2022 NFL Draft Thread

[NYRaider]

Overall I like what we did with the draft. 

90. Dylan Parham - Versatile interior offensive lineman that should be able to compete for a starting spot at one of the three interior OL spots. Reminds me of the Gabe Jackson selection back in the day, not a sexy pick but should be an above average starter for us on a cheap contract for the next 4 years. 

122. Zamir White - Wasn't a huge fan of the pick at the time but I like it after watching more of him, projects as a starting RB and reminds me of Nick Chubb. Basically ensures that we don't have to overpay to keep Jacobs and have some quality depth in case Drake isn't ready and/or Jacobs gets hurt.

126. Neil Farrell Jr - We've lacked quality players/size on the interior DL for years and he projects as a starting NT and a cheap replacement for Hankins after this season.

175. Matthew Butler - Another quality depth piece on the interior DL who was a good value where we got him. 

238. Thayer Munford Jr - Versatile OL that was projected to go much higher and should make the 53 man roster because of his versatility. 

[big_palooka]

8 minutes ago, NYRaider said:

122. Zamir White - Wasn't a huge fan of the pick at the time but I like it after watching more of him, projects as a starting RB and reminds me of Nick Chubb. Basically ensures that we don't have to overpay to keep Jacobs and have some quality depth in case Drake isn't ready and/or Jacobs gets hurt.

I love a good post draft coping. 

White went from 4th string RB to Nick Chubb comparisons come Monday 🤣

[NYRaider]

39 minutes ago, big_palooka said:

I love a good post draft coping. 

White went from 4th string RB to Nick Chubb comparisons come Monday 🤣

It takes a real man to admit a mistake my boy.

[BayRaider]

1 hour ago, big_palooka said:

I love a good post draft coping. 

White went from 4th string RB to Nick Chubb comparisons come Monday 🤣

You’re a Georgia guy, how do you view Zeus? He’s no Nick Chubb, Chubb is my favorite RB prospect in the past 10 years quite easily. I like Zeus though, he would be part of a great 2RB committee. He’s elusive, powerful, good size, and burner speed. His game is kind of like Jacobs except Jacobs has better vision and Zeus has way more speed. We will finally see some long TD’s. 
 

Also, which Georgia RB did you like better, Zeus or Cook? Going into the draft I had it Hall >>>>>> (big Hall fan) > Walker > Spiller > Zeus > Cook as the Top 5 RB’s. Although Spiller/Zeus are pretty close. 

[MrOaktown_56]

We haven't taken IDL recently at all so I'm a fan by default of this draft.

[jimkelly02]

7 hours ago, ronjon1990 said:

🎯

Jacobs and Drake are practically assured spots. 

We then spent a collective roughly $3.2m in cap space on Bolden and Abdullah. 

That money could've been better utilized.

My guess is Abdullah gets the axe and Brown goes on the PS, at which point he's probably gone if he's actually good. 

We really should have tried hard to move Jacobs or Drake before adding to the collection. There's almost no way we're keeping all 7 RBs on the roster, and if we carry 4 on the 53, that's at least 1 roster spot taken from another position by someone who probably never sees the field barring a major injury. 

Individually, I don't disagree with any of the RB moves made in FA or the Draft. Collectively, though, they feel a little overkill and ill-planned 

Bolden was a pretty big overlay imo relative to the size of the contract…. 

but Abdullah only got a 152.5k Signing bonus and no guaranteed salary to go with his vet minimum salary. Thus, we don’t have much invested into him.

[big_palooka]

14 hours ago, BayRaider said:

You’re a Georgia guy, how do you view Zeus? He’s no Nick Chubb, Chubb is my favorite RB prospect in the past 10 years quite easily. I like Zeus though, he would be part of a great 2RB committee. He’s elusive, powerful, good size, and burner speed. His game is kind of like Jacobs except Jacobs has better vision and Zeus has way more speed. We will finally see some long TD’s. 
 

Also, which Georgia RB did you like better, Zeus or Cook? Going into the draft I had it Hall >>>>>> (big Hall fan) > Walker > Spiller > Zeus > Cook as the Top 5 RB’s. Although Spiller/Zeus are pretty close. 

He's very similar to Nick Chubb in style. Powerful, downhill runner, but Zeus has more speed and was more elusive at UGA. His vision is excellent as well, I don't think you lose anything there compared to Jacobs.

I personally thought Zeus would go before Cook. I liked the idea of pairing Cook with Jacobs in round 3 or 4. But moving on from Jacobs if that is what happens, Zeus will be a lead back and among the top runners in the NFL if healthy. Confident in that.  

Cook landed in a spot where he can blow up stat sheets as a pass catcher in Buffalo. 

Overall, recent UGA backs I had them coming out:

Gurley, Chubb, Zeus, Swift, Cook, Sony, Marshall.

[Jeremy408]

4 hours ago, big_palooka said:

He's very similar to Nick Chubb in style. Powerful, downhill runner, but Zeus has more speed and was more elusive at UGA. His vision is excellent as well, I don't think you lose anything there compared to Jacobs.

I personally thought Zeus would go before Cook. I liked the idea of pairing Cook with Jacobs in round 3 or 4. But moving on from Jacobs if that is what happens, Zeus will be a lead back and among the top runners in the NFL if healthy. Confident in that.  

Cook landed in a spot where he can blow up stat sheets as a pass catcher in Buffalo. 

Overall, recent UGA backs I had them coming out:

Gurley, Chubb, Zeus, Swift, Cook, Sony, Marshall.

That's what I was kind of getting at the other day when I was saying that if this was like 2012 White would've been a first round pick based on his traits(Height weight speed) that led his team in rushing touchdowns and yards in a league that at the time was more predicated on running the football. 

I liked cook a lot but realistically the reason why he went first was because the league is not necessarily predicated on running the ball anymore and he is a better and more proven receiver. 

That's why I thought this was a slick pick by Ziegler because what he essentially did was he went with the player who is the best pure power runner Home run speed who happened to have Home run speed on day 3 knowing that such a player wouldn't be drafted high due to the fact that the league doesn't value that type high anymore. 

 

Edited May 3, 2022 by Jeremy408

[jpaulthe1st]

My thoughts on our draft day haul: 

90. Dylan Parham (A) - We are in dire need of depth and talent along the interior offensive line and Parham brings lots of upside and versatility. Not flashy on draft day but a pick that will age well. 

122. Zamir White (A-) - Love the idea of drafting our future 2-down back in the 4th. He runs hard, has the speed to make house calls, has an insane work ethic, and is a team first guy. He will have a big role at some point this year. 

126. Neil Farrell Jr. (A-) - Again, Ziegler makes a heady pick by picking up the 2nd best run stopping DT in the draft in Round 4. He’ll contribute some this year but will really pay off in value in years 2-4. We should be drafting a run stuffing DT in the 4th every 2-3 years. 

175. Matthew Butler (B+) - Another smart pick that could be seen as overkill given that we took Farrell the pick before. I don’t see him becoming a starter but he will serve as cheap, versatile depth for the next 4 years. 

238. Thayer Munford (B) - Worth a shot as a developmental Tackle prospect. He won’t be expected to play early and will be given time to develop. His upside is an upper tier Swing Tackle (think Brandon Parker but 5 rounds cheaper) 

250. Brittain Brown (C-) - Don’t really understand the pick here for a practice squad RB. Would have preferred a flyer on Justyn Ross. Hopefully he contributes on Special Teams or develops on the practice squad. 

Overall Grade (A-) - The talent grade is a B+ but I raised them to an A- based on the positive value created through draft trades. 

Edited May 4, 2022 by jpaulthe1st

[Mr Raider]

On 4/30/2022 at 11:05 PM, NickButera said:

I can tell that watching Zeigler's drafts is going to be much more entertaining, picking more players that are commonly regarded as good by the masses. 

 

Can't really complain about this draft, we overstocked on the two positions we really didn't address (other than filler free agents). Two RB's is a bit of a head scratcher. Lots of common sense in this draft. I could get used to this.

I totally agree and share this sentiment, I think in comparison to Mayock and Gruden the drafts under the new FO will be significantly less head scratching in terms of the actual prospects we draft or reach on, positional value, maneuvering up and down the draft, etc. 

The only thing I would add is I could see this draft being a sneak peak of what to expect but perhaps just slightly on the safer side or leaning just a little bit towards being less risk averse than they may be year in and year out. For one because of the Adams trade being the type of move we wont see consistently leaving us with no first or second, but also that just tends to be the case for the majority of first drafts under a new GM and HC. There will be changes to the scouts both in terms of the scouts themselves, the way the scouting department operates and what they value/look for in prospects, you would hope better communication with a staff department that was picked to work together, etc. Not to mention the aspect that it can be very difficult for Z and McDaniels to balance trying to translate the scouting they have done as cogs in the Patriots front office to running their own show for a team that has different strengths, weaknesses, needs and all of that.

So while I expect this front offices drafts to be much more normal where we wont be dreading who the selection is when whoever is at the podium, trying to justify the reach we made or whatever, I do think there could be subtle differences when compared to this draft as the FO gains more experience and has a full draft to work with. But large picture I still totally agree and its pretty sad that I came out of this draft where we had no first or second feeling like we did a great job with what we had to work with wondering how different this team would look if this front office had all the firsts and seconds Gruden and Mayock basically blew. 

[Mr Raider]

On 5/3/2022 at 7:57 AM, big_palooka said:

He's very similar to Nick Chubb in style. Powerful, downhill runner, but Zeus has more speed and was more elusive at UGA. His vision is excellent as well, I don't think you lose anything there compared to Jacobs.

I personally thought Zeus would go before Cook. I liked the idea of pairing Cook with Jacobs in round 3 or 4. But moving on from Jacobs if that is what happens, Zeus will be a lead back and among the top runners in the NFL if healthy. Confident in that.  

Cook landed in a spot where he can blow up stat sheets as a pass catcher in Buffalo. 

Overall, recent UGA backs I had them coming out:

Gurley, Chubb, Zeus, Swift, Cook, Sony, Marshall.

I agree with everything said here as a UGA fan. I was thinking Cook would go in the third or fourth and thought he was a better fit if the idea was to pair a young, cheap runner with Jacobs for the next couple years. 

If the idea is to look for a Jacobs long term replacement Zeus is the better fit. I think Cook will be fantastic in Buffalo but hes not a full time lead back. He has to be in a committee IMO though in todays NFL thats almost everyone. 

My only disagreement would be slightly in terms of UGA rankings (as a fellow UGA guy). I had them in terms of their drafts

Gurley - Top 5 talent.

Chubb - Top 10 talent.

Swift - Top 20 talent.

Zeus - Late 2nd round talent.

Cook - Early 3rd round talent.

Crowell - Mid round talent (if we are counting him) just on field ability.

Sony - Mid round talent.

Marshall - Late round talent.

Really wasnt a Michel fan. I thought he would be a disappointment if a team drafted him to be the lead guy. I think a lot of his effectiveness and best play came in large part because teams had to deal with Chubb so much that he wore teams down and opened up some big plays for Sony because of it.

[Humble_Beast]

90. Dylan Parham - B- I like the pick, he was projected to go in the 2nd and 3rd round. He's a smaller guard but many people like all his skills. Mel Kiper and other have said pro bowl ceiling. Might be the next Shaq Mason and that would be a win in the late 3rd. 

122. Zamir White - A- I like going BPA. Might not appear to be biggest need, but Rbs get hurt. Jacobs and Drake could be gone after the season. White has a Nick Chubb type of ceiling. Drafting a nice RB prospect with RB1 potential is nice in the 4th. At the very least, White gives the team depth at a key spot 

126. Neil Farrell Jr -  A - Farrell was probably the 2nd best NT in the draft. Hankins is average and over 30. Farrell could be sprinkled in his rookie year, and start by 2023. DT usually need a year of seasoning in the NFL. Top prospect at a position of need. Thats a win

175. Matthew Butler - B- We are talking about a late 5th rounder. Butler has a the potential to provide depth in the trenches. He was good in college, and a worthy prospect. Has short arms so I'm interested how he does in the NFL. A solid backup in the 5th is nice value 

238. Thayer Munford Jr - A- we picked up one of the better tackle prospects in the 7th round. Munford stock was dropped due to playing guard. He has a nice resume and NFL.com has a high grade on him. 

250. Brittian Brown- F- this pick was out of left field. I notice that most of the draft picks were ranked high on NFL.com. Not this pick, Brown is a long shot. Waste of an Asset, could have draft Pacheco 

Overall: B Grade- made good use of the picks. Of course this is all projection 

 

[RaidersAreOne]

 

[BigD1123]

On 5/2/2022 at 1:57 PM, Darbsk said:

I think we'll almost certainly carry five backs if you include the FB. The Pats varied their attacks with the whole RB room the last couple years. Plus with the way the Practice Squad is set up now (are they the same rules as least year? I haven't heard different) it's quite easy to keep a spare vet or two on there to bring up on the OL or DL or a DB for example. White will be on the roster barring something unusual. Jacobs, Drake, Bolden and White looks a really solid RB room to me with a bit of variety.

Also have practice squad protections every week

[NYRaider]

On 5/4/2022 at 3:57 PM, Mr Raider said:

If the idea is to look for a Jacobs long term replacement Zeus is the better fit. I think Cook will be fantastic in Buffalo but hes not a full time lead back. He has to be in a committee IMO though in todays NFL thats almost everyone. 

The Zamir White pick in the 4th round reminds me of when the Patriots took Damien Harris in the 3rd round despite having a young, productive 1st round RB already on the roster in Sony Michel. Harris emergence as a starting caliber back in his second year made Michel expendable for them.