6 Bold Predictions For The 2022 NFL Draft

NFL Draft weekend is one of the most magical times of the year! It’s got everything from excitement and surprise to heartbreak and confusion. Dreams are made as these young, up-and-coming athletes take the next big step in their professional careers and we all wait with bated breath to see what the future holds for them and our favorite clubs. With all the pomp and circumstance also comes rabid speculation. There are a million different mock drafts out there and just as many opinions as to how everything will shake out.

The following are my bold, and perhaps shocking, predictions of things to come in this year’s NFL Draft. Some people may completely agree with me at times. Some might just brush off my takes. Others will think I’ve lost my darn mind. All of those opinions are okay and I encourage discussion. Without further ado, let’s get to my bold NFL Draft predictions!

Check out Zack Patraw’s (President of the NFL Draft Bible on Sports Illustrated) latest mock draft here.

Seattle will trade up to select Malik Willis

Seattle has seven picks in the first two rounds of the next two NFL Drafts (three in 2022 and four in 2023), so they’ve got lots of capital to move around. There are two highly potential trade partners in the Texans and Giants. Both of those teams have many needs to address and could easily move down to accumulate more picks. Seattle, honestly, isn’t that far away from being a contender. Tyler Lockett and DK Metcalf are one of the best duos of receivers in the league and Rashaad Penny finally showed that potential we were all expecting since joining the league. There’s also Noah Fant as a tight end who has been solid to really good in his young career. Their defense was great in 2021, allowing the second-fewest YPC (3.8), the seventh-fewest receiving touchdowns allowed (24) and the seventh most passes defended. It’s not likely they address defense with their first choice. Quarterback is the position of most need for the Seahawks after trading away Russell Wilson to Denver. Willis is the consensus #1 signal-caller entering the league and would compete with Drew Lock for the starting job on day one.

The first selection by Cleveland will be a wide receiver

Cleveland has made a couple of huge moves in the offseason. They acquired Amari Cooper in a trade from Dallas and also brought in and gave big money to DeShaun Watson from Houston. The Browns are planning to compete for a title immediately! Their core of receivers is lacking, however. The departure of Jarvis Landry leaves quite a hole, even in a run-heavy offense. Donovan Peoples-Jones and Anthony Schwartz are fine receivers but neither has materialized as a consistent threat.

The Browns could even look to package up two or three picks to move into the late-first or early second round and add someone like George Pickens or Christian Watson – a bigger-bodied receiver to complement Cooper.

Green Bay’s first selection will NOT be a wide receiver

The Packers are in a bad way when it comes to pass catchers. Davante Adams has reunited with his college quarterback, Derek Carr, and Marquez Valdes-Scantling signed on with Kansas City. They did recently sign Sammy Watkins but outside of a possible offensive explosion in week one, he’s not the answer. The Packers will address the wide receiver position in the Draft, but they have other holes to fill on the defensive side of the ball. which I personally think is a greater need. Devin Lloyd or George Karlaftis makes more sense to me as either of them could fill the role left when Za’Darius Smith signed with Minnesota. There are plenty of pass-catching options in this year’s draft and Green Bay can add a great player with the 28th overall pick or even later.

Houston makes multiple trades to accumulate picks

Due to some questionable choices made by the front office personnel in recent years, the Texans have numerous needs to tackle. There is not one player, or even two or three, that will get Houston back to a stable place in their division. Of their 11 draft picks in the 2022 NFL Draft, they currently have three of the first 37 selections and five of the first 80. With the #3 selection, Kyle Hamilton would be an excellent choice, but imagine the haul they could get for that pick. Teams like Seattle, Philadelphia, and New Orleans have some tasty capital to entice a move down and Houston still has the #13 pick they got from Cleveland in the Watson trade. It would be in the best interests of the team and the fans to scoop up more valuable picks in the early rounds and fill more needs with young talent.

Pittsburgh will not draft a quarterback

Ben Roethlisberger had an amazing career, leading his team to two Super Bowl championships, six Pro Bowl appearances, and was the 2004 rookie of the year with a 13-0 record. He will surely be enshrined in Canton one day. To fill the void, Pittsburgh signed Mitchell Trubisky. While his NFL career hasn’t been as awe-inspiring, he has produced some exciting games in his time as a starting quarterback. The man who backed up Josh Allen in 2021 will get another shot at leading an offense and I believe he has a very good chance to succeed. He’s never been on a roster with so many talented weapons like Chase Claypool, Diontae Johnson, and Najee Harris.

At the very least, Trubisky will run the offense for 2022 and the Steelers will measure his performance before the 2023 Draft comes around. On top of that, there are other pressing needs for the team. The offensive line needs some work and you can’t brush away a lot of the defensive playmakers available this year. Trent McDuffie, Jordan Davis, and Brian Asamoah are just a few players I could see suiting up in black and gold for the next few years.

Minnesota moves up for defense

The Vikings have, infamously, been a team that trades down multiple times on Draft weekend to acquire more picks to find those “diamonds in the rough.” Long-time GM Rick Spielman is gone and Kwesi Adofo-Mensah has taken his place. Adofo-Mensah has been a part of some successful war rooms as he was on staff when the 49ers made the Super Bowl in 2019 and helped get the Browns to their first playoff win in 26 years. If he really wants to make a splash, the draft is the way to do it. Minnesota has multiple needs on the defensive side of the ball, and there are a few elite players they could target early on day one.

If one of the first three selections made in the draft is Ahmed Gardner or Derek Stingley, I could easily see the Vikings jump ahead to grab the other one, it’s arguably their biggest need. They could also go after one of the ferocious edge rushers. I just hope they don’t pull a “Mike Ditka” and mortgage their entire draft for one star-studded player, but I do want them to and think they will be aggressive.

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