April and August are arguably the two best months for football fans, sowing and reaping the seeds of optimism and fertile ground for prediction with every player on every team in the NFL.
But what the pinnacle of the NFL mock draft season does best is give analysts and fans the license to forecast. Although it’s not as if franchises are going to behave in a predictable — or rational — way at all. NFL front offices get jittery when the clock starts missing players, and with eight teams holding multiple first-round picks and six teams with no first-round picks, there’s little reason to believe the order the first 32 picks will remain static.
With the 2022 NFL draft next week, this first-round mock takes a hit at the picks (and moves) that could be on the horizon.
1. Jacksonville Jaguars – Aidan Hutchinson, Edge, Michigan
We’re right into the No. 1 smokescreen season, with Georgia’s Travon Walker making some late-night buzz in Jacksonville. Fight the urge to take the bait, because the 2022 draft opens up one of two paths – Jacksonville takes the top edge rusher or the top offensive tackle. Aidan Hutchinson has been the betting favorite all offseason and the Michigan product is as safe with the first pick as it gets. For all the money Jacksonville has spent on wide receivers, the Jaguars offseason’s history addresses every point of defense, and the Hutchinson selection is another step toward proficiency.
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