The 2022 NFL Draft is set to begin this Thursday as the Shield’s player selection process makes its long-awaited debut in Sin City. Remember, this was supposed to be the location of the 2020 Draft but the pandemic switched things to an all-remote broadcast. Two years later and things are ready for Las Vegas to host again. At one point, weren’t they talking about a stage on a boat in the Bellagio pond? Anyway, this will go down as the last Brian Kelly draft for his players at Notre Dame. Of course, others that were recruited by him will be selected in the coming years too. But this is his official last one for the record books.
Like last year, you’ll find the NFL Draft on television if you surf long enough.
The 2022 NFL Draft
Day 1
Round 1
Thursday, April 28th
8:00 PM ET
Day 2
Rounds 2-3
Friday, April 29th
7:00 PM ET
Day 3
Rounds 4-7
Saturday, April 30th
12:00 PM ET
*TV Coverage will be on ABC, ESPN, and NFL Network for every round.
This spring, we featured scouting reports on the 7 Notre Dame players we believe will be drafted, plus another article on the other long-shot hopefuls.
18 Stripes Scouting Reports:
QB Jack Coan
RB Kyren Williams
WR Kevin Austin
DT Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa
DT Kurt Hinish
S Kyle Hamilton
The Fringe Prospects
I’m going to set the over/under of Irish picks at 5.5 for 2022. I get the sense many of us don’t think Kurt Hinish is going to have his name called. Will there be a big surprise from any of the fringe guys? Will Coan not make it? How much of a lock is MTA to be drafted?
Tankathon FULL NFL Draft Order
18 Stripes Mock 1st Round Draft
I went through and did a PFF mock draft–and in addition to throwing up in my mouth due to a Michigan player going 1st overall–this feels like an exceedingly boring draft overall. Is it the lack of quarterbacks near the top? Maybe not a whole lot of flashy well-known college stars and too many linemen? Too many players on defense?
In recent days, Georgia’s Travon Walker has moved up as the betting favorite for the No. 1 overall pick. Out of all the players on this Georgia defense one of the more anonymous players (how many college football fans could pick him out of a lineup?) may be the top pick, which is wild. PFF doesn’t even have a picture for him!
The 3 Biggest Storylines of the 1st Round
1) Has There Been a Smokescreen Around Kyle Hamilton’s Stock?
Here are the latest mock drafts that I searched for quickly as we entered the final week and their placement for Kyle Hamilton:
CBS – 8th, Falcons
NFL Network – 13th, Texans
Pro Football Network – 11th, Commanders
Walter Football – 20th, Steelers
PFF – 4th, Jets
Sporting News – 2nd, Lions
Ringer – 11th, Commanders
Tankathon – 11th, Commanders
Draft Network – 3rd, Texans
NBC – 4th, Jets
USA Today – 12th, Vikings
It will be interesting to see how this plays out. Damn it if a Notre Dame player doesn’t feel due to go a little higher than people think and something like 2nd overall would be really wild and fun. Even top 5 would be a massive win for Hamilton and the Fighting Irish.
Hamilton falling out of the top 15 you’d think isn’t possible. Right? Right!?? We have 6 teams with 2 picks in the 1st round and there’s no way these franchises should be allowing Hamilton to fall that far.
2) Someone May Jump for the Quarterbacks
The NFL is averaging something like 3.3 quarterbacks drafted in the 1st round over the last 8 years. At one point, people thought this draft wouldn’t have any quarterbacks going in the top round, or maybe only 1 would pull it off. The last time only 1 quarterback was drafted in the 1st round was E.J. Manuel by the Bills in 2013. Prior to that, it happened in the 2001 Draft when Drew Brees fell to the first pick of the 2nd round when Michael Vick went No. 1 overall.
We have 5 quarterbacks thought to be in the running for a possible 1st round pick:
Malik Willis, Liberty
Sam Howell, North Carolina
Desmond Ridder, Cincinnati
Kenny Pickett, Pittsburgh
Matt Corral, Ole Miss
In terms of age, Willis turns 23 next month, Howell turns 22 in September, Ridder turns 23 in August, Pickett turns 24 in June, and Corral turned 23 back in January. That’s a lot of old quarterbacks!
Pickett is a 100% stay away for me in the 1st round with that age, small hands, and only one good season, plus the general stink of playing for Pitt. We don’t have Pickett or Howell going in the 1st round but Corral probably sneaks in there, he’s one I might be willing to take a chance on with a later pick.
3) Preparing for Some Crazy Trades
The NFL has been drifting slowly towards the NBA in terms of off-season roster drama and trades, especially more in recent years surrounding the Draft. Coming into Thursday we have a handful of high-profile players swirling through trade rumors:
QB Jimmy Garoppolo, 49ers
WR Deebo Samuel, 49ers
QB Tom Brady, Bucs
QB Kyler Murray, Cardinals
QB Baker Mayfield, Browns
WR A.J. Brown, Titans
WR Terry McLaurin, Commanders
The Brady rumors surrounding a deal to Miami seem very far fetched. The friction between Arizona and Murray (which always felt extremely weird) has also dissipated and a trade there would now be shocking.
Meanwhile, Brown and McLaurin are seeking new contracts and could temp one of their organizations to make a move. While it’s unlikely they get traded there’s a possibility something crazy happens.
The status of Garoppolo, Samuel, and Mayfield are the most volatile heading into the Draft. The quarterbacks might be waiting until after the dust settles this weekend to be moved. However, I feel like Samuel is going to be a key piece to the Draft puzzle with a trade to someplace like Houston coming soon.
Of all active coaches, I wonder who have had the most total draft picks.
I would assume Saban and Dabo were easily #s 1 and 2, but Ferentz has 80 since he because HC in 1999 and Dabo only 69 since he became HC in 2009.
Then I realized Mack Brown is still
alivecoaching. He had 59 in 16 years at Texas plus 43 in his two shifts at UNC. That’s pretty impressive, although fewer per year at Texas than Dabo is doing at Clemson.It looks like Kelly (53 since 2011) has had more players drafted than Fisher (49 since 2010). I was pretty surprised by this. Fisher could pass Kelly if he keeps recruiting like he is, but LSU has the 3rd most draft picks since 2010, so it will certainly stay close.
Any other long time coaches who might be up there?
On the Hamilton Mock Drafts. I find it interesting that only 4 of the 11 mocks have him going in the top 5, and two of those are to the Jets at # 4. 6 have him going after the 10th pick where the Jets have their 2nd pick of the first round. So if the Lions don’t take him at 2 and the texans don’t take him at 3, you think the Jets would be willing to gamble to see if he drops to 10 vs taking him at 4, as the only other prognostication for his services between 4 and 10 is the Falcons at 8. So if your the Jets and Hamilton is there at 4 you have to be thinking there is a 90% chance he is there at 10?
If I was an NFL GM, I don’t think I’d take any of those QBs in the first round…maybe if they fell to the second or third rounds
Pittsburg has done due diligence on most of the QB’s in this draft. Don’t know they will use pick 20 in the first round, unless their top QB is still available, but they may use their 2nd rounder on a QB.