The 2022 free-agent period has been wildly eventful and full of interesting moves. Several impact players will be dawning new uniforms for the next NFL season after signing new contracts or being traded to new teams – and we’re not even done yet. Plenty more intriguing moves will be happening before we know it, and they will certainly shake up the landscape of the 2022 NFL Draft.
What do we know about the draft? We know that it’s about as unpredictable as the weather. Every move a team makes can impact what they will do in the draft, and free agency is typically the main factor that blows up every mock draft that lived before it. Where do teams go from here as we enter the new league year in the NFL?
The First Overall Pick
There has been a lot of speculation of what the Jacksonville Jaguars could do. Many think they could go offensive tackle, selecting between Ikem Ekwonu (North Carolina State) and Evan Neal (Alabama)† Another option appears to be either Aidan Hutchinson (Michigan) or Kayvon Thibodeaux (Oregon) at defensive end. With the Jaguars franchise tagging Cam Robinson, they may look outside of the offensive line position. The darkhorse option that seems to be the best option for the franchise would be to trade out of the first overall pick to garner more draft capital in the 2022 NFL Draft. Plenty of teams need a top-tier pass rusher or an offensive lineman. That’s not to say the Jaguars couldn’t use better options at those positions, just that they could use more picks to help build depth on a roster that desperately needs it. With the talent in the trenches this year, the best option for the Jaguars would be to trade out of the first overall pick and take more players a tier down in the draft class.
Pittsburgh Still Selecting a Quarterback?
Mithcell Trubisky signs with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Many thought that the Steelers would be a front-runner to trade up in the draft to select one of the top quarterbacks (Kenny Pickett† Malik Willis) after losing Ben Roethlisberger to retirement. Then, they sign former second-overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft, Mitchell Trubisky. Is he the answer? Not necessarily. The consensus is that this class of quarterbacks is nowhere near as talented as past drafts, but Trubisky has shown his talent level. A new home and a chance to be the starter could be exactly what Trubisky needs. He may surprise everyone and have a season that makes him worthy of leading a team, or he may show us what we already know. So, what do the Steelers do with their 20th overall pick? They could have a quarterback like Kenny Pickett, Malik Willis, Carson Strongor Matt Corral fall to them, but there are more pressing needs in this draft. Considering the potential talent level of the 2023 draft class of quarterbacks, that’s likely what they should consider doing. They could use a number one receiver after the departure of JuJu Smith-Schuster, who drastically fell off production-wise this year. With the amount of talented wide receivers, some names to watch out for are Treylon Burks (Arkansas)† Drake London (USC)† Garrett Wilson (Ohio State)† Jameson Williams (Alabama)and Chris Olave (Ohio State)† The chance one of them falling to 20 is high, and the Steelers should look at adding weapons for their new bridge quarterback and then think about adding a franchise quarterback in the 2023 draft.
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The Russell Wilson Factor
Russell Wilson gets traded to the Denver Broncos.
The potential for the Denver Broncos to select a quarterback at the ninth pick was immense and was a clear need with the departure of Teddy Bridgewater and the underwhelming performances from Drew Lock. Now, the Seattle Seahawks own that pick. After losing Wilson, they have a hole to fill. Now, the added wrinkle of the potential to add Collin Kaepernick comes into play while they also have Lock on their roster. If they add Kaepernick, the question will be–do they think their quarterback room is set with those two? The overwhelming answer should be no. As mentioned previously, this quarterback class is nothing to write home about, and both those quarterbacks should be looked at as bridge quarterbacks to the 2023 draft. The good news for the Seahawks is that they should have plenty of options at pick nine. If they do, in fact, decide to draft a quarterback with that pick, they should have a similar option to Wilson, in terms of athletic ability and arm talent, in Malik Willis (Liberty). The other option would be to do what they failed to do for Wilson–get a talented player to protect him. With Ekwonu and Neal likely off the board at that point of the draft, there are still a few options at nine. The first two options would be to select Charles Cross (Mississippi State) or Trevor Penning (Northern Iowa)† If they aren’t in love with either of those two, the other option would be to trade out of that pick to garner more picks for this draft and next year’s draft. The final option would be to get this defense on track, and that would be to look at selecting one of these star-studded cornerbacks that this draft class has. with Ahmad Gardner (Cincinnati) potentially being available at nine, he fits what Seattle has done on defense in years past, where they were lockdown in the secondary. The other prospect who will be more likely to be available is Derek Stingley Jr. (LSU), who has been thought of as the purest form of talent at cornerback in this draft class. Many questions have arisen this offseason, but there is no doubt the amount of talent he possesses.
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