, Willis put up over 2,200 passing yards with 20 touchdowns while completing 64.2% of his passes. He also led the nation in rushing yards for a quarterback, rushing for 944 yards with 14 touchdowns, averaging 6.7 yards per carry.
Willis is perfect for today's NFL. Though he may be a little smaller and may be from a smaller school, Willis can make plays all over the field. He has a crazy strong arm and electrifying speed, he could cause a lot of problems at the next level.
2. Spencer Rattler, Oklahoma
Before last season started, coaches, scouts, and the media were all saying that Spencer Rattler is the most gifted quarterback Lincoln Riley has ever had. As a redshirt freshman, Rattler definitely showed flashes of those gifts and why he should be a top quarterback in next year's draft.
He's such an effortless thrower. With just a little flick of the wrist, the ball travels 50-60 yards and lands perfectly in the receivers hands. He also showed an ability to make plays with his feet, though not an insane runner, he is a very good athlete.
Against Missouri State, Rattler put on a performance, throwing for 290 yards with four touchdowns. That being said, it's Missouri State, you should be doing that. It was his next three games that people really cared about, against K-State, Iowa State, and Texas.
After crushing Missouri State, Oklahoma fell to 1-2, losing to Kansas State and Iowa State. In both games, Rattler would look great, but at the same time, very flustered.
Against Texas, Rattler was benched right before halftime in favor of Tanner Mordecai. That benching must've lit a fire under him, or at least calmed him down, because he led OU back against Texas in a 4OT thriller.
Rattler is definitely a very gifted quarterback, maybe the most naturally gifted quarterback in this class. Everything he does just looks so effortless. Much like Willis before him, Rattler is a little on the smaller side of things, standing at 6'1" and weighing 205 lbs., but he's a very natural thrower of the ball.
A great ad-libber, Rattler can really make plays out of nothing, using his arm talent and athleticism to create opportunities for the Sooners.
Even though he looked shaky at times last season, with a year as the starter under his belt, I'm expecting big things from Rattler this season. Who knows, maybe by October he's the clear cut QB1 for next year's draft.
1. Sam Howell, North Carolina
If you know me well enough, you'd know that Sam Howell has been my QB1 for this class pretty much since he balled out during his freshman season in 2019. Since then, to me, he's further cemented himself as QB1 in this class.
After a very impressive freshman campaign, where Howell threw for 3,641 yards with 38 touchdowns, Howell showed again in 2020 why he should still be QB1.
This past season, on 74 less attempts, Howell threw for 3,586 with 30 touchdowns, while also improving his completion percentage from 61.4% in 2019 to 68.1% in 2020. His passer rating also jumped up from 160.2 to 179.1, and his yards per completion improved from 8.6 to 10.3.
When you watch Howell, it's hard not to see former Heisman Trophy winner Baker Mayfield. Both are not inasane athletes and are not the biggest in regards to physical size, but they love to win. With Howell as their quarterback, North Carolina has put itself in the conversation as one of the better teams in college football.
With the Mayfield comparisions, there may be people out their that say this is it for Howell, that he's already has reached his peak, whereas someone like Spencer Rattler still has room to grow. I hear that, but Howell is super consistent and I don't think he's done growing/improving.
It'll be interesting to see how he does without the likes of Dyami Brown, Dazz Newsome, Javonte Williams, and Michael Carter, as all of them were taken in this past draft.
With Trevor Lawrence out of the picture, Howell now takes the top spot as the ACC's best quarterback. He's a great quarterback and very deserving of the top spot in this list.
Missed Out (ordered by last name)
Alan Bowman, Michigan
Malik Cunningham, Louisville
Dillon Gabriel, UCF
Phil Jurkovec, Boston College (I feel bad for leaving him off)
D’Eriq King, Miami
Grayson McCall, Coastal Carolina
Bo Nix, Auburn
Brock Purdy, Iowa State
Spencer Sanders, Oklahoma State
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