Logan Blackman
- Jun 2, 2021
- 9 min read

The Draft "Expert" - WAY TO EARLY 2022 NFL Mock Draft

Updated: Jun 28, 2021

Well, I didn't think I'd actually get to this point, but here we are, doing a way to early mock draft. Even after I said I wouldn't do this, here we are.

Though I wasn't planning on doing one, I did think it'd be fun to make a draft that will, in no shape or form, be anywhere close to being right. It's just all in good fun. So, enjoy!

Now, I know Spencer Rattler is not my number one quarterback in this class at this point and time, but he definitely has the potential to be taken with the first overall pick.

I think it’s fair to say that this class doesn’t compare to last years, but I think we should still expect a quarterback to be taken with the first overall pick, whether that’s Sam Howell, Spencer Rattler, or a Joe Burrow/Zach Wilson type that surges up boards as the draft approaches.

Right now, we are entering an era of “ad-libbing” and “play making,” which I think suits Spencer Rattler more than Sam Howell. Rattler has an extremely strong arm and is a very good athlete as well.

Now, as I’ve said before about Rattler, consistency is a big issue for him at this time, i.e. getting benched against Texas. But, if he can find sustained consistency, combined with his natural abilities, I’d have a hard time believing he wouldn’t be the first overall pick.

With Deshaun Watson’s future up in the air, I think it may be smart for the Texans to look towards a quarterback in the 2022 Draft.

Now, if they feel Davis Mills is the long term answer, then go with Thibodeaux. If he’s not, you’ve got to go with a quarterback, and though I don’t think he’s the best right now, his upside will make him hard to pass up.

The consencious best player in this draft, I have a hard time believing Thibodeaux will fall very far past the second pick in the draft, whoever picks at first and second overall.

Now, I get the arguement that the Lions should look to add a quarterback to be an upgrade over Jared Goff, but I just feel Thibodeaux will be too hard to pass up. Especially for a GM who was apart of the scouting department that drafted Goff in Los Angeles. I feel like he'll get somewhat of a pass for this season (at least with this pick).

Outside of Goff, the Lions defense sucks. Over the past few seasons, the Lions have been bleeding yards, whether that be through the air or on the ground. Thibodeaux could help the Lions improve in almost every facet on the defensive side of the ball.

This offseason, Thibodeaux has said he wants to win the Heisman Trophy, which is something every college player should dream of. But I actually think, with his skill set, he could be within a shout of winning the stupid thing.

Over his Oregon career, Thibodeaux has registered 12 sacks with 67 total tackles and six passes defended. He is the clear cut best edge rusher in this class, and probably the clear cut number one prospect as well.

This past draft was an interesting one since there was no real number one edge rushing prospect, that'll change this year. Unless something insane happens, Thibodeaux will be going first or second overall in the 2022 NFL Draft.

The 2021 NFL Draft has been a highly talked about subject when it comes to the Cincinnati Bengals.

With a supposedly generational talent at left tackle in the form of Penei Sewell, the Bengals instead went and got Joe Burrow his favorite target from his time at LSU in Ja’Marr Chase.

Though this received mixed reviews, it is hard to ignore the connection the pair had at LSU. Now, I do think that in the 2022 NFL Draft, the Bengals will address the offensive line in some form. If they pick this high, it’ll be hard to pass up on Alabama’s Evan Neal.

Neal is an absolute monster at left tackle. Standing at 6’7” and weighing 360 lbs., Neal is by far the largest tackle out of my “way to early” top five. With Miami’s Zion Nelson being 6’5” 316 lbs. and Mississippi State’s Charles Cross being 6’5” 305 lbs.

At that size, Neal is also very versatile. In his first season at Alabama, Neal started every single game at left guard and then transitioned to right tackle during his true sophomore season. For this upcoming season, Neal will be on the move again, this time to replace Alex Leatherwood at left tackle.

Now, it’s not often true freshman start on the offensive line, especially at Alabama. A true testament to how good of an overall lineman he is.

For as big he is, Neal can really move. That combined with his size and power make him a perfect prospect at left tackle. If the Bengals do in fact pick this high in the draft, Evan Neal would be very hard to pass up.

Ever since his true freshman season at LSU, Derek Stingley has widely been considered the best corner back in college football. Yes, even as a freshman, dude was the best corner in the country. A season that saw LSU win the Naty and Stingley register six interceptions and 15 passes defended.

Though he (and LSU as a whole) had a down season last year, mostly due to injuries, Stingley should still be the first corner taken and a top five pick in the 2022 NFL Draft.

With the Jets mainly focussing their attention on the offensive side of the ball in this past years draft, I fully expect new head coach Robert Saleh to address the defense early (and often) durnig the 2022 NFL Draft.

If you look at the Jets roster, one of their biggest holes is at the corner back position. Stingley would certainly help rectify any issues the Jets have in the secondary.

Like I said, Stingley has widely been considered the best corner in America for some time now. His combination of size, speed, and ball playing ability will make him an imediate starter at the next level. Robert Saleh would love to have a corner like Stingley anchoring his defense.

Kyle Hamilton is an absolute unit from the safety position. At 6’4” 219 lbs., he is an absolute force to be reconded with from the saftey spot. Whether that's making plays in the passing game or making plays closer to the line of scrimmage, Hamilton can do it all.

It's not often you see a 6'4" saftey roaming around the secondary, but that's exactly what Hamilton is. Like I said above, he makes plays everywhere, and his size combined with his speed make him an absolute nightmare for opposing offenses to deal with..

Remember when Jacksonville was one game away from the Super Bowl? Do you remember the main reason why they got some far? It's because of their uber talented defense, lead mostly by Jalen Ramsey.

Now that Ramsey and the rest of the Sacksonville most gone, the Jags have to rebuild their defense. Players like Josh Allen, CJ Henderson, K'Lavon Chaisson, Tyson Campbell, Andre Cisco, and others are helping the Jags move in the right direction defensively. Adding Hamilton to that young core would be a great move by the Jaguars.

Hamilton is just a football player. Anything you ask of him defensively he will do, and do it well. You don't see a lot of players with his combination of size and speed, he'd be very hard to pass on for the Jacksonville Jaguars.

I don’t think the Eagles necessarily have the most faith in Jalen Hurts. If you believe the pre-draft reports, they were trying to trade up for Zach Wilson. So, unless Jalen balls out this year, I think the Eagles will look for a quarterback in the 2022 Draft.

As of right now, Sam Howell, to me, is the best quarterback in this class. That being said, I think that may change once we get closer to the 2022 Draft.

Rattler’s ceiling plus his skill set will make him hard to pass up, and he fits the mold of what some teams are looking for in their quarterbacks. Howell can blame Patrick Mahomes for that.

Where Rattler has a skillset similar to that of Patrick Mahomes, Howell more resembles Baker Mayfield, which is not necessarily a bad thing, but it could cause him to get leap frogged by the Oklahoma quarterback.

Howell is extremely consistent and very accurate. In his two years at North Carolina, Howell has completed 64.4% of his passes for 7,227 yards with 68 touchdowns and 14 interceptions.

Now, this season will be a real test for Howell and his abilities. This offseason, North Carolina lost Javonte Williams (Denver), Michael Cartner (New Jersey), Dynami Brown (Washington), and Dazz Newsome (Chicago), all big time players and weapons for the Tar Heels.

If Howell can continue to put up great numbers with a whole new supporting cast, it'll be hard to argue against him being the first overall pick. I just think that right now, Rattler has a better chance getting taken first than Sam Howell.

There's no real way around it, ever since Khalil Mack was traded to Chicago the Raiders defense has been near the bottom in regards to total defense. Though their defense as a whole has been pretty tragic, the area where they struggle the most is getting after the quarterback.

Former fourth overall pick Clelin Ferrell hasn't really panned out, getting out played by former fourth round draft pick Maxx Crosby, and their interior d-line has provided little to no pressure over the past few seasons.

Though the Raiders may look at the quarterbacks if they pick this high, I think the smarter move would be to invest in some top end defensive talent, which is plentiful in this draft. The player that I think could best suit the Raiders here at number seven in Texas A&M's DeMarvin Leal.

Whether you play him at his normal position, 4-3 defensive end, or inside as a three tech, Leal would be a massive upgrade on the Raiders defensive line.

At 6'4" 290 lbs., Leal posseses great athleticism and burst from anywhere on the defensive line. During this past season at A&M, Leal recorded 2.5 sacks with 37 total tackles and one forced fumble/fumble recovery and an interception.

For a team that struggles everywhere on defense, Leal would be an instant impact player for the Raiders. He has the ability to play anywhere on the defensive line and his athleticism should make him an excellent prospect against the pass and the run. A nice fit for the silver and black.

The Giants added wide receivers Kenny Golladay and Kadarius Toney as well as an experienced tight end in Kyle Rudolph. Now, the Giants should look to strengthen their strength by adding another pass rusher to partner the recently drafted Azeez Ojulari. Drake Jackson could be that guy.

At 6’4” 255 lbs., Jackson has the ideal size, athleticism and twitch to be a real threat as a 3-4 outside linebacker. Looking at the Giants roster, combined, their starting outside linebackers have one sack between them. That being said, Ojulari is a rookie and has never played a snap in the NFL.

While at USC, Jackson racked up 66 total tackles, 7.5 sacks, and three passes defended. Now, most of those sacks came during his true freshman season (5.5), but that didn’t stop him from being named second team all PAC-12 for the second straight season.

The “lack of production” is also the product of the weird PAC-12 season, changing positions, putting on some more playing weight, and playing for a new defensive coordinator. To be named to an all conference team after that is pretty impressive.

Again, the Giants should look to add some more playmakers on defense. Partnering Azeez Ojulari with Drake Jackson could be fun to see for the G-Men.

Once again, the Panthers use their first round pick to strengthen their defense. Ever since Matt Rhule became the Panthers head coach, they have drafted a defensive player with 11 of their 18 picks, with seven of them being taken his first year as head coach. Why buck the trend now?

The Panthers are in a very offensive heavy division and should pick up as many play makers on the defensive side of the ball as they can. The weaponry in this division is pretty crazy, so adding a playmaking linebacker like Christian Harris would be very smart to add to the middle of their defense.

A very fast and instinctive player, Harris has totaled 131 tackles with 4.5 sacks over his two year Bama career (those sacks all coming last season).

Whether you want him to drop back into coverage or get after the quarterback, Harris can do a job for your defense. Though he may need to improve on some aspects in coverage, Harris has a very high ceiling and could blossum into a very good linebacker at the next level.

My favorite quarterback in this draft, it would be awesome to see Malik Willis suit it up for the Atlanta Falcons sometime in the future.

The Falcons current starting quarterback, Matt Ryan, is going to have one more year left on his contract after this season, so why shouldn't the Falcons look to add his replacement in next years draft? Regardless whether it's Willis or someone else.

Though he plays his college football at a smaller school (Liberty), Willis should be looked at as one of the best quarterbacks in this draft class. His arm talent combined with his insane athletic ability makes him a very intriguing prospect, regardless of where he played in college.

I have made the comparision to Michael Vick for Malik Willis, and, I promise, this isn't just another lazy Michael Vick comparison, Willis plays like Vick, almost to a t.

Like Vick, Willis has an insanly strong arm, arguably the strongest in this class (Rattler is up there as well), and can turn what looks like a 10 yard sack into a 25 yard gain using his legs. He's an absolute joy to watch.

Though he'll need to improve on his accuracy (somewhat), Willis has the skillset to be an absolute beast at the next level. If he somehow ends up in Atlanta, where he can learn from Matt Ryan and Arthur Smith, he'll be a real threat in the NFL.