The 2022 NFL Draft is nearly upon us. Many teams such as the Jaguars, Lions, and Texans have a lot of immediate needs and will use this draft to begin rebuilding their roster. Other teams like the Buccaneers, Bengals, and Bills are just a piece or two away from seriously competing for the Lombardi trophy and will use this draft as an opportunity to acquire that last piece.

This draft will be an unpredictable one, so let’s begin predicting!

1. Jacksonville Jaguars – Aidan Hutchinson, DE, Michigan
   • The top of this draft features teams that need damn near everything. A lot of teams will be drafted based on who the best player available is more than what their biggest need is. Aidan Hutchinson provides an opportunity for Jacksonville to return to their Sacksonville days.

2. Detroit Lions – Travon Walker, EDGE, Georgia
   • The Lions need a quarterback, but second overall is too high of a pick for them to select one. Their defense leaves a lot to be desired. Walker is a top prospect who can be an immediate contributor.

3. Houston Texans – Ikem Ekwonu, OT, NC State
   • Holy sh*t. The Texans need A LOT. Offensive tackles are absolute cornerstones of franchises, and Ekwonu is arguably the top offensive line prospect in this year’s draft who can play opposite Laremy Tunsil. The Texans have to protect Davis Mills (?) or their offense is doomed.

4. New York Jets – Ahmad Gardner, CB, Cincinnati
   • Sauce! The Jets need a shutdown corner to bring them back to the days of Darrelle Revis. Gardner is arguably the best DB prospect in this draft that can help the Jets compete in a division that is loaded with talented wide receivers.

5. TRADE ALERT – Seattle Seahawks acquire pick from NY Giants (5 and 147 from Giants for 9, 40, and 109) – Malik Willis, QB, Liberty
   • I’ve been saying it for months. A team is going to pay big time for Malik Willis, and Seattle is the team most likely to do this. After losing Russell Wilson to the Broncos, they need to use their draft capital to acquire their next signal caller. Pete Carroll is not a coach that will settle for a mid-tier QB like Drew Lock. Teams have been giving up a lot in attempts to find their next franchise QB, and Willis has the raw talent that will wow at least one team. Seattle could be that team to make that move.

6. Carolina Panthers – Evan Neal, OT, Alabama
   • Man, do the Panthers need a line. They have talented receivers, and if they’re going to stick with Sam Darnold for the 2022 season, they need to protect him. The Bama prospect is a good fit here.

7. New York Giants – Kayvon Thibodeaux, EDGE, Oregon
   • The Giants have talented defensive players, but it’s anybody’s guess how long they will last in blue. Thibodeaux, who has been one of the top prospects in this year’s draft for quite some time, will help the Giants have an immediate contributor that will ensure their few star players won’t have to shoulder the entire load.

8. Atlanta Falcons – Garrett Wilson, WR, Ohio State
   • Calvin Ridley is suspended. Russell Gage is gone. Cordarrelle Patterson is a running back. All these things lead to one conclusion – the Falcons are about as thin at receiver as any team in the league right now. If they want to give new signal caller Marcus Mariota a chance to succeed, they need to give him targets besides Kyle Pitts. Wilson is a good choice here.

9. TRADE ALERT – New York Giants acquire pick from Seattle Seahawks (9, 40, and 109 from Seahawks for 5 and 147) – Charles Cross, OT, Mississippi State
   • Danny Dimes has decent receivers and has shown flashes of his ability at quarterback, but he needs protection if he wants any chance to be a long term solution. If they want to invest in him, they need to invest in the o-line. Cross is an excellent choice.

10. New York Jets – Drake London, WR, USC
    • A new quarterback needs star targets, and London is a great contested catch receiver with excellent ball skills that can give Zach Wilson more room to grow as a passer.

11. Washington Commanders – Devin Lloyd, LB, Utah
    • At best, the Carson Wentz acquisition will be a transitional one while Washington finds its next long term QB. At worst, it will be hilarious. But either way, Washington has a stopgap veteran passer that allows them to buy time as they rebuild over the next couple years. Lloyd is a solid prospect who can team up with Chase Young, Montez Sweat, and 2021 first round pick Jamin Davis in the front seven.

12. Minnesota Vikings – Derek Stingley, CB, LSU
    • The Vikings gave up the fifth most passing yards in the NFL in 2021, Stingley is a stud corner who can help the Vikings compete in a division in which each team is looking to develop their passing game.

13. Houston Texans – Kyle Hamilton, S, Notre Dame
    • The Texans have so many needs, their best option is to draft the best player available with each of their draft selections. Hamilton is the best safety in the draft and provides an immediate upgrade.

14. Baltimore Ravens – Jermaine Johnson, EDGE, Florida State
    • Johnson is a complete prospect that has seemingly been shooting up draft boards of late. The Ravens need defensive line help in order for them to compete in a division stacked with talented running backs and improving passers.

15. Philadelphia Eagles – George Karlaftis, EDGE, Purdue
    • The Eagles have a big need at the edge position. The players they have now are either aging or underperforming. In a division full of talented running backs, Karlaftis is an upgrade.

16. New Orleans Saints – Chris Olave, WR, Ohio State
    • Michael Thomas was the best receiver in the NFL for approximately five seconds. However, due to aging, injuries, and inconsistency when he was healthy, those days seem to be behind him. The Saints have to improve at receiver to give Lasik Jameis any chance at success. Olave, who shares an alma mater with Michael Thomas, is a wise choice here.

17. Los Angeles Chargers – Trent McDuffie, CB, Washington
    • The Chargers have invested a lot in their defense this offseason with the acquisition of Khalil Mack. With a now formidable front seven, they can look to improve in the secondary. McDuffie seems to be a good fit.

18. Philadelphia Eagles – Nakobe Dean, LB, Georgia
    • Assuming the Eagles improve their defensive line with pick 15, they could look to get deeper at the linebacker position as well. Dean has been projected as a solid mid-first round selection for a while, and they will look to improve the front seven with the selection of Dean.

19. TRADE ALERT – Green Bay Packers acquire pick from New Orleans Saints (19 and 161 for 22, 92, 132, and 140) – Jameson Williams, WR, Alabama
    • The Packers just invested 200 million over the next four years to keep every scientologist’s favorite quarterback, Aaron Rodgers, happy. In the process, they lost Davante Adams, one of the best receivers in the league, and Marquez Valdes-Scantling, an underrated deep threat. In order to get ANY return on investment with that contract, targets are desperately needed. Unless the Packers do god knows what, they will look to trade up and upgrade at receiver. Williams, the best deep threat in the draft, can provide a good target for Rodgers.

20. Pittsburgh Steelers – Trevor Penning, OT, Northern Iowa
    • The Steelers have found their transitional quarterback in Mitch “I Love To Kiss Tittiess” Trubisky, who is better than he is given credit for. They have decent targets in Diontae Johnson, Chase Claypool, and Pat Freiermuth. They just need to gift Trubisky with protection. Penning, an athletic freak, will be an upgrade in a division full of elite pass rushers.

21. New England Patriots – Andrew Booth Jr., CB, Clemson
    • The Patriots have a pressing need at cornerback heading into the 2022 draft, especially in a division with Stefon Diggs, Tyreek Hill, and Jaylen Waddle. Booth is not quite Sauce or Stingley, but he is solid.

22. TRADE ALERT – New Orleans Saints acquire pick from Green Bay Packers (22, 92, 132, and 140 for 19 and 161) – Kenny Pickett, QB, Pittsburgh
    • Jameis Winston will seemingly be a transitional quarterback for the remainder of his career and is too unpredictable, especially as an Uber passenger, to be a long-term QB solution. Pickett has a high floor and will be a solid selection for the Saints.

23. Arizona Cardinals – Jordan Davis, DI, Georgia
    • Jordan Davis is an athletically gifted and fast defensive tackle who has the ability to be selected higher. But for now, he falls to the Cardinals at 23.

24. Dallas Cowboys – Bernhard Raimann, OT, Central Michigan
    • The Cowboys need to make up for the loss of La’el Collins. In order to give the talented skill position players the best chance to succeed, they need to make their o-line elite like it has been in the past. Raimann is a good pick.

25. Buffalo Bills – Treylon Burks, WR, Arkansas
    • The losses of Cole Beasley and Emmanuel Sanders mean the Bills are thin at receiver. Stefon Diggs is a top receiver and Gabriel Davis is arguably the most underrated receiver in the league, but after that, there is a lot to be desired. Burks is a vertical threat that could thrive with Josh Allen.

26. Tennessee Titans – Jahan Dotson, WR, Penn State
    • Outside of AJ Brown, Ryan Tannehill barely has anybody to throw to. After the Julio Jones signing amounted to next to nothing, they need to start from scratch. Dotson is a good choice here.

27. Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Zion Johnson, OG, Boston College
    • The loss of Alex Cappa to Cincinnati will hurt unless they replace him. Brady, who will play until he’s 70, needs protection, and Cappa needs to be replaced. They should look to do so here by acquiring the best guard in the draft.

28. Green Bay Packers – Tyler Linderbaum, C, Iowa
    • The Packers are likely to invest in a receiver with their first pick in the first round. Now, they need to invest in their offensive line. Linderbaum is the best center in this year’s draft. The Packers should go with the top center prospect in the draft here.

29. Kansas City Chiefs – Devonte Wyatt, DI, Georgia
    • With two straight first round picks, the Chiefs can address both sides of the ball here. Wyatt is the best player available, the Chiefs have a need on the defensive side of the ball, and he would be a very solid choice with their first of two straight picks.

30. Kansas City Chiefs – George Pickens, WR, Georgia
    • Tyreek Hill wanted a salary that would give him the ability to outbid Elon Musk for the right to buy Twitter. In response, they settled for the more affordable JuJu Smith-Schuster in an attempt to give Patrick Mahomes a replacement target and to make Jackson Mahomes’ TikTok videos ten times as annoying. JuJu is at his best when he has a receiver ahead of him on the depth chart, so the Chiefs should look to attempt to fill that spot ahead of him by drafting a receiver with one of their two first round selections.

31. Cincinnati Bengals – Kaiir Elam, CB, Florida
    • The 2021 Bengals’ offensive line can charitably be described as “Yikes”. In response, they went out and signed three starting caliber offensive linemen that will ensure Joe Burrow won’t be on the ground with birds circling above his head as much as he was last year. With this, they can use mid round selections on linemen and address another need: cornerback. Elam is the best corner available at this point, and the Bengals would be wise to use the selection on him.

32. Detroit Lions – Matt Corral, QB, Ole Miss
    • It was once said by Defector reader Jon that Jared Goff is “the system-est system quarterback to ever system at quarterback”. He was lackluster in 2021, and the Lions need to find his successor. If the Lions even want a chance over the next five years, they need to take a quarterback that can give Amon-Ra St. Brown and newcomer DJ Chark a chance to thrive. Corral is a wise choice here.