NFL Draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. has very interesting top-10 rankings

Mel Kiper Jr. recently released his top-10 prospect rankings for the 2022 NFL Draft. Here’s why some of his choices are a bit head-scratching. 

Mel Kiper Jr.’s latest big board is out, and some of his rankings might catch you off guard. Though we are still seven months away from the 2022 NFL Draft, you may already be familiar with some of the top consensus prospects entering the new season.

For the most part, these are all prospects that draft analysts believe have earned first-round consideration. Kiper doesn’t necessarily agree. On Thursday, the long-time NFL Draft expert released a video detailing his top-10 prospects in the 2022 draft. Here’s who he has at the top:

Kiper went strongly against popular opinion here. Not only does he not have a single quarterback inside his top 10, but he also elected to have three receivers among his best overall players.

Should we trust Mel Kiper’s NFL Draft board?

Mel Kiper has been in the business for a long time. However, that doesn’t mean that he’s immune to getting a few things wrong. There are lots of disagreements this time of year, and there is still much of the 2022 season that needs to be played and hundreds of hours of tape that needs to be analyzed before we can properly assess all of these players.

However, I can’t say that I’m on board with Kiper’s rankings… At least, not at this point in time.

In what I consider to be a notably poor wide receiver class, I find it very interesting that Kiper elected to have a trio of receivers crack his top-10 list. Jahan Dotson, Garrett Wilson, and Drake London are all solid football players, but I’m not sure if there’s another analyst out there who would be bold enough to have all three ranked this high based on what we’ve seen. Some don’t even have Wilson as the best receiver on his own team, as Ohio State’s Chris Olave — Wilson’s teammate — is considered by many to be the best of this group.

In addition to including three receivers that some have as low as second or even third-round grades on, Kiper also excludes any of the top quarterbacks from his rankings. While he does make mention of players like Liberty’s Malik Willis and Oklahoma’s Spencer Rattler, neither were deemed good enough prospects to find their way inside the top 10.

Mel Kiper is a well-respected NFL Draft analyst, and perhaps he will be proven right in time. However, his top rankings have other draft nerds (myself included) questioning some of his decisions with his draft board. Either way, these players are worth keeping an eye on to see where they will wind up going next April.