The NFL Combine has arrived and is less than two months away from the NFL 2022 draft. The week in Indianapolis and Pro Days may lead to a slight change in the rankings, but things are starting to take shape. Here is my offensive ranking:
Quarterback
1. Kenny Pickett, Pittsburgh (CBS Sports Rank: 22)
2. Matt Coral, Ole Miss (20)
3. Malik Willis, Liberty (21)
4. Sam Howell, North Carolina (48)
5. Carson Strong, Nevada (55)
Pickett looks like he’s ready to compete for an NFL team today. There are concerns about the size of his arm and whether this will be a problem in the NFL. The ball is a little bigger and the confusion was a problem for the quarterback in college. Coral showed a lot of growth from 2020 to 2021. Its decision-making and accuracy have improved significantly. Although slightly smaller, the California native shows the ability to attack all three levels of defense. Willis offers the best as a player with elite mobility. However, he can get stuck in his testimony and keep football too long. Howell is resilient and throws the best deep ball in his class. He takes some unnecessary punches when he fights. Strong has limited mobility to cope with a knee injury, but he does a fantastic job of driving the ball into narrow windows.
Running backwards
1. Kenneth Walker III, Michigan (66)
2. Breece Hall, Iowa (53)
3. Kieran Williams, Notre Dame (80)
4. Dameon Pierce, Florida (NR)
5. Isaiah Spiller, Texas A&M (49)
From his last season in Wake Forest to his first season in Michigan, Walker showed more flexibility in his ankles and the ability to redirect. He showed more like a pass and wished his team numerous victories this season. When we look at players who have steady success in the NFL, they are usually around the threshold of 220 pounds. Hall and Spiller fall into this category. They are larger backs with medium speed of the highest class. Williams is a bulldog in the running game, despite the lack of an ideal size, and he excels at catching passes. Pierce really impressed at Reese’s Senior Bowl after being used lightly in the Florida attack. He is a strong player.
Narrow end
1. Trey McBride, CO (31)
2. Greg Dulcic, UCLA (141)
3. Jeremy Rockert, Ohio (78)
4. Cade Otten, Washington (83)
5. Jalen Wydermyer, Texas A&M (47)
McBride is the best rounded tight end in the class. It is not a burner, but it moves very well and does a good job as a blocker. Dulcic has shown many improvements from 2020 to 2021. He is a talent who easily takes the ball out of the air and quickly turns up. Ruckert is also well-rounded, but like Pierce in Florida, he was used sparingly in the Ohio State pass game, given the amount of talent the Buckeyes had in a wide receiver. Otton is a good blocker, but is more athletically limited. Wydermyer is a bigger, stronger tight end that uses its physics to its advantage through routes.
Wide receiver
1. Gareth Wilson, Ohio (7)
2. Jameson Williams, Alabama (10)
3. Traylan Burks, Arkansas (17)
4. Chris Olive, Ohio (23)
5. Drake London, USC (18)
Currently, the first three receivers are slightly grouped. The study of the combined and more bands should separate them before the draft, but in the overall ranking all three fall in the range of five players. Wilson has great body control and can apply the brakes sharply. Williams is hot after the catch. Burks is a large, physical receiver that plays mostly in the slot, but differs in the vertical plane. It will run faster than people expect for its size. It also shows a willingness to block, which can make it intriguingly suitable for a wide area scheme. Olav is just Mr. Consistent with good speed. He is weak, but he is on good paths. Finally, London ended the season with an injury after presenting absurd figures for the Trojans. A former basketball player, London is using his size to create a separation and win at the starting point. Georgia Pickens of Georgia is another prospect that has the potential to develop to No. 1 in the broader successor. He showed this ability before suffering an ACL injury and was limited after returning from injury at the end of the year.
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Internal offensive line
1. Tyler Linderbaum, Iowa (5)
2. Kenyon Green, Texas A&M (15)
3. Zion Johnson, Boston College (37)
4. Darian Kinnard, Kentucky (46)
5. Jamaree Salyer, Georgia (101)
Linderbaum is ideal for a wide area scheme where you can use your athleticism to work in space. He plays against the background of the whistle and faces the best center. Green showed versatility on board and guard, but really found a home inside. He is a broad body that drives opponents out of football. Johnson is another one that offers flexibility. He played to tackle the eagles one step at a time and was also cross-trained at the Mobil center. Kinard is a running player, but he is still improving in the defense of passes. He wants to play tackle on the next level, but his brightest future is inside. Salyer is another physical player that the Bulldogs loved to line up and run over people.
Offensive strike
1. Evan Neal, Alabama (6)
2. Charles Cross, Mississippi (8)
3. Ikem Equonu, North Carolina (9)
4. Trevor Penning, Northern Iowa (50)
5. Bernhard Reiman, Central Michigan (29)
Neil is a monster physically, although this athleticism was not always evident in the film. When Mehmy Becton was healthy, he showed the challenges that big size can have for defenders. The cross is the best defense in the pass at the moment and that would be the argument for Jacksonville, which could potentially bring him to number 1 overall. He is just a sophomore and has something to grow in the game on the ground. Ekwonu is the opposite. He is a road grader who pancakes every defender who stands up to him. Offensive line players are praised for playing in the middle series, but Penning may need to reduce a bit. He throws a defender at the back of Desmond Reeder’s legs in the Senior Bowl and unnecessarily tries to end his opponent’s existence with each click. Reiman is an athletic Austrian who is still technically developing, but the sky is the limit.
For more coverage of the 2022 NFL draft – including fake projects, lead rankings and articles aimed at the team and players – click here!