2022 NFL Draft Big Board 2.0 (Offense – Top 5)

I’m about to start finals, but I figured I’d put a big board for players that I’ve had a chance to scout thus far. I’m not in love with this quarterback class, but the Falcons have a ton of needs on offense. Receiver, Running Back, Guard, and Tackle can all be addressed, and there’s always the possibility the Falcons select their quarterback of the future. However, this is a big board for the whole NFL, so nothing will be scheme-specific to Atlanta. I’ll post a more complete version closer to the draft after the Bowl Games, Senior Bowl, and NFL Combine. I haven’t got to watch a lot of these guys, so if someone is missing or an honorable mention, I may not have gotten to them yet. If you want to check out the defensive side of the ball, that’s coming in a few days.

 

Quarterback

 

QB1 Matt Corral – Ole Miss

QB2 Carson Strong – Nevada

QB3 Kenny Pickett – Pittsburgh

QB4 Malik Willis – Liberty

QB5 Grayson McCall – Coastal Carolina

Honorable Mention: Sam Howell – North Carolina, Desmond Ridder – Cincinnati, Jake Haener – Fresno State, Bailey Zappe – Western Kentucky, Jayden Daniels – Arizona State, Will Levis – Kentucky, JT Daniels – Georgia

I’ve been pretty firm that Matt Corral is QB1 in a weak class for a while. Although I am in love with his arm talent and he has good athleticism, he’s far from a perfect prospect, but I do think there’s something there. Carson Strong has a rocket arm, but he’s a limited athlete. Kenny Pickett has been very impressive, and he could make for a great gunslinger developmental prospect. I think I like the idea of Malik Willis more than I actually like Malik Willis, I wish he showed a little more consistency and accuracy. He needs to limit his turnovers as well. I feel the same way about Grayson McCall. Although he has limited arm talent, I want to like him as a future franchise quarterback. I think he can be a souped up version of what Gardner Minshew II was in Jacksonville.

 

Running Backs

 

RB1 Isaiah Spiller – Texas A&M

RB2 Kenneth Walker III – Michigan State

RB3 Zach Charbonnet – UCLA

RB4 Breece Hall – Iowa State

RB5 Kyren Williams – Notre Dame

Honorable Mention: Jerrion Ealy – Ole Miss, James Cook – Georgia, Zamir White – Georgia, Eric Gray – Oklahoma, Brittain Brown – UCLA, Tyler Goodson – Iowa, Tyler Badie – Missouri, Dameon Pierce – Florida

This is a really, really tough group to rank. I like a lot of these guys for different reasons. Charbonnet, Walker III, and Williams are all tough runners with athletic upside, while Spiller and Hall are dynamic chess pieces you can use out of the backfield. I really like James Cook, Dameon Pierce, Tyler Badie, and Jerrion Ealy in the later rounds. There’s value all over the board with this group.

 

Wide Receivers

 

WR1 Treylon Burks – Arkansas

WR2 Chris Olave – Ohio State

WR3 Garrett Wilson – Ohio State

WR4 Jahan Dotson – Penn State

WR5 Jameson Williams – Alabama

Honorable Mention: George Pickens – Georgia, Drake London – USC, Wan’Dale Robinson – Kentucky, John Metchie III – Alabama, Jalen Tolbert – South Alabama, Zay Flowers – Boston College, Tre Turner – Virginia Tech, David Bell – Purdue

Like with the Running Backs, there’s a lot of ways you can slice this pie. There’s plenty of talent outside of the top five, which is good news for Atlanta in particular. If George Pickens hadn’t been injured, you’re looking at six or seven guys who could go in the first round. Treylon Burks is the definition of dynamic, he has that rookie Odell Beckham Jr. look to him. Chris Olave is one of the smoothest route runners in college football. Jahan Datsan, Garrett Wilson, and Jameson Williams all bring incredible potential as deep threats on the outside, you really can rank any of these guys 1-5 and make a solid argument. Looking at honorable mentions, George Pickens can certainly boost his stock if he comes back to play for Georgia this season. Outside of him, the list is still littered with big-time weapons.

 

Tight Ends

 

TE1 Jalen Wydermyer – Texas A&M

TE2 Isaiah Likely – Coastal Carolina 

TE3 Trey McBride – Colorado State

TE4 Jahleel Billingsly – Alabama

TE5 Jeremy Ruckert – Ohio State

Honorable Mention: Josh Whyle – Cincinnati, Sam LaPorta – Iowa, Cade Otton – Washington, Charlie Kolar – Iowa State, Cole Turner – Nevada, Jake Ferguson – Wisconsin

To be honest, this isn’t a group I’m totally familiar with. That can happen when your favorite team picks a tight end fourth overall the year before, and the class isn’t exactly loaded with superstars. However, Jalen Wydermyer is still the cream of this crop to me, and I like Isaiah Likely to move up draft boards as the combine process goes along. I’ll have a better idea of this group when we get some combine numbers.

 

Offensive Tackle

 

OT1 Ikem Ekwonu – North Carolina State

OT2 Evan Neal – Alabama

OT3 Trevor Penning – Northern Iowa

OT4 Charles Cross – Mississippi State

OT5 Nicholas Petit-Frere – Ohio State

Honorable Mention: Jaxson Kirkland – Washington, Rasheed Walker – Penn State, Thayer Munford – Ohio State, Zion Nelson – Miami, Sean Rhyan – UCLA

Ekwonu and Evan Neal are really hard to choose between for OT1, but I have to give the edge to Ekwonu. He has one of the craziest nasty streaks I’ve seen in my short time doing this. At worst, I think Ekwonu is a Pro Bowl guard from Day One, so I have to give him some credit for that. This is a pretty strong class, and the Falcons could absolutely look to find Kaleb McGary‘s potential replacement here. I was a big fan of Trevor Penning’s running mate Spencer Brown in the last draft cycle, and he has been excellent for the Bills thus far. This class tapers off a bit after the top four or five, but there’s definitely some value here. Expect these guys to go early and often.

 

Interior Offensive Linemen

 

IOL1 Tyler Linderbaum – Iowa

IOL2 Darian Kinnard – Kentucky

IOL3 Kenyon Green – Texas A&M

IOL4 Jamaree Salyer – Georgia

IOL5 Zion Johnson – Boston College

Honorable Mention: IOL Alec Lindstrom – Boston College, IOL Ricky Stromberg – Arkansas

This is another positional group that I haven’t done much work on, but I absolutely love the top guys here. I think Tyler Linderbaum will be a plug-and-play upper echelon starter at center from day one, and the same can be said at guard for Kenyon Green and Darian Kinnard. Jamaree Salyer has been forced into a lot of tackle duties this season, but I like what he could offer at guard. Zion Johnson has a chance to start almost immediately as well. There’s plenty of the tackles listed above who could switch to guard.