Draft Wire recently released their latest 2022 NFL mock draft. Here’s why some early selections are so surprising.
We are still months away from the start of the college football season, but it’s never too early to get a head start on studying for next year’s NFL Draft prospects. Some names like Spencer Rattler and Sam Howell are quickly becoming hot commodities, while other future potential high draft prospects are still relatively unknown.
Recently, Luke Esterling of USA Today’s Draft Wire released his updated 2022 NFL mock draft. Some of the results are sure to surprise you.
For fans who have already shifted their focus to next year’s draft, you are probably well aware of the players who are routinely listed at the top of the first round. The previously mentioned quarterbacks, Rattler and Howell, are projected by many to be the first and second overall selections next April.
However, Esterling doesn’t see it that way. In fact, some of his selections are head-scratching, to say the least.
Latest NFL mock draft takes an interesting turn
Esterling kicked off his mock with the Houston Texans bypassing the quarterback position and taking arguably the best player in college football in Oregon edge defender, Kayvon Thibodeaux. Though he is only entering his junior season, Thibodeaux has earned a whopping 23.5 tackles for a loss and 12.0 sacks in his first 20 college games.
After Thibodeaux, it gets really interesting. Instead of going with one of the high-profile young quarterbacks, Esterling has the Detriot Lions going with Liberty quarterback Malik Willis with the second overall pick. Willis has some impressive physical tools, but is nearly two years older than Howell and Rattler and is still less proven at a much smaller school. Perhaps Esterling is projecting him to take a massive leap in 2021.
What’s most surprising is that Esterling doesn’t have Howell being selected until the 7th overall pick by the Atlanta Falcons. In addition, while Spencer Rattler might be the most commonly mocked number one overall pick, Esterling has him going 9th to the Las Vegas Raiders.
It’s also worth noting that he has a whopping 5 quarterbacks being selected in the first 14 picks of the NFL draft. Esterling has USC’s Kedon Slovis going to The Washington Football Team with the 12th overall pick and Nevada’s Carson Strong going to the Pittsburgh Steelers at pick 14.
In order for the NFL Draft to shape up like this, lots of things will have to happen in 2021. For starters, ascending talents like Sam Howell and Spencer Rattler will both have to be underwhelming in 2021 to slip like this in the draft. Both quarterbacks are just 20 years old with impressive arm talent and the ability to make plays down the field. In addition, in order for Malik Willis to jump to the number two overall pick next season, he’s going to need a Zach Wilson-like breakout year as a senior this season. That seems somewhat unlikely to me.
It’s obviously way too early to say where each of these players will end up in the NFL Draft next April, but Luke Esterling’s most recent 2022 NFL mock draft has me intrigued. Keep an eye on some of these players early in the season this year.