The 2022 NFL Draft is over. Here are eight takeaways from the weekend, and what it all means going into the summer.
It’s over. The 2022 NFL Draft, in the rearview.
We saw a litany of future stars enter the league, while others will flounder despite high draft status. Of course, that will be sorted out in the coming years.
For now, let’s look at what happened, what it means and where things are headed as summer awaits.
Eagles make significant move in NFC East
Howie Roseman clearly wasn’t content with last year’s surprise playoff berth.
Roseman had arguably the best weekend of anybody, providing a shocker on Thursday night by trading for Tennessee Titans star receiver A.J. Brown before signing him to a four-year, $100 million extension with $57 million guaranteed.
Furthermore, Roseman bolstered his defense with a pair of Georgia Bulldogs, choosing first-round defensive tackle Jordan Davis and third-round linebacker Nakobe Dean. Dean is a heist, falling approximately 60 picks because of a non-career threatening injury.
The Eagles have more than enough to challenge the Dallas Cowboys this autumn.
Steelers got their quarterback, but at what cost?
Kenny Pickett was the only quarterback selected in the top 73 picks, let alone the first round. This begs the question of whether Pittsburgh drafted solely on need and abandoned its board, because it’s hard to believe Pickett was ranked that far ahead of his contemporaries.
For the Steelers, general manager Kevin Colbert is retiring soon and leaving the franchise with a potential franchise quarterback. If it works out, Pittsburgh is set up for 15 years. But it seems like a reach and a large leap of faith.
The New York Jets and New York Giants have had Gotham in deep pain for a decade. On Thursday night, though, they both rekindled hope.
The Jets landed a trio of top-end prospects in corner Sauce Gardner, receiver Garrett Wilson and edge rusher Jermaine Johnson. Meanwhile, Big Blue landed left tackle Evan Neal and edge rusher Kayvon Thibodeaux, arguably the two most-talented players in the entire class. Great classes to jumpstart two downtrodden franchises.
Titans may have gotten their future in Malik Willis
At No. 86 overall, Malik Willis’ long nightmare finally ended. The Tennessee Titans selected the Liberty product, bringing him in to sit behind Ryan Tannehill for at least one year if not longer.
Willis is raw, but his ceiling is significant. Nobody in this class was more athletic or had a bigger arm than the Atlanta native, who can throw the ball to any blade of grass. If offensive coordinator Todd Downing and quarterbacks coach Pat O’Hara can bring Willis along, he could be a home-run pick for Tennessee, and the answer to its never-ending quarterback question.
The Saints gave up a fortune for Chris Olave
Nobody makes bigger trade-ups for non-quarterbacks than Mickey Loomis. The New Orleans Saints’ general manager has a long history of this, dating back to 2018 when he gave up a future first-round choice, going from No. 27 to 14 to take edge rusher Marcus Davenport.
This year, between his trades with the Philadelphia Eagles and Washington Commanders, Loomis moved the Nos. 16, 98, 101, 120 and 237 picks, along with future first- and second-round picks to take Ohio State receiver Chris Olave. If Olave isn’t an All-Pro caliber player, that’s a significant mistake.
New Orleans is now hamstrung moving forward without a long-term quarterback and no cap space.
Bears are doing no favors to Justin Fields
The Chicago Bears had a pair of second-round selections at their disposal. Yet despite their offensive depth chart resembling a low-scoring Arena League team, first-year general manager Ryan Poles went defensive with corner Kyler Gordon and safety Juquan Brisker. It took until the fifth round for Chicago to take an offensive player.
Poles almost certainly stuck to his board, and that’s understandable. But at some point, Fields needs help. The Bears have offered virtually none, failing to rebuild the line while watching receiver Allen Robinson leave in free agency for the Los Angeles Rams. It’s setting up to be a rough 2022 for Fields.
AFC contenders land top marks for deep draft classes
The Baltimore Ravens and Kansas City Chiefs are consistently in the mix for a deep postseason run. Over the weekend, you saw why.
Baltimore had an absurd draft, landing safety Kyle Hamilton, center Tyler Linderbaum, edge rusher David Ojabo, defensive tackle Travis Jones and running back Tyler Badie among others. A huge haul for general manager Eric DeCosta. In Kansas City, the Chiefs brought in corner Trent McDuffie and edge rusher George Karlafis, along with receiver Skyy Moore, safety Bryan Cook and linebacker Leo Chenal.
Good teams getting better.
Packers wait, then make big move to land Aaron Rodgers’ next target
Angst, angst and more angst for the Green Bay Packers and their fans throughout Thursday. Then, on Friday, a big trade with a divisional rival and finally, a receiver.
It took Green Bay packaging both second-round picks for the Minnesota Vikings to move up to No. 34 overall, but Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst plucked Christian Watson out of North Dakota State. Watson is one of the most polarizing prospects in this draft, with some loving his traits of size and speed, while others see a raw kid with inconsistent hands.
If Green Bay is going to be a multi-dimensional offense with a happy quarterback, it needs Watson to pan out both quickly and over the long haul.
Power rankings
Top 10 draft classes at first blush
1. Baltimore Ravens
2. Philadelphia Eagles (+A.J. Brown)
3. New York Giants
4. New York Jets
5. Kansas City Chiefs
6. Detroit Lions
7. Tennessee Titans
8. Minnesota Vikings
9. Jacksonville Jaguars
10. Atlanta Falcons
Quotable
“Matt is different than Philip, this is definitely different than that. It’s not drafting Andrew Luck, but it’s different than Philip. We knew Philip was going to be a one-year sort of thing and we view this as very possibly a three-year thing. Who knows. It’s hard to put a number on it.”
– Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay on Matt Ryan’s stay in town
For the Colts, they need to find stability at quarterback. Even at 36 years old, Irsay is hoping Ryan can provide some. Since Frank Reich became head coach in 2018, the Colts have had a different starting quarterback each season, yet have still reached the playoffs twice.
With Ryan, Indianapolis might finally have a multi-year answer at the sport’s paramount position.
Podcast
Random stat
Since 2000, no player has won NFL MVP and the Super Bowl in the same season. The last occurrence was in 1999, when Kurt Warner did so with the St. Louis Rams.
Info learned this week
1. Browns wise to wait on Baker Mayfield into camp
Andrew Berry decided not to trade quarterback Baker Mayfield this weekend. Now we wait.
And if Berry’s wise, we wait until some point within training camp.
The Browns have Deshaun Watson but don’t know whether he’ll play the entire season with a possible suspension looming. While Mayfield would be unhappy taking the field in Cleveland, it would be an awesome opportunity to audition. Additionally, Berry can wait until another team’s quarterback gets injured, and then Cleveland has leverage to get better draft compensation.
Currently, only the Seattle Seahawks and Carolina Panthers make sense, and Carolina is already short on draft capital in 2023 after trading a future third-round choice to the New England Patriots for signal-caller Matt Corral. Seattle needs someone to compete with Drew Lock — or replace him — but why make a move right now?
If the Browns are smart, Mayfield will need to wait before renting elsewhere.
2. Remaining free agents will start flying off the board
While the crux of free agency is long gone, there are still a few impact players on the board.
Come Monday, teams who sign said stars will no longer have those signings count against the compensatory pick formula. With that restriction lifted, men such as safety Tyrann Mathieu, edge rusher Jadeveon Clowney and others will start signing and filling out depth charts. We’re already seeing this with Mathieu, who is getting interest from New Orleans.
Still, don’t expect any remaining free agents to get guaranteed money beyond 2022. This is either because the player isn’t a safe multi-year bet, or because they want a one-year, prove-it deal to reset their value and try the market again in ’23.
It’s been a long wait for Mathieu, Clowney and more, but that wait should be wrapping up soon.
3. Deebo Samuel situation may wait for 2023
The San Francisco 49ers didn’t budge, and now shouldn’t for another year.
Despite wanting to be traded, star receiver Deebo Samuel wasn’t jettisoned by the 49ers prior to the draft. Now, he can either sheepishly return or hold out until training camp, when the fines become too large to accept. At that point, Samuel can either become a distraction and force an ugly summer, or play out the final year of his rookie deal on a $4.89 million cap hit.
For San Francisco general manager John Lynch, it’s time to play hardball. The 49ers can utilize Samuel next season and then either extend him if the sides agree, or place the franchise tag on him and go the route of Green Bay with Davante Adams.
There’s little reason for the Niners to move Samuel before next season, unless they believe his value will tank from statistical regression. But if San Francisco feels Samuel will produce once more, the clear move is get another great campaign out of its weapon before dealing with the future, in the future.
4. Titans playing dangerous game after A.J. Brown deal
We covered this above from the Eagles perspective, but the Titans’ angle also needs attention.
Tennessee sending A.J. Brown to Philadelphia opens up a litany of potential problems for last year’s No. 1 AFC seed. The Titans are removing their best weapon in the passing game and replacing him with a rookie in Treylon Burks, while moving on from Julio Jones and acquiring veteran Robert Woods off a torn ACL.
Head coach Mike Vrabel will be betting heavily on a rebound season from 28-year-old running back Derrick Henry, who missed nine games in 2021 with a foot injury. If Henry falters, it’s on two receivers in a new system — one rookie, one rehabbing — and an underwhelming group to help quarterback Ryan Tannehill lead Tennessee to another AFC South crown.
And while some will say the Titans are only copying what successful franchises like the Packers and Chiefs did, there’s a key difference: Tannehill isn’t Aaron Rodgers or Patrick Mahomes. He’s not going to elevate those around him, and he’s also not making the same kind of salary of those two.
Tennessee could have paid Brown and kept its best receiver, but instead took a big gamble. We’ll see how it works out, but in the short term, it’s a risky play.
5. Draft grades are fun, but that’s all
About two-dozen paragraphs above, I ranked my 10 favorite draft classes. It’s an enjoyable exercise, based only on what we believe, not what we actually know.
The point? If your team is getting slapped with poor draft grades, don’t sweat it. Conversely, if dopes like me are handing your squad an A+, don’t start fitting guys for gold jackets.
Of course, some grades will work out great. Others, not so much. Nobody thought fifth-round George Kittle, sixth-round Tom Brady or even third-round Travis Kelce would change the game. Yet here we are. Then there’s the wasteland of first-round busts, and you get the point.
Most everyone likes to read grades, and people in this field write them for that reason. But remember we don’t know the truth yet, and we won’t for years.
Two cents
The New England Patriots should consider hiring a general manager.
Bill Belichick is arguably the best head coach in league history, racking up six Super Bowl rings. However, New England’s drafts in recent years have been rough. How rough? Chandler Jones is the last Belichick selection to make First-Team All-Pro as a non-special teams player. Since Jones, Belichick has made 83 picks, not including this year.
Over the earlier portion of that stretch, Belichick didn’t land All-Pros but did find quality ones such as guard Shaq Mason, linebacker Elandon Roberts, guard Joe Thuney and others. However, since 2017, the classes have been almost entirely devoid of meaningful talent.
On Thursday, Belichick reached for interior offensive lineman Cole Strange before taking receiver Tyquan Thornton in the second round, ahead of George Pickens and Skyy Moore. Maybe these choices prove brilliant, but recent data suggests otherwise.
Belichick should always have a say in his personnel, and certainly shouldn’t be forced out of any roles. He’s earned autonomy if that’s his decision. But the Patriots aren’t benefitting from it.
Inside the league
Amazon and Apple are changing the game.
This year, Thursday Night Football will no longer come with a standard television package. Instead, you’ll need a subscription to Amazon Prime. The first game on the streaming service will be a beauty, with the Los Angeles Chargers going to Kansas City for a battle between Justin Herbert and Patrick Mahomes in Week 2.
Meanwhile, DirecTV has exclusively held the NFL Sunday Ticket package since 1994. After this year, though, the contract expires. Apple is the clear favorite to land the multi-billion dollar entity, giving it a huge holding in the sporting world.
In an ever-changing media landscape, the NFL is finally going from testing waters to diving into the modern waters of gambling and tech. It’s a game-changer for the league, meaning even more money for a sport already seeing its coffers overflowing.
History lesson
Only three NFL teams have ever left a city, only to return. Oddly enough, all are in California and involve a singular city.
The Los Angeles Chargers began as such in 1960 but relocated one year later to San Diego before coming back to the City of Angels in 2016. They were joined by the Los Angeles Rams, who spent 1946-94 in the region before bolting for St. Louis.
Then there’s the Las Vegas Raiders, who spent 1960-81 in Oakland before leaving for Los Angeles in ’82, but returned to the East Bay in ’95. Then, in 2020, the Raiders picked up and moved once more, this time to Sin City.
Parting shot
We’ve reached the dead period, but don’t fret.
On May 12, we’ll have the NFL schedule release, which promises to be a good time. Every year on that evening, I pick every regular-season game and go through the Super Bowl to make my predictions. It’s insane, and it’s fun, and hopefully you’ll enjoy.
After that, the column will keep rolling every Monday, but there will be time to write some features I’ve had rolling around in this head for awhile. They’ll aim to inform and entertain while passing the time between the draft and training camp.
But when you aren’t consuming Stacking The Box or a feature (or justifiably yelling at me in the comments), dare to dream. Whether you pull for the Buffalo Bills or Houston Texans, now is the time to think big. For some franchises, maybe that’s a playoff berth in the midst of a rebuild. For others, that’s hoisting the Lombardi.
Whatever it means for you and your team, dream. It’s that time of year.
