This NFL mock draft is based on what I would do personally if I was the GM for each team drafting. Players are selected based on my own draft board and team needs while also taking into account where the players would realistically go in the actual draft. The players that have their draft grades listed are the ones I’ve fully evaluated, while the rest I’ve partially evaluated, or am close to finishing.
Draft Grade: 83.1
It’s only become more obvious as the draft season has progressed that this would be the best pick for Jacksonville. Evan Neal isn’t a lock to be a great player, but he is likely the only player this year who’d go in the top six if put in last year’s class. Considering the Jags have one of the greatest all-time, young talents at QB, it would be smart to give him as much help around him as possible heading into his second season. Neal came to the combine weighing just over 330 lbs and has reportedly looked a lot quicker, and with how balanced he is between pass-pro and run-blocking, the upside for him is insane. Doug Pederson likes to take shots downfield, and while Trevor Lawrence struggled against pass rush pressure his rookie season, having Neal at LT and possibly a high-end RT would give him a lot more favorable opportunities. At the very least, he is an upgrade to what they had last season, and could very well be one of the most valuable assets Lawrence would ever have to work with, in the NFL.
Draft Grade: 82.6
Kayvon Thibodeaux’s stock has taken a bit of a hit over the past few weeks, but he is still ultimately the best edge prospect this year, though a lot of people disagree with that, there would be a good chance Dan Campbell could find a way to motivate and coach him to play to his upside. His 40 time may have been a bit of a disappointment, but that is mostly because I’d assume he didn’t train much for the combine, as the starting stance position for the 40 times is different than when in actual football. It is still a bad sign, regardless, but I still have no doubt he is an elite athlete on the field, and as long as the Detroit coaching staff does a good job, and his work ethic is coachable, he will be a game-changer for the Detroit defense. If Detroit were to select Ekwonu here, I couldn’t reprehend it at all, as he would give them the potential to be an all-time great offensive line which Dan Campbell would love.
Draft Grade: 81.2
In this mock draft, the Eagles trade three of their first-round picks among Jalen hurts and other later picks to get QB Deshaun Watson, and that gives them plenty of flexibility with this pick. Houston needs talent anywhere they can get it and Ikem Ekwonu would be the best available player here, as you give this offense a great counter-part to Laremy Tunsil, who isn’t the greatest run-blocker. The difference between Tytus Howard and Ekwonu as run-blockers is night and day, and there’s no reason he can’t become a very good pass protector as he has a great anchor for only being 21. I’d get the temptation to take Hutchinson here, but this edge class couldn’t be any deeper and they have 3 other first-rounders in this scenario. The chances Houston will ever have a chance at acquiring as good of a run-blocker as Ekwonu is are slim to none, and whoever the long-term answer is at QB would ultimately be most happy with this.
Draft Grade: 82.0
The Jets are in a great position in this year’s draft compared to most of the other teams picking high, and they also are fortunate to have Hutchinson available as I’ve seen other people trade up to get him in their mock drafts. In addition to having two top-ten picks, the Jets already have their answer at QB and just need to do a good job of building around him. The defense was a major disappointment in 2021 and Hutchinson will immediately give this team a spark and a borderline elite defensive front. While Stingley would be undoubtedly a massive upgrade at corner, getting Hutchinson while also landing a sweet corner at the 10th spot would be a best-case scenario. The reason I am lower on Hutchinson compared to other players is he simply doesn’t have elite upside, despite being a dominant college player. Hutchinson is extremely polished and consistent but doesn’t have elite power or great speed which is needed to play at an elite level in the pros. The good thing about drafting Hutchenson compared to someone like Stingley or Hamilton, is you feel confident he will immediately play at a pro-bowl level or close to it in his first year; that doesn’t happen very often with edge rushers in the draft.
Draft Grade: 80.7
The giant’s biggest issue in 2021 on offense besides the play-calling was pass protection and while they already have Andrew Thomas at LT who had an impressive season, moving him to RT and plugging Charles Cross in at LT would give them a potential elite Tackle duo. While Thomas is a stud as a run blocker, Cross increases the balance of the O-line by giving them a stellar pass protector. Cross is a prototypical pass protecting Tackle and faced serious competition at Mississippi State and held his own which isn’t easy by any means. Given the Giants also have pick seven, it allows them to sure up the O-line and also gets a young QB to develop. The skill positions on this offense are already well above average, and on defense, there are two good safeties in place so there’d be no purpose to getting Hamilton, but even though fifth overall is a bit early for Cross, he will be a crucial part of the offense in New York for many years.
Draft Grade: 83.0
This would be a dream scenario for the Jets, after trading up four spots, Derek Stingley is available and it makes sense for Carolina to trade down as their secondary is already loaded. Stingley would immediately be a good number two corner next to Bryce Hall and has the potential to become one of the best corners in the league, if not the best. He isn’t the greatest athlete in the world, but has plenty of speed to handle deep threats and has excellent press ability for only being 21. His tackling is his only real flaw to his game, but could easily improve under a coach like Robert Saleh, and his ball skills and press ability would be greatly utilized in this scheme. Saleh couldn’t be any happier if he got these two players as they would give this defense a legit shot at being elite in a couple of years.
Draft Grade: 73.0
After the Brian Daboll hire, New York is claiming to standby Daniel Jones as their starting QB, however, they are in a position where if they land a top tier tackle, they’ll have a very solid surrounding core and Daniel Jones simply is very unlikely to be anything above average. Daboll proved he could turn one of the rawest QB prospects ever drafted into a league superstar and Willis falls under the same category Josh Allen was in as a draft prospect, being an elite upside project that comes with high risk. This would be one of the best landing spots for Willis and with plenty of time to sit behind Jones, and a great young core on offense, the chances he’ll succeed in this scenario are rather high given it appears he is a great character. While there are better overall prospects at QB available here, Willis’s potential is ultimately better than any other QB in this class, and Daboll’s scheme will do a great job of minimizing his weakness in processing defenses. He will surely have to improve his accuracy over the middle of the field and learn how to sense and maneuver pressure better, but just like we’ve seen with some of the young QBs from the past few years, is that things like this can improve with coaching and hard work ethic.
There are a lot of needs on this Atlanta defense, so you might as well go best player available, which would be Kyle Hamilton, in this case, who is a player a lot of draft analysts would have drafted by this point. I believe it is a reach to take him in the top five as he doesn’t have elite potential as a true FS and ultimately best projects as a nickel corner/ hybrid safety who is asked to play one-on-one coverage. It’s not that he wouldn’t be an important piece to a defense, but his role is easy to find good value in, making it harder to pass on the people drafted ahead of him.
Draft Grade: 81.3
After the blockbuster trade sending Russell Wilson to Seattle, they enter the stage of a rebuild, and although it seems obvious to draft a QB, it would make more sense to sign a veteran and wait for a better opportunity as they’ll have two first-rounders next season and none of these top QBs would be great scheme fits either. Sauce Gardner would be an excellent scheme fit in Seattle and is an all-around stellar athlete, who could very well become a dominant number one corner for them. You’d hope for him to improve his technique in press as he completely relied on his strength while at Cinncinatti. This press cover 3 defense in Seattle will be great at not just utilizing his press, but also his great man coverage and range in deep-zone coverage.
Draft Grade: 80.5
After trading down with the Jets, Carolina has the opportunity to get a great long-term solution at Center with Tyler Linderbaum. While he has his flaws, Linderbaum is still ultimately an elite prospect at the Center position and has the flexibility to play guard his first season under the assumption Matt Paradis comes back. Linderbaum is an elite athlete, and though he’s undersized at 6’2″ 296 with 31.25″ arms, he has world-class mobility alongside very solid play strength. He is ideal for a zone-run heavy offense that runs a lot of wide-zone runs, as he did in college at Iowa. With his get-off and foot quickness, he can surely be a very solid pass protector down the road, but regardless of where he plays in year one. he is going to quickly help their run offense.
Draft Grade: 78.0
I can see how this would make some Washington fans and people lower on Devin Lloyd upset, as they drafted a Linebacker in the first last year, and Lloyd isn’t some freak athlete with elite potential, but he could very well make a big difference to this defense in 2022 as this roster doesn’t have a ton of needs. Lloyd had one of the best seasons in college playing for Utah in 2021 and has the ideal size and speed for a modern off-ball Linebacker. While he struggled with tackling more than you’d like to see, it is a very coachable trait and he had the physical ability to have elite tackling. He is also very versatile and could go on to have success playing practically any type of off-ball linebacker role in any scheme, as he has very good mobility, strength, and length to take on blocks and rush the passer.
Draft Grade: 73.7
This pick probably wouldn’t happen in real life, but Minnesota knows they aren’t gonna have Kirk Cousins forever, and given this team won’t be guaranteed to be picking very high again, they may as well take a high upside QB that fits this scheme. Selecting him at pick 12 isn’t the worst value for someone like Corral as other teams would theoretically reach for QBs in this type of draft. Corral has a lot of traits that match the typical modern offensive philosophy, as he has great arm talent combined with great ball placement and pocket feel. He will definitely need to improve his consistency in multiple aspects but he has all of the core traits to mold into a great player. Corral can sit for a year or two, then start with a good O-line and weapons, paired with good playcalling, he’d very likely be a high-end starter at some point.
Draft Grade: 81.9
Despite trading for Amari Cooper, getting another potentially great receiver would help this offense more than anyone else available as Garrett Willson has even higher upside than Cooper does at his age. Wilson easily could’ve gone higher with his size, athletism, and route-running ability, but there just happens to be more important positional needs for other teams. He has a very similar skillset to Justin Jefferson which means he’ll fit very well in this play-action-heavy scheme run by Kevin Stefansky. Acquiring both Cooper and Wilson combined with the elite offensive line already there in Cleveland will give them the best possible answer on whether Baker Mayfield is the long-term solution as he will be an unrestricted free agent in 2023.
This has been a heavily mocked draft selection among the draft community, but it is for good reason, as he used to be teammates with last season’s first-round pick for Baltimore, Odafe Oweh. Not only were they just high school teammates, but they were also great friends with each other, and this article explains more detail about it, “David Ojabo Would Love a Reunion With Odafe Oweh” by Clifton Brown. Not only would they be filling their need of a second long-term edge rusher, but you’d get great chemistry and competition between the two of them after reuniting them with each other. Similar to Oweh, Ojabo is an athletic edge with high upside traits, but with a lot of room to grow. Ojabo isn’t the strongest player but has such great speed and natural get-off combined with his physical mentality. He could ultimately develop a good bull rush with how explosive he is, but will primarily lean on his bend and finesse to generate pressure.
I can understand why some draft analysts wouldn’t want Nakobe Dean in the first round, but Nakobe Dean has a bit higher upside than it may seem. With that being said his floor is also a bit lower than what it seems as Dean played around four other highly touted prospects his final season at Georgia and had a relatively easy role. He can quickly become a huge threat as a Blitzer in the NFL, but he doesn’t show off the type of coverage instincts you’d typically draft this high. While he’s undersized, he has great play speed and burst, while also having very good contact balance and pursuit. Dean has the physical traits to be elite in coverage, but it is a question of whether he develops or not, but nonetheless, he’ll have his way of making an impact from the get-go.
Draft Grade: 80.7
Jameson Williams has some of the highest upside among this draft class and he would be a huge impact on this receiving core in multiple ways. With Williams’s speed and change of direction, he could be an elite deep threat despite his lack of ball skills. It would also be easy for an OC to scheme up great RAC opportunities in a bunch of different ways and would give this offense an explosive element early in his career. Williams did tear his ACL which will take a part of his rookie season away, but this team won’t be competing next season if this trade happens.
Draft Grade: 80.7
Given the Chargers just paid JC Jackson a larger contract and Jameson Williams is also gone here, it’d be smart to upgrade the RG position to give this offense one of the best O-lines in the league. Zion Johnson happens to be available here, who can easily come in and be a high-end starter as he’s as pro-ready as they come. Johnson is shorter but plays with excellent leverage and strength while also having very smooth feet. Jordan Davis would be great here, but this defense just got a ton of talent added and Johnson is a rare type of prospect. This would give them an elite pass-pro unit from the interior and even better run-blocking than what they had in 2021.
Draft Grade: 80.4
For all the people who are disappointed to see New Orleans pass on QB Kenny Pickett here, just know there is a trade coming soon that gives New Orleans another first-round pick. Chris Olave isn’t a perfect player but has all of the basic traits you’d look for in a good receiver, and would pair very nicely alongside Michael Thomas. Whoever the starting QB is in 2022 will need a good vertical element to rely on and Olave will bring that plus great possession skills.
After acquiring high-end talent on offense earlier in the draft, Houston can get a great long-term corner In Trent McDuffie who was the best corner still available. McDuffie doesn’t excel in size and length but is a quick, fast, and instinctive corner who’ll best play in off-man coverage. This cover 2 heavy scheme in Houston isn’t the greatest fit for McDuffie, but will still be able to capitalize on some of his strengths. McDuffie is a high effort run defender as well and is definitely suffice as a tackler. It may not look the best pick, but this is truly a very good value pick for Houston as young promising CBs are hard to come by.
Draft Grade: 73.8
This very well could pick the pick in the real draft this year as Willis would surely be gone by this point, but Sam Howell has a terrific upside to be available at this point and he would be good enough to play his rookie season, though it wouldn’t be ideal. While he is shorter, his arm talent is a huge plus and he is not afraid to take shots downfield. Howell is also a very underrated athlete as well, which will aid him well early on for Pittsburgh as their pass-pro still has a long way to go. If his accuracy can improve to the same level it has with guys like Lamar Jackson and Josh Allen, there is no reason Howell couldn’t be a great franchise QB.
Draft Grade: 71.7
After a mock trade, sending Marshon Lattimore to New England in return for their first-round pick, the Saints land their QB, in Kenny Pickett after drafting one of the best offensive threats in this draft. It makes sense to draft trade Lattimore as his rookie contract expires next season, and they know they won’t be competing next year and don’t have the cap to resign him. If a team is going to draft Pickett in the first round, it either needs to be a dome stadium to play their home games or a warm weathered division and in this case (two extra against Atlanta, Pickett would get to play ten games indoors at the very minimum each season. To make the situation even better, although they are set to lose Terron Armstead, their O-line is still stellar, and giving Michael Thomas paired with Williams as a deep threat, is giving him a great chance to succeed. Pickett will have to learn to play more in structure, but he has good enough all-around traits despite his physical limitations to be a high-end starter.
Draft Grade: 77.4
It may seem obvious to take Jordan Davis here and while he would be a great addition to the team, Las Vegas has a chance to give themselves a truly elite pass rush by drafting Devonte Wyatt. Wyatt has rare bend and quickness for an IDL, which could allow him to be a serious threat on multiple types of blitzes, especially stunts where he’ll utilize his get-off and bend. With Patrick Graham as the defensive coordinator, and the pair of Maxx Crosby, and Yannick Ngakoue on the edge, it will be easy to get one-on-one opportunities as a pass rusher. Wyatt would mostly only be used as IDL on pass downs but he has the strength and size to improve his run defense as well as his power moves. His age is disappointing for someone going in the first, but you at least know he is a solid day-one starter and has elite traits to build on.
The Cardinals can use long-term upgrades at a few different positions, and Jermain Johnson is very tempting but in hopes that Arizona can find a solid Edge replacement either in free agency or the second round, Kaiir Elam is the best selection for the Cardinals. Elam isn’t a lock to be a quality starter, but Arizona needs a good long-term answer at Corner as they were relying on Robert Alford to cover number one receivers in 2021. Elam has very good physical traits and could compliment Marco Wilson and Byron Murphey very well down the road. He would bring another physical element to this secondary and could be a good answer to bigger possession receivers.
Draft Grade: 79.1
When looking at the Dallas defense from last season, the one area they could really improve was IDL as they struggled against runs up the middle more than anything. Jordan Davis would be an instant upgrade to what they had last year at IDL, and could very well end up being an elite-run defender. He has some traits that should benefit him as a pass rusher, though he did not show to be anywhere above average on film. His combined scores don’t accurately reflect his true get-off, but regardless he’ll be a massive force in the run game with elite strength and block shed.
Because Drake London is viewed as a top-tier prospect and other teams who could use a receiver are drafting soon, it makes sense to trade up and get a guy like London to bring an immediate impact to a team in need of another good receiver. I am lower on London than the consensus among the draft community, but he is still a player that can be great in a specific role, and I think he’d go on to succeed in Detroit. It would ideally be better to get a vertical threat to pair with Amon-Ra St. Brown, but London would simply be a monster in the short to intermediate while they’d be able to get a vertical threat elsewhere.
Draft Grade: 79.4
With George Karlaftis still on the board, it is hard not to draft him here despite Tennessee already having two good edge rushers. He not only would have the versatility to play immediately with two players already there, but he would also be a better long-term solution than Bud Dupree. Karlaftis will bring a different element than what they have already as he is a very good power rusher, and will allow for a rotation between three different high-end edge rushers. He has the ability to drop into the coverage and will eventually be a quality run defender, making him an excellent fit in this 3-4 aggressive scheme in Tennessee.
In the last mock draft, I had the Packers trading Jordan Love for this pick, but we now have news that Tom Brady is returning to Tampa Bay and CB is both an immediate need and a long-term need. Roger McCreary would be a perfect scheme fit in this 3-4 man heavy defense run by Todd Bowls as man coverage was literally all he ran while at college. McCreary has great agility and make-up speed, paired with very good ball skills; he also has solid height at 6’0″ but does have shorter arms which will hinder his press ability, though he still does press with physicality. This will fill the void of Sean Murphey-Bunting as they’ll have Carlton Davis return.
Draft Grade: 79.0
Although it seems doubtful Green Bay will draft a receiver in the first despite the glaring need, this would be a fantastic addition to this Green Bay offense. Treylon Burks would be an immediate stud in this offense as Matt Lefleur would do a great job of scheming up opportunities to get the ball in his hands for big RAC plays. This would also give another great vertical option as he has great top-end speed on film and has a big body paired with great ball skills. If Green Bay can somehow give Devante Adams a contract, this receiving duo could easily be better than what they had last season.
This could’ve easily been a trade down, but it ultimately isn’t bad value to draft Daxton Hill here as he’s close to being a true first-round talent and would be a great nickel corner with the potential to grow. Daxton Hill is an elite athlete with versatile traits, and if used in the right way, could be a significant impact on this defense.
This may seem very low to have Jermain Johnson landing here, but this edge class is very deep and Johnson simply doesn’t have elite upside as a pass rusher. You’d feel pretty confident about him making an instant impact on this defense, and will likely be a consistently high-end starter which is just what the Chiefs need as Chris Jones is a dominant number one pass rusher, and this team is currently competing for super bowls. Just like Kansas City typically does, they land great value with pick 30 in a guy like Johnson.
As long as O-line is available here, you take it regardless of who, as long as they’re a 1-2 round value. Kenyon Green would be a pleasant surprise here as he’d be a much better option at RG than what they has last season. Green has a very nice floor as a starter and has the traits to become one of the better guards in all of the league. Kenyon Green wouldn’t exactly be the biggest steal but would be a very solid addition to a team that was just in the super bowl.
Buffalo trading down to pick 32, and being able to take the player I would’ve wanted at pick 25 is the best-case scenario for them. Andrew Booth Jr. could step in and be a solid option as the team’s number two corner opposite of Tre’Davis White. Levi Wallace who was solid is now gone and it is most ideal to fill that void in this draft especially because of the poor depth as well. Booth would be a good scheme fit and has the upside to be a great number two alongside White down the future.
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