2022 NFL Draft Rankings - Early Look

The 2021 NFL draft begins on Thursday, but many are already looking with excitement to the 2022 draft. And rightfully so. Next year’s draft class could be the deepest draft ever, as hundreds of solid prospects opted to return to school thanks to the NCAA’s extra year of eligibility.

At the time of writing this 2022 seems to be elite at tight end and defensive end, with solid groups at quarterback, corner, running back, and wide receiver.

Obviously a lot will change between now and the draft. A lot will change even between now and the beginning of next season, as a lot of prospects haven’t been significantly scouted just yet.

This list is in a general order, but I didn’t stress too much on the exact rankings, I simply wanted to get a list of names that I was comfortable with. Remember that every player on this list is a good player. Being last in your position group doesn’t mean a player’s bad, it means they made it into the top group of prospects, albeit narrowly.

Use the links below to jump to a particular position.

QB | WR | RB | FB | TE | OT | G | C | DT | DE | LB | S | CB | K/P | LS

Quarterback

This is looking like a pretty deep quarterback class, but we’re not yet sure if anyone is good enough to go #1 overall. Our current 2022 QB draft class watch list is as follows:

Sam Howell, UNC
Spencer Rattler, Oklahoma
Carson Strong, Nevada
Matt Corral, Ole Miss
Kedon Slovis, USC
Desmond Ridder, Cincinnati
Kenny Pickett, Pittsburgh
JT Daniels, Georgia
Malik Willis, Liberty
Michael Penix, Indiana
Phil Jurkovec, Boston College
Brock Purdy, Iowa State
D’Eriq King, Miami (FL)
Dustin Crum, Kent State
Tyler Shough, Texas Tech
Dylan Gabriel, UCF
Tanner Morgan, Minnesota
Jake Bentley, Utah

Wide Receiver

A few stud receivers are returning to college, but it’s not quite as star filled as the last two years. Our current 2022 draft WR watch list is as follows:

Garrett Wilson, Ohio State
George Pickens, Georgia
Justyn Ross, Clemson
Chris Olave, Ohio State
Treylon Burks, Arkansas
Jahan Dotson, Penn State
John Metchie III, Alabama
Khalil Shakir, Boise State
Romeo Doubs, Nevada
David Bell, Purdue
Jadon Haselwood, Oklahoma
Ty Fryfogle, Indiana
Calvin Austin III, Memphis
Frank Ladson, Clemson
Dontay Demus Jr., Maryland
Justin Shorter, Florida
Jaquarii Roberson, Wake Forest
Jalen Tolbert, South Alabama
Charleston Rambo, Miami

Running Back

I’m expecting big play out of some of these running backs, and there are a lot of BIG guys. Our 2022 running back watch list includes:

Breece Hall, Iowa State
Isaiah Spiller, Texas A&M
Zamir White, Georgia
Brian Robinson, Alabama
Jerrion Ealy, Ole Miss
Kennedy Brooks, Oklahoma
Master Teague, Ohio State
TY Chandler, UNC
Keontay Ingram, Texas
James Cook, Georgia
Kevin Harris, South Carolina
Mo Ibrahim, Minnesota
Raheem Blackshear, Virginia Tech
Tyler Allgeier, BYU
Lyn-J Dixon, Clemson
Re’Mahn Davis, Temple
Jatarvious Whitlow, Auburn
Charles Williams, UNLV
Sincere McCormick, UTSA

Fullback

We haven’t scouted many fullbacks at this point, but here are a few who have jumped out so far:

Sean Dykes, Memphis
Jeremiah Hall, Oklahoma
Clay Moss, Weber State
Jack Colletto, Oregon State
Connor Heyward, Michigan State

Tight End

Several very talented tight ends decided to return to school last season, making this the most talented tight end class I’ve seen. Our 2022 draft tight end watch list currently includes:

Charlie Kolar, Iowa State
Jalen Wydermyer, Texas A&M
Jeremy Ruckert, Ohio State
Josh Whyle, Cincinnati
Trey McBride, Colorado State
Cade Otton, Washington
Austin Stogner, Oklahoma
Isaiah Likely, Coastal Carolina
Jake Ferguson, Wisconsin
Chase Allen, Iowa State
Peyton Hendershot, Indiana
James Mitchell, Virginia Tech
Greg Dulcich, UCLA
Brant Kuithe, Utah
Nick Muse, South Carolina
Braden Galloway, Clemson

Offensive Tackle

Outside of the top 2, there are too many big name tackles currently in college football. I guarantee these rankings will see some major changes as the college football season gets underway, but for now our 2022 OT watch list includes:

Evan Neal, Alabama
Thayer Munford, Ohio State
Charles Cross, Mississippi State
Nick Broeker, Ole Miss
Jamaree Salyer, Georgia
Zion Nelson, Miami
Rasheed Walker, Penn State
Nicholas Petit-Frere, Ohio State
Daniel Faalele, Minnesota
Jaxson Kirkland, Washington
Austin Deculus, LSU
Logan Brown, Wisconsin
Myron Cunningham, Arkansas
Jaelyn Duncan, Maryland
Abraham Lucas, Washington State
Josh Lugg, Notre Dame

Guard

There were a few guards who really caught my eye while scouting their teammates, and I’m feeling decent about this list. It could be a fairly deep position group at this time next year. Our top guard prospects in the 2022 draft class include:

Kenyon Green, Texas A&M
Ikem Ekwonu, NC State
Zion Johnson, Boston College
Cade Mays, Tennessee
Darian Kinnard, Kentucky
Ed Ingram, LSU
Cain Madden, Notre Dame
Wanya Morris, Oklahoma
Josh Sills, Oklahoma State
Emil Ekiyor, Alabama
Jordan McFadden, Clemson
Paul Grattan, UCLA
Scott Lashley, Mississippi State
Blaise Andries, Minnesota

Center

There wasn’t a lot of depth at center in 2021, but 2022 is looking better with several returning studs. Our current 2022 center prospect watch list includes:

Tyler Linderbaum, Iowa
Alec Lindstrom, Boston College
Jarrett Patterson, Notre Dame
Ben Brown, Ole Miss
Nick Ford, Utah
Colin Newell, Iowa State
James Empey, BYU
Doug Kramer, Illinois
Luke Wattenberg, Washington

Defensive Tackle

The big boys of the defense are poised for a big season in 2021 as they prepare for the 2022 draft. Our 2022 defensive tackle rankings are:

DeMarvin Leal, Texas A&M
Jordan Davis, Georgia
Perrion Winfrey, Oklahoma
Tyler Davis, Clemson
Haskell Garrett, Ohio State
Travon Walker, Georgia
Phidarian Mathis, Alabama
Thomas Booker, Stanford
Chris Hinton, Michigan
Eyioma Uwazurike, Iowa State
Zacch Pickens, South Carolina
DJ Dale, Alabama
Devonte Wyatt, Georgia
Dion Novil, North Texas
Travis Jones, UConn
Neil Farrell Jr., LSU
Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa, Notre Dame
Demetrius Taylor, Appalachian State

Defensive End

Behind QB, defensive end is probably the most sought after position in football. A lot of prospects currently look to have the frame and talent to play on Sundays, and our 2022 defensive end rankings include:

Kayvon Thibodeaux, Oregon
Aidan Hutchinson, Michigan
George Karlaftis, Purdue
Drake Jackson, USC
Zach Harrison, Ohio State
Brenton Cox, Florida
Kingsley Enagbare, South Carolina
Xavier Thomas, Clemson
Tyreke Smith, Ohio State
Myjai Sanders, Cincinnati
Boye Mafe, Minnesota
Merlin Robertson, Arizona State
Ochaun Mathis, TCU
Owen Carney, Illinois
Will McDonald IV, Iowa State
Trajan Jeffcoat, Missouri

Linebacker

I decided to consolidate linebacker into 1 position for the purpose of this post, making it a pretty large list of players. The “way-too-early” top linebackers in the 2022 draft class are:

Christian Harris, Alabama
Nik Bonitto, Oklahoma
Nolan Smith, Georgia
Devin Lloyd, Utah
Ventrell Miller, Florida
Adam Anderson, Georgia
Mike Jones, LSU
Owen Pappoe, Auburn
Nate Landman, Colorado
Henry To’oto’o, Alabama
Keony Deng, Cal
Payron Wilson, NC State
Mike Rose, Iowa State
Sam Williams, Ole Miss
Damone Clark, LSU
Channing Tindall, Georgia
Lakia Henry, Ole Miss
Amari Gainer, Florida State
DeAngelo Malone, Western Kentucky
DeMarvion Overshown, Texas
Jack Sanborn, Wisconsin
Micah McFadden, Indiana
D’Marco Jackson, Appalachian State
Marcelino McCray-Ball, Indiana
Brandon Martin, Ball State
Durrell Johnson, Liberty

Safety

A lot of safeties decided to enter the 2021 draft early, but the position tends to be very deep so it shouldn’t hurt the class too much. A couple stars lead the way at the top, leading to a decent group of 2022 draft safety prospects:

Kyle Hamilton, Notre Dame
Brandon Joseph, Northwestern
Jordan Battle, Alabama
Bubba Bolden, Miami
Tykee Smith, West Virginia
Tre Sterling, Oklahoma State
Jaquan Brisker, Penn State
Demani Richardson, Texas A&M
Marcus Hooker, Ohio State
Smoke Monday, Auburn
Reed Blankenship, Mid Tenn State
Kolby Harvell-Peel, OK State
Jalen Green, Mississippi State
Leon O’Neal, Texas A&M
Greg Eisworth, Iowa State
Tycen Anderson, Toledo
Christian Izien, Rutgers

Cornerback

Coaches love a deep corner class, and this one won’t disappoint. The best cornerback prospects in the 2022 NFL draft are:

Derek Stingley, LSU
Ahmad Gardner, Cincinnati
Kaiir Elam, Florida
Derion Kendrick, Georgia
Andrew Booth, Clemson
Sevyn Banks, Ohio State
Josh Jobe, Alabama
Trey Dean III, Florida
Trent McDuffie, Washington
Mykael Wright, Oregon
Roger McCreary, Auburn
Chris Steele, USC
Josh Thompson, Texas
Sheridan Jones, Clemson
Tiawan Mullen, Indiana
Myles Jones, Texas A&M
Shaun Jolly, Appalachian State
Evan Fields, Arizona State
Damarri Mathis, Pitt
Chase Lucas, Arizona State
Tariq Castro-Fields, Penn State
Coby Bryant, Cincinnati

Kicker / Punter

Many of the best kickers in college football are underclassmen, and the chance they enter the draft is relatively low. We mixed the kickers and punters together in order to have a more interesting list to look at. The top kickers in the 2022 NFL draft are:

Cade York, LSU (K)
Jake Oldroyd, BYU (K)
Jake Camarda, Georgia (P)
Andre Szmyt, Syracuse (K)
Adam Korsak, Rutgers (P)
Anders Carlson, Auburn (K)
Will Reichard, Alabama (K)
Lou Hedley, Miami (P)
Lucas Dean, UTSA (P)

Long Snapper

Don’t disrespect the long snappers. Here is my first look at the best long snappers in the 2022 NFL draft:

Cal Adomitis, Pittsburgh
Damon Johnson, USC
Cameron Kaye, Troy
Erik Dickerson, Arizona State
Billy Taylor, Rutgers
John Taylor, Duke
Keegan Markgraf, Utah

Again, these rankings will change a lot over the next year, and there’s likely a few future first round picks who aren’t even in these rankings at the moment. That’s just the nature of the draft.

Be sure to check back in future months to see updated rankings after we’ve had more time to scout all of the best 2022 NFL draft prospects!

Feel free to leave a comment below if you have anyone you think should be added to the list. Remember to keep it to people who are eligible to enter the draft at season’s end.