The 2022 NFL Draft is over, and over 250 prospects found new homes over three days. Teams filled major needs while also drafting depth for the upcoming years.
It may be unfair to grade drafts as soon as they happen. After all, we will need to see players actually play to properly evaluate them at the NFL level. However, this is a great chance to project success based on who was drafted and where they are going. NFL teams made informed decisions, and we can make informed assumptions.
So, who were the biggest winners and losers of the 2022 NFL Draft? Here’s a good place to start.
Winner: Philadelphia Eagles
The Eagles were winners on Day 1, but they followed it up with seven rounds of quality drafting and maneuvering. The best move of the entire draft was Philly trading for A.J. Brown without giving up multiple first-round picks. Philadelphia realized its weakness in drafting receivers, so they fixed it by simply trading for one of the best young players in the NFL.
In terms of actual rookies, Philadelphia also drafted Jordan Davis to play alongside Fletcher Cox. Cam Jurgens will inevitably replace Kelce at the center. These moves are going to make the Eagles better in 2022 and beyond.
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Drafting Nakobe Dean might be the best move in the entire draft. Dean is a first-round talent with injury concerns. If he gets healthy, he will be the focal point of this defense. The Eagles refused to draft linebackers in the first round, so adding someone this talented could be incredibly valuable in the future.
My favorite part of this draft is that Philly still has two first-round picks for next year. They got significantly better, and they can either build around Hurts or replace him next season.
Loser: New England Patriots
If any other team had this draft class, they would be roasted into oblivion. The only reason people aren’t attacking this draft is because of the Patriot way.
Will this class pan out? Potentially. However, there is no doubt that every pick in the class is an overdraft. The Patriots could have either taken higher-rated players or traded back to gain future capital.
I’m not saying that this is a bad group of players. Obviously, the Patriots know more about running a franchise than I do. Still, I can confidently say that these players were taken higher than any team had them graded.
Winner: Baltimore Ravens
The Ravens simply know how to draft. They manipulate draft capital better than almost any team in the NFL. In this class, they got the two most talented players on paper. Kyle Hamilton and Tyler Linderbaum are elite players, but they fell down draft boards because of draft value.
Adding David Ojabo on Day 2 was a steal, and some thought Travis Jones was a Day 1 prospect. These four players will be key contributors for the next four years. The Ravens also won the Hollywood Brown trade. As long as they sign a receiver in free agency, this is a massive win for the Ravens.
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No one was a reach in this class. They even added quality depth with Jalyn Armour-Davis to replace Anthony Averett. Considering the fact that Baltimore did not enter the night with a ton of draft capital, they left with a significantly better roster.
Loser: Pittsburgh Steelers
The Steelers didn’t specifically have a bad draft, but seeing how the quarterbacks fell made their first-round NFL pick of Kenny Pickett unforgivable. They could have drafted Malik Willis in the third round, but they instead took a player with less upside with a premium pick. There is now pressure on Pickett to succeed, and the likelihood of this panning out is low.
They helped their class by drafting George Pickens in the second round. Honestly, this class would feel stronger if they had simply drafted Pickens in the first and Pickett in the second. Still, taking a quarterback in the first round was not smart this year.
Loser: Ryan Tannehill
I wanted to include one loser, and it had to be Tannehill. To recap, the Titans traded away his best receiver and replaced him with Treylon Burks. They cut Julio Jones already, so the only proven receiver in the room is Robert Woods, who is coming off of an injury.
To add insult to injury, the Titans drafted Malik Willis on Day 2. With Tannehill’s contract, there is now pressure for him to improve despite the lack of talent on the roster. This team got significantly worse, and they are officially planning for life after Tannehill.
The Titans are +140 to win their division, and the pressure is going to be on in Nashville.
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