The 2022 NFL Draft finished up on Saturday afternoon in Las Vegas with the National Champion Georgia Bulldogs breaking the modern record for selections in a year with 15, besting the previous record of 14 set by Ohio State in 2003 and LSU in 2020. Notre Dame wasn’t quite as lucky in Sin City with just 2 draft picks, the fewest for the school since DeShone Kizer and Isaac Rochell were the only picks in 2017.

Maybe Notre Dame will fare better next year in Kansas City for the 2023 Draft. An early mock draft from the Sporting News has tight end Michael Mayer 6th, safety Brandon Joseph 13th (1 spot higher than Kyle Hamilton!??), defensive end Isaiah Foskey 20th, and center Jarrett Patterson 32nd. I feel comfortable saying Joseph and Patterson will not be 1st round picks.

Draft Picks

Kyle Hamilton
1st Round
14th Overall
Baltimore Ravens

As expected, Hamilton was the first safety off the board although he fell a bit further than we would’ve liked. At this draft position he’ll be expected to sign a $16.2 million deal with a $9 million signing bonus.

The Ravens signed free agent Marcus Williams to a 5-year $70 million contract this off-season and will look to pair the former 2nd round pick with Hamilton. Baltimore also has starter Chuck Clark for 2 more years at a combined $9.7 million cap hit, although he’s already in a ton of trade rumors.

Kyren Williams
5th Round
21st Pick
164th Overall
Los Angeles Rams

Kyren Williams fell further than he would’ve liked, especially for someone who sat out the Fiesta Bowl. He was the 15th out of 23 running backs picked this year and is expected to sign a contract worth $3.9 million with a $310,000 signing bonus. He will walk into a pretty nice opportunity with the defending Super Bowl champions, though.

The Rams’ leading rusher Sony Michel is currently a free agent while Cam Akers is coming back from an Achilles injury with 2 years remaining on his original 4-year rookie deal. Former 3rd round pick Darrell Henderson has had a nice career with the Rams and will be entering the last year of his rookie deal. Kyren likely starts the 2022 season as the third running back but should make the team.

Free Agents

QB Jack Coan
Indianapolis Colts

WR Kevin Austin
Jacksonville Jaguars

LB Drew White
Washington Commanders

LB Isaiah Pryor
New Orleans Saints

DT Kurt Hinish
Houston Texans

DT Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa
Las Vegas Raiders

Going into the Draft it looked like Coan had a decent shot at hearing his named called. When Kenny Pickett was the only quarterback to go in the first 2 rounds and the only one inside the top 85 picks the writing was on the wall. Indianapolis traded for Matt Ryan this off-season and still has 2021 pick Sam Ehlinger on the roster with James Morgan signed to a futures contract, too. Neither Ehlinger or Morgan have thrown a pass in the NFL yet so not a terrible situation for Coan to compete with this year.

While only 9 quarterbacks were picked this year we also saw a modest 28 wide receivers taken (34 & 37 taken in the 2020-21 Drafts) which didn’t include Kevin Austin. He’ll enter a very crowded wideout room in Jacksonville with leading receiver Marvin Jones at the top, plus the Jaguars re-signed Laquon Treadwell and picked up Zay Jones and Christian Kirk in free agency. In total, Jacksonville has about $30 million on the salary cap for wide receiver salaries in 2022. Austin would be a cheap backup!

My prediction was that Houston would draft Hinish but he’ll go there as a free agent instead. The Texans did draft Stanford’s Thomas Booker in the 5th round but otherwise Hinish’s chances of making a roster aren’t terrible for a really bad team.

MTA is probably a tackle in the NFL and the Raiders drafted 2 of them in the 4th and 5th rounds this year. That’s not a good sign for him to avoid a practice roster.

White and Pryor are extreme longshots to make a roster while Cain Madden and Jonathan Doerer have yet to sign anywhere.

Big Names Undrafted

QB Carson Strong, Nevada

WR Justyn Ross, Clemson

CB Josh Jobe, Alabama

S Kolby Harvell-Peel, Oklahoma State

WR Ty Fryfogle, Indiana

DT LaBryan Ray, Alabama

QB D’Eriq King, Miami

S Brendan Radley-Hiles, Washington

WR Slade Bolden, Alabama

LB James Skalski, Clemson

RB Master Teague, Ohio State

There weren’t a ton of surprises here except plenty of names who were very good in college and not really looked at as top-notch pro prospects. Once upon a time, Carson Strong was receiving some 1st around buzz but that faded a long time ago. He signed with the Eagles and could fight for a roster spot. Of course, if Justyn Ross can be healthy he’s a huge talent.