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Friday, April 29, 2022

2022 NFL Draft - Round 1 Grades

Alright that was a hell of a first round and then I had some fun last night with friends so this is a little delayed. I was going to write up every pick but to be honest for a first round that we didn’t really know what was going to happen it was relatively predictable, I mean I had 27 of the players correct in my mock and that was with two relatively big QB swings at the top of the draft. I had 6 grades at a C or lower so I’ll highlight those and I’ll write up my A+ picks but then we’re moving on to day 2. The run of trades was crazy though and that made it all so much fun. As far as trade grades go, I start both teams at a C and work up and down in tandom from there based on AV differentials from a pro-football-reference. For example an even trade would get both teams a C which seems counter intuitive but I like the symmetry of moving a grade plus or minus in either direction so the average of the two is always a C.


1 – Jacksonville Jaguars – Travon Walker, Edge, Georgia – Grade: B+

 

2 – Detroit Lions – Aidan Hutchinson, Edge, Michigan – Grade: B

 

3 – Houston Texans – Derek Stingley Jr, CB, LSU – Grade: A

 

4 – New York Jets – Sauce Gardner, CB, Cincinnati – Grade: A

 

5 – New York Giants – Kayvon Thibodeaux, Edge, Oregon – Grade: A

 

6 – Carolina Panthers – Ikem Ekwonu, OT, NC State – Grade: A-

 

7 – New York Giants from Chicago – Evan Neal, OT, Alabama - Grade: A-

 

8 – Atlanta Falcons – Drake London, WR, USC – Grade: A

 

9 – Seattle Seahawks from Denver – Charles Cross, OT, Mississippi State – Grade: A

 

10 – New York Jets from Seattle – Garrett Wilson, WR, Ohio State – Grade: A-

 

Trade: Washington gets 16, 98, & 120, New Orleans gets 11 – Grade: NO (D+) WAS (B-)

 

11 – New Orleans Saints from Washington – Chris Olave, WR, Ohio State – Grade: A

 

Trade: Minnesota gets 32, 34, & 66, Detroit gets 12 & 46 Grade: DET (C-) MIN (C+)

 

12 – Detroit Lions from Minnesota – Jameson Williams, WR, Alabama – Grade: A+

Jameson Williams was my WR2 and went as the WR4, that’s good value for a team that needs playmakers.

 

Trade: Houston gets 15, 124, 162, & 168 Philadelphia gets 13 – Grade: PHI (D+) HOU (B-)

 

13 – Philadelphia Eagles from Houston from Cleveland – Jordan Davis, INT, Georgia – Grade: C

If Davis unlocks his obvious athleticism at size this grade will look silly. I hope it happens because it will be so much fun to watch.

 

14 – Baltimore Ravens – Kyle Hamilton, S, Notre Dame – Grade: A+

The Ravens much like the Pats seem to just get great football players and it’s rather annoying in the best way possible.

 

15 – Houston Texans from Philadelphia – Kenyon Green, OL, Texas A&M – Grade: C

 

16 – Washington Commanders from NO from IND from PHI – Jahan Dotson, WR, Penn State – Grade: A-

 

17 – Los Angeles Chargers – Zion Johnson, G, Wake Forest – Grade: A-

 

Trade: Philadelphia gets AJ Brown, Tennessee gets 18 & 101 - Grade: TEN (C) PHI (C)

 

18 – Tennessee Titans from Philadelphia from New Orleans – Treylon Burks, WR, Arkansas – Grade: A+

Burks ended up being the last of the 6 WRs taken in the first round and although he won’t be able to 1 for 1 replace AJ Brown he is a nice facsimile for Brown’s skillset in the league.

 

19 – New Orleans Saints from Philadelphia – Trevor Penning, OT, Northern Iowa – Grade: D

I’ve discussed my dislike of Penning’s play style in my position ranks, he has the athleticism to be a very good pro he just didn’t show it as much as I would have liked and the other stuff in his game means I obviously don’t love this pick.

 

20 – Pittsburgh Steelers – Kenny Pickett, QB, Pittsburgh – Grade: A-

 

Trade: New England gets 29, 94, & 121, Kansas City gets 21 – Grade: KC (D) NE (B)

 

21 – Kansas City Chiefs from New England – Trent McDuffie, CB, Washington – Grade: A+

McDuffie was on a tier with two players that went in the top 5, that’s great value at 21.

 

22 – Green Bay Packers from Las Vegas – Quay Walker, OBLB, Georgia – Grade: A-

 

Trade: Arizona gets Hollywood Brown & 101, Baltimore gets 23 – Grade: BAL (C-) ARI (C+)

 

Trade: Baltimore gets 25 & 130, Buffalo gets 23 – Grade: BUF (D-) BAL (B+)

 

23 – Buffalo Bills from Baltimore from Arizona – Kaiir Elam, CB, Florida – Grade: A-

 

24 – Dallas Cowboys – Tyler Smith, OL, Tulsa – Grade: D

I like Tyler Smith but this seems far too aggressive for the skillset and what was still on the board.

 

25 – Baltimore Ravens from Buffalo – Tyler Linderbaum, C, Iowa – Grade: A+

The Ravens for the second time in the round got a great football player.

 

Trade: Tennessee gets 35, 69, & 163, New York (A) gets 26 & 101 – Grade: NYJ (C-) TEN (C+)

 

26 – New York Jets from Tennessee – Jermaine Johnson II, Edge, Florida State – Grade: C-

By predraft mocks the Jets got a steal on a player many thought they’d take at 10. I was less enamored with Johnson than the consensus and thought he was closer to a second-round pick than a first. A reach but by no means the biggest of the first round.

 

Trade: Tampa Bay gets 33, 106, & 180, Jacksonville gets 27 – Grade: JAX (D) TB (B)

 

27 – Jacksonville Jaguars from Tampa Bay – Devin Lloyd, OBLB, Utah – Grade: A+

28 – Green Bay Packers – Devonte Wyatt, INT, Georgia – Grade: A+

Jacksonville and Green Bay got two wonderful talents late in the first, Wyatt was the more explosive interior option this past year for the Dawgs and Lloyd was just a step behind Dean as the best off ball linebacker in this draft.

 

29 – New England Patriots from KC from SF from MIA – Cole Strange, G, UT Chattanooga – Grade: D

I don’t like criticizing Patriots picks because I trust that front office more than almost anyone but Strange feels like a reach to me. I had him as my center #5 and a good player, but there were 3 centers and 5 guards I would have preferred over him.

 

30 –Kansas City Chiefs – George Karlaftis, Edge, Purdue – Grade: A

 

31 – Cincinnati Bengals – Daxton Hill, S, Michigan – Grade: A-

 

32 – Minnesota Vikings from Detroit from Los Angeles – Lewis Cine, S, Georgia – Grade: A

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