Goldfish's Way Too Early Draft Rankings 2022 (All Up)

[THE DUKE]

8 minutes ago, Jeezla said:

If Hurts doesn't light it up this year, he gone, so AJ won't be waiting too long for a new QB.

Is he really going to be happy with the 4th or 5th best QB drafted next year as a rookie?  Even if Hurts is awful, they're too good overall to finish top 5 and get one of Stroud or Young.

[Jeezla]

7 minutes ago, THE DUKE said:

Is he really going to be happy with the 4th or 5th best QB drafted next year as a rookie?  Even if Hurts is awful, they're too good overall to finish top 5 and get one of Stroud or Young.

I suppose that would depend how good that 4th or 5th guy looks as a rookie. Worked out all right for Mac Jones/Davis Mills. Maybe Phil Jurkovec or Van Dyke outplays Stroud/Young in the NFL.

They might also just trade for a different existing QB. You never know which vet is going to demand a trade. We might trade a 2nd for Ryan Tannehill a year from now.

only guarantee is that Hurts isn't starting in 2023 if he doesn't step it up this year.

Edited May 6, 2022 by Jeezla

[Daniel]

39 minutes ago, ttitansfan4life said:

Who said anything about giving up on him? CB was a need whether you wanted to believe it or not. At one point last season, they trotted out Buster Skrine and Chris Jackson as starters. Not terrible depth players but shouldn’t be starting. I like a top 4 of Fulton, Farley, McCreary, and Molden with Skrine and Jackson at depth guys than without McCreary. A lot more versatility which they liked to use a lot of nickel and big dime formations last year. I see no issue with taking a CB that high when you play in a passing league and need as many good DBs as possible. Not like the Titans pass defense was all that great anyway last season(even though injuries played apart of that).

Sure, CB4 is a "need" the same way any depth position is a need.  I.e. it's a terrible waste of draft capital to use a borderline first round pick on it.

[Matts4313]

18 minutes ago, THE DUKE said:

Is he really going to be happy with the 4th or 5th best QB drafted next year as a rookie?  Even if Hurts is awful, they're too good overall to finish top 5 and get one of Stroud or Young.

The could probably add ~20% to their win total by just trading for Baker.

[Ray Reed]

https://www.baltimoreravens.com/audio/lounge-podcast-eric-decosta-shares-insight-into-ravens-2022-nfl-draft 

@goldfishwars You’re usually pretty aligned with how the Ravens do things this time of year so you may find this interesting...about an hour of Decosta being pretty open about our draft & how/where we ranked players 

[nicfre2011]

2 hours ago, THE DUKE said:

I can't argue too much with the Bengals at 14.  I'd say more fringe top 10, but that could just be the homer in me and it's really not far off from where you have them.  Dax Hill was a pretty clear BPA at 31.  Pretty accurate assessment of the Bengals draft.

I liked both Hill and Taylor-Britt as solid options the Chiefs...both project to be pretty diverse in the secondary assignments they could handle. CTB brings some physicality for sure.

Edited May 6, 2022 by nicfre2011

[StatKing]

On 5/4/2022 at 4:53 PM, biggie. said:

I'm sure a guy who has been coaching for nearly 50 years and enough Super Bowl rings to put on one of his toes is going to have many restless nights after reading this.

I swear, the draft is the single most overrated and overblown part of the offseason.

You tend to win rings when you have by far the greatest player to ever play for 20 years. Brady isn't walking back through those doors anytime soon.

[43M]

Im a big fan of the Bengals draft....unfortunately.

I really wanted both Dax Hill and Zachary Carter.   I would have taken Carter over Leal in the 3rd.

Ill get a front row seat to see if I was right.   Hope Im not.

 

[goldfishwars]

13. Dallas Cowboys

 

This Class In One Sentence:

A ‘yes, but’ for a few of these selections by a franchise which lives year to year and tells everyone too much and is somehow much better at this insane process than seems possible

Pre-Draft Needs

G, WR, EDGE, LB, OT 

Selections

Round 1. 24. Tyler Smith  | OT | Tulsa

Round 2. 56. Sam Williams  | DE | Ole Miss

Round 3. 88. Jalen Tolbert  | WR | South Alabama

Round 4. 129. Jake Ferguson  | TE | Wisconsin

Round 5. 155. Matt Waletzko  | OT | North Dakota

Round 5. 167. DaRon Bland  | CB | Fresno State

Round 5. 176. Damone Clark  | LB | LSU

Round 5. 178. John Ridgeway  | DT | Arkansas

Round 6. 193. Devin Harper  | LB | Oklahoma State

 

What I liked:

There’s a lot to like about the day one and two selections, even if the players chosen lack the immediate starter sheen Dallas might want them to have. Whether Tyler Smith was chosen to fill in at guard or tackle, he is a talented and incredibly powerful run blocker who can help get this team going on the ground. Sam Williams is a high-level edge prospect with a lack of refinement, but an athletic profile which hints at much more to come. Jalen Tolbert feels like a steal in the third round, a deep ball master who was taken after inferior prospects ahead of him. 

I do think the day three moves feature some really intriguing selections. Matt Waletzko impressed at the Senior Bowl, he needs to get stronger, but he's a highly athletic, almost rare mover. I like him. DaRon Bland is a super physical defensive back. Damone Clark has to overcome a gruesome surgical procedure on his spine – but has a lot of talent at linebacker if he can return to full health. John Ridgeway is bull-strong on the interior, that's a great landing spot for him also. 

Extreme side-note, but I do enjoy Jerry’s draft antics every year and this year’s war room and big-board waving press conference were winners. Isn't it nuts that we just accept this as normal? It's glorious. Their draft set-up resembled a Bond villain’s cave and featured an ever growing number of identikit Jones’s of varying ages wandering around - looking lost and confused and generally happy.

What I didn’t like:

Tyler Smith is the first prospect from Tulsa to go in round 1 and also the first to be called for holding on his way to the podium. Seriously, he really does need to learn how to take a pass-set without wrapping his arms around his opposite number. If the Cowboys were looking for plug and play here, I’m not sure he is that. Sam Williams has the off-field incident on his record, and it is an incredibly serious one. It’s something he and Dallas will continue to answer for and he would have absolutely been off the board completely for many teams.

Jake Ferguson is fine, but offers little more than the middling tight end play the Cowboys have had to put-up with over the past few seasons. Better players at his position were selected after him. Also, how long was he playing college ball? It feels like he was at Wisconsin for 100 years. 

Mike McCarthy was a super unusual presence on the edge of screen in the draft room, not being acknowledged in any meaningful way by those around him. He was just a visual reminder to non-Dallas fans that ‘oh yeah, old bloaty-head is the head coach of Dallas’ because somehow it’s super easy to forget that happened. And it's still happening. And he looks weirder in a suit than any man in human history. What is going on there? It was like his own clothing is trying to throttle him.

Edited May 7, 2022 by goldfishwars

[Hunter2_1]

You’re much higher on Dallas than ‘most’. Seen plenty of videos or clips from the usual suspects putting them down with NE this year 

 I loved their rounds 4 and 5. I would bet they got some starters there

Edited May 7, 2022 by Hunter2_1

[goldfishwars]

12. Pittsburgh Steelers

 

This Class In One Sentence:

One of the quieter operators, Colbert exits the league with a very decent last stab to re-stack the roster

Pre-Draft Needs

QB, OT, WR, S, CB 

Selections

Round 1. 20. Kenny Pickett  | QB | Pittsburgh

Round 2. 52. George Pickens  | WR | Georgia

Round 3. 84. DeMarvin Leal  | DE | Texas A&M

Round 4. 138. Calvin Austin  | WR | Memphis

Round 6. 208. Connor Heyward  | FB | Michigan State

Round 7. 225. Mark Robinson  | LB | Ole Miss

Round 7. 241. Chris Oladokun  | QB | South Dakota State

What I liked:

Parking the quarterback for now, the Steelers drafted some good players. Pickens, Leal and Calvin Austin are all talented enough to contribute to the football team this season. And I love me some George Pickens, he's long, tough and a real jerk on the field. What's more, he's better than every receiver taken before him in that second round. What's even more, he's just perfect in Pittsburgh. 

Leal is nice in the third and a great fit on that defensive line. He's a powerful interior defender, someone who had tweener size concerns and a questionable work ethic. Well, he landed in a good spot to address both of those issues.  Taking a pair of speedy receivers to grow with a new QB is a smart move, with Pickens the physical straight line operator and Austin the lightning slot who can play a bit of scatback. I love it. I love that they are giving their new signal-man a pair of buddies to grow with. Pittsburgh needed to re-stack that receiver room and now it's a young, diverse and hungry group. 

Unparking the quarterback - Pickett himself is a great story, coming off a huge year and landing back at home. He's got a good feel for the game, he's accurate, he can make things happen on the move and scramble with the best of them. Getting a potential franchise QB without panicking to do that at 20, great. Not that Colbert was going to do that, I'm certain he viewed draft trades as a form of witchcraft.

Whilst Pickett isn't quite talented enough to elevate the players around him, he's capable enough to hang in the league for a while and, crucially, he’s landed in a phenomenally stable spot for him. This has been the most patient franchise in the league, loyal to a fault. Mason Rudolph is still here. They will give him every chance to succeed.

What I didn’t like:

I do worry the Pickett selection is a better story than the pick itself. He perhaps wouldn’t have been a first round pick in a better QB class, and where his hometown team weren't looking for one. He panics a little too much when pressured. And look, the small hands issue isn’t overblown – he’s fumbled the ball a bit in college. It’ll be an issue again, in inclement weather, even when it’s not his fault. It’ll come up all the time. Some asthmatic nerd from Rotoworld will mock him relentlessly for it. We’ll never let that narrative die unless he’s consistently perfect. Poor guy.

Pragmatically looking at other areas of need - no defensive back picks, no injection of fresh bodies for a offensive line in flux. That was a surprise and might hurt the team in 2022, but you can’t fix everything.

Edited May 7, 2022 by goldfishwars

[onejayhawk]

That's about right for Dallas. They had close to the standard issue for picks and they did solid but unspectaacular work with it. That there are still two NFC East teams to come as we approach the top 10 says a great deal.

Same song, second verse for the Steelers with slightly better picks. There is only one team still to come but it will be a long wait. 

[SteelKing728]

Kenny Pickett will be a better QB than Ben Roethlisberger. Bookmark it.

[Daniel]

Meh. Steelers had good picks after the first, but I still would have had them a few spots lower myself.

Cowboys are about right.

[Matts4313]

6 hours ago, goldfishwars said:

13. Dallas Cowboys

 

This Class In One Sentence:

A ‘yes, but’ for a few of these selections by a franchise which lives year to year and tells everyone too much and is somehow much better at this insane process than seems possible

Pre-Draft Needs

G, WR, EDGE, LB, OT 

Selections

Round 1. 24. Tyler Smith  | OT | Tulsa

Round 2. 56. Sam Williams  | DE | Ole Miss

Round 3. 88. Jalen Tolbert  | WR | South Alabama

Round 4. 129. Jake Ferguson  | TE | Wisconsin

Round 5. 155. Matt Waletzko  | OT | North Dakota

Round 5. 167. DaRon Bland  | CB | Fresno State

Round 5. 176. Damone Clark  | LB | LSU

Round 5. 178. John Ridgeway  | DT | Arkansas

Round 6. 193. Devin Harper  | LB | Oklahoma State

 

What I liked:

There’s a lot to like about the day one and two selections, even if the players chosen lack the immediate starter sheen Dallas might want them to have. Whether Tyler Smith was chosen to fill in at guard or tackle, he is a talented and incredibly powerful run blocker who can help get this team going on the ground. Sam Williams is a high-level edge prospect with a lack of refinement, but an athletic profile which hints at much more to come. Jalen Tolbert feels like a steal in the third round, a deep ball master who was taken after inferior prospects ahead of him. 

I do think the day three moves feature some really intriguing selections. Matt Waletzko impressed at the Senior Bowl, he needs to get stronger, but he's a highly athletic, almost rare mover. I like him. DaRon Bland is a super physical defensive back. Damone Clark has to overcome a gruesome surgical procedure on his spine – but has a lot of talent at linebacker if he can return to full health. John Ridgeway is bull-strong on the interior, that's a great landing spot for him also. 

Extreme side-note, but I do enjoy Jerry’s draft antics every year and this year’s war room and big-board waving press conference were winners. Isn't it nuts that we just accept this as normal? It's glorious. Their draft set-up resembled a Bond villain’s cave and featured an ever growing number of identikit Jones’s of varying ages wandering around - looking lost and confused and generally happy.

What I didn’t like:

Tyler Smith is the first prospect from Tulsa to go in round 1 and also the first to be called for holding on his way to the podium. Seriously, he really does need to learn how to take a pass-set without wrapping his arms around his opposite number. If the Cowboys were looking for plug and play here, I’m not sure he is that. Sam Williams has the off-field incident on his record, and it is an incredibly serious one. It’s something he and Dallas will continue to answer for and he would have absolutely been off the board completely for many teams.

Jake Ferguson is fine, but offers little more than the middling tight end play the Cowboys have had to put-up with over the past few seasons. Better players at his position were selected after him. Also, how long was he playing college ball? It feels like he was at Wisconsin for 100 years. 

Mike McCarthy was a super unusual presence on the edge of screen in the draft room, not being acknowledged in any meaningful way by those around him. He was just a visual reminder to non-Dallas fans that ‘oh yeah, old bloaty-head is the head coach of Dallas’ because somehow it’s super easy to forget that happened. And it's still happening. And he looks weirder in a suit than any man in human history. What is going on there? It was like his own clothing is trying to throttle him.

I feel like this is a fair/solid write up. I would point out that in the NFL, the Packers under McCarthy and Philbin taught legal holding. Their entire blocking "style" was hands outside of the pads - so Smith is already prepped, haha. That said, I am hoping the move to OG helps with the holding penalties. Much less room you have to navigate in the phone booth. 

Sam "De" Williams (he goes by De) was someone Quinn was super duper high on. There were rumors we would have taken him in the 1st, as Quinn has already labeled him "the next Michah Parsons".

Overall I was happy with the draft. Its not sexy in anyway whatsoever, but it was all the boring spots that help you win games. 

6 hours ago, Hunter2_1 said:

You’re much higher on Dallas than ‘most’. Seen plenty of videos or clips from the usual suspects putting them down with NE this year 

 I loved their rounds 4 and 5. I would bet they got some starters there

Blogging the Boys had a "draft grade round up" article that had like 10 different major sites. Almost all of them were in the B range. I think the media thought we did at least pretty decent. That said, I personally trust this front office implicitly when it comes to drafting. There was a study that came out just a week or so ago and it concluded the only team that does better than us are the Ravens (dating back to Ozzie Newsome).