262 players heard their names called over the past few days, and now it’s time to look at the best undrafted players from the 2022 NFL Draft class.
Every year a number of players slip through the cracks and end up having productive NFL careers despite going undrafted.
With all the depth in this year’s draft class, you should expect the same trend for this year.
Keep in mind everyone on this list is a solid player who deserves to be a free agent signing from an NFL team. Many other players not on this list will also be signed to a 90-man roster.
For my complete 3000 prospect rankings, visit bnbfootball.com/database.
Here are the top ranked prospects who went undrafted this year, by position:
Quarterback
- Carson Strong, Nevada
- Cole Kelley, SE Louisiana
- Jack Coan, Notre Dame
- Kaleb Eleby, Western Michigan
- EJ Perry, Brown
- Bryce Witt, Chowan
- Dustin Crum, Kent State
- Chase Garbers, California
- Anthony Brown, Oregon
It was an odd selection of QBs drafted, with Brock Purdy finishing things off as Mr. Irrelevant.
In undrafted free agency all eyes turn to Carson Strong.
He was undrafted due primarily to a medical red flag, which was publicly known prior to the draft. He’s had multiple knee surgeries and significant knee swelling in between his surgeries, which isn’t a good combination with his already minimal mobility. Teams clearly weren’t comfortable with it, but it was a shock to see him so undrafted.
I was also surprised no one took a shot on Cole Kelley or Jack Coan, who have plenty of upside as bigger quarterbacks.
Wide Receiver
- Justyn Ross, Clemson
- Kevin Austin, Notre Dame
- Isaiah Weston, Northern Iowa
- Dontario Drummond, Ole Miss
- Reggie Roberson, SMU
- Ty Fryfogle, Indiana
- Jaivon Heiligh, Coastal Carolina
- Tay Martin, Oklahoma State
- Tanner Conner, Idaho State
- Jaquarii Roberson, Wake Forest
- Dai’Jean Dixon, Nicholls State
- Braylon Sanders, Ole Miss
- Charleston Rambo, Miami (FL)
- Jequez Ezzard, Sam Houston State
- Tre Turner, Virginia Tech
- Calvin Turner, Hawaii
Justyn Ross is another player with a known medical red flag, having had a major spinal surgery a couple years ago. After returning this past year he was still good, but didn’t look nearly as explosive as he did to start his career. Teams were likely scared off by the injuries.
Kevin Austin is a great blocking receiver, and Isaiah Weston is a freak athlete.
While Weston wasn’t my highest graded undrafted receiver, he was the biggest surprise to go undrafted at WR for me.
Running Back
- Jerrion Ealy, Ole Miss
- D’Vonte Price, Florida International
- Abram Smith, Baylor
- Ronnie Rivers, Fresno State
- Tyler Goodson, Iowa
- Zonovan Knight, NC State
- Kennedy Brooks, Oklahoma
- Max Borghi, Washington State
- Bryant Koback, Toledo
- Jashaun Corbin, Florida State
- TJ Pledger, Utah
- Jaylen Warren, Oklahoma State
- Master Teague, Ohio State
Jerrion Ealy is my top undrafted running back. The former 5 star recruit was a 3 year contributor for Ole Miss, showing a diverse skillset and decent athleticism despite being on the small side (5’8″ 190).
Abram Smith is also interesting. The former linebacker ran for over 1600 yards for Baylor this past year on 6.2 yards per carry. His teammate Trestan Ebner was drafted, having ran for 799 yards. To be fair, Ebner was also a great return specialist and much better receiver out of the backfield.
I wouldn’t necessarily say I’m surprised any of these guys went undrafted, but I also wouldn’t have been surprised to see any of them get drafted.
Tight End / Fullback
- Lucas Krull, Pittsburgh
- Chase Allen, Iowa State
- Austin Allen, Nebraska
- Peyton Hendershot, Indiana
- Brett Borske, Western Michigan
- Jalen Wydermyer, Texas A&M
- Josh Babicz, North Dakota State
- Clint Ratkovich, Northern Illinois
- Jeremiah Hall, Oklahoma
Lucas Krull of Pitt is a big tight end at 6’6″ 255 pounds, and showed great athletic testing numbers at his pro day. He was also quite productive for Kenny Pickett, totaling 451 yards and 6 touchdowns this past season.
Chase Allen and Austin Allen (no relation) are tall, long tight ends who were incredibly productive this past year.
Wydermyer was a big name prospect to stop the year, but completely fell off the board after a horrible pro day and interviews.
Finally, Clint Ratkovich was my top undrafted fullback. Not much of a surprise considering he suffered a season ending knee injury at a Packers’ camp in the past month.
Offensive Tackle
- Kellen Diesch, Arizona State
- Dare Rosenthal, Kentucky
- Ryan Van Demark, Connecticut
- Devin Cochran, Georgia Tech
- Obinna Eze, TCU
- Jean Delance, Florida
- Jahmir Johnson, Texas A&M
- Caleb Jones, Indiana
- Jordan Tucker, North Carolina
I was very surprise to see Diesch go undrafted. I had a 4th round grade on him. The problem is just the classic “where do you play him?”
He’s an incredible athlete for his size, but has extremely short arms for the tackle position. He also doesn’t have nearly enough play strength to kick inside.
I figured the quick feet would compensate enough for the lack of length to make him a day 3 pick, but the NFL disagreed.
Rosenthal, Van Demark, and Cochran are also traits-heavy players with a lot to offer as priority free agents.
Interior Offensive Line
- Dohnovan West, Arizona State (C)
- Blaise Andries, Minnesota (G/T)
- Alec Lindstrom, Boston College (C)
- Ben Brown, Ole Miss (C)
- Nick Ford, Utah (C/G)
- Hayden Howerton, SMU (G)
- Kevin Jarvis, Michigan State (G)
- James Empey, BYU (C)
- Shamarious Gilmore, Georgia State (G)
- Josh Sills, Oklahoma State (G)
There were two key surprises to me at the interior offensive line spots, one center and one guard.
Dohnovan West tested poorly, but he has some great tape at center. His improvement after initially moving to center has been great, and he has the play strength to be an effective NFL guard.
Blaise Andries was one of my sleepers, and he’s one of the most versatile players in the draft. An above average athlete with good length for an interior offensive lineman, incredible versatility, tons of experience, and a very high football IQ, I figured at least 1 team would fall in love with him around the 5th round. He likely fell victim to the “no singular elite trait” problem.
Lindstrom was an All-American caliber center at Boston College, and likely faced the same problem as Andries, just lacking a particular calling card.
Interior Defensive Line
- Haskell Garrett, Ohio State
- Chris Hinton, Michigan
- Jayden Peevy, Texas A&M
- Trevon Mason, Arizona
- Ben Stille, Nebraska
- Dion Novil, North Texas
- LaBryan Ray, Alabama
- Tariqious Tisdale, Ole Miss
- Ralph Holley, Western Michigan
- Demetrius Taylor, Appalachian State
- Marquan McCall, Kentucky
There were a few noteworthy surprises here.
Haskell Garrett was a big name and key leader for the Buckeyes’ defense, he just didn’t have the stats or testing numbers to match the hype. I had him as a 5th-6th round grade, but I’m not necessarily shocked to see him go undrafted.
Hinton is another former 5 star recruit who entered the draft early despite not producing too much at Michigan. Still, I figured the traits could push him to a 7th round pick.
I’ll also mention Tariqious Tisdale. While I wasn’t a big fan of him, NFL teams like to use their 6th and 7th round picks on guys who have at least one elite trait. For Tisdale, that’s his speed. He was the fastest defensive tackle in the entire class, running a 4.64 at 285 pounds.
Edge Rusher
- Owen Carney, Illinois
- Deshaan Dixon, Norfolk State
- Charles Wiley, UTSA
- Tyler Johnson, Arizona State
- Jeremiah Moon, Florida
- Scott Patchan, Colorado State
- Tomon Fox, North Carolina
- Big Kat Bryant, UCF
- Arron Mosby, Fresno State
- Ryder Anderson, Indiana
- Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa, Notre Dame
- Mika Tafua, Utah
- Zach VanValkenburg, Iowa
- Tyree Johnson, Texas A&M
- Ali Fayad, Western Michigan
I wasn’t particularly surprised about any of these guys going undrafted. That being said, I think Carney, Dixon, and Wiley are lesser known guys who can find a role in the NFL.
Carney looks the part immediately, with a raw game but great power.
Dixon has good quickness and bend around the edge, and played great at the HBCU legacy bowl.
Then Charles Wiley put up some big time testing numbers at his pro day, running a 4.53 at 250 pounds.
Anyone on the list above has enough traits to find a spot on a practice squad next year.
Linebacker
- Aaron Hansford, Texas A&M
- Carson Wells, Colorado
- JoJo Domann, Nebraska
- Mike Rose, Iowa State
- Darien Butler, Arizona State
- Jack Sanborn, Wisconsin
- Christopher Allen, Alabama
- Clarence Hicks, UTSA
- Diego Fagot, Navy
- Jeremiah Gemmel, North Carolina
- Nephi Sewell, Utah
- James Skalski, Clemson
- Silas Kelly, Coastal Carolina
- Kana’i Mauga, USC
- Luke Masterson, Wake Forest
- Zakoby McClain, Auburn
While Hansford had some inconsistent tape and slow change of direction, I liked his play strength and improving coverage ability. I gave him a late 5th round grade, and could see him making a 53-man roster in his career.
Carson Wells can be a true linebacker or an EDGE rusher, and was insanely productive especially in 2020, with when he totaled 16 tackles for loss in 6 games for a PAC12 school.
Then JoJo Domann was a well known defender who played all over the place for Nebraska, but clearly just didn’t show enough as a true linebacker for any team to grab him.
Safety
- Verone McKinley, Oregon
- Bubba Bolden, Miami (FL)
- Markquese Bell, Florida A&M
- Kolby Harvell-Peel, Oklahoma State
- Juanyeh Thomas, Georgia Tech
- Leon O’Neal, Texas A&M
- Reed Blankenship, Mid Tenn State
- Joey Blount, Virginia
- Smoke Monday, Auburn
- Nolan Turner, Clemson
- Scott Nelson, Wisconsin
- Brad Hawkins, Michigan
Verone McKinley was one of the absolute biggest surprises to go undrafted. He’s a smaller safety who didn’t test well, but he was one of the most productive players in college football this past year. The All-American totaled 6 interceptions, 6 more pass break ups, and 77 tackles for Oregon in 2021.
Bubba Bolden is a former 5 star recruit with good size and decent traits, while Markquese Bell is one of the best tackling safeties in the entire class.
An interesting group of guys here who all have at least one calling card to find a practice squad or 53 man roster spot next season.
Cornerback
- Mario Goodrich, Clemson
- Darrell Baker, Georgia Southern
- Josh Jobe, Alabama
- Mykael Wright, Oregon
- Chris Steele, USC
- Dallis Flowers, Pittsburg State
- Zyon Gilbert, Florida Atlantic
- Tony Adams, Illinois
- Tayler Hawkins, San Diego State
- Isaac Taylor-Stuart, USC
- Josh Thompson, Texas
Mario Goodrich was a really productive player at Clemson, and was named 1st team All-ACC this past season alongside 2nd round pick Andrew Booth. While Goodrich isn’t a great athlete and has a narrow frame, he had a good season in coverage and was expected to be a 5th rounder.
Darrell Baker is also interesting, a safety / corner hybrid with incredible athleticism and tackling ability. I also had a 5th round grade on him, and am surprised no one took a shot on his athletic traits.
Josh Jobe is also notable. The tape was much worse than you’ expect for an Alabama starting corner, and the late injury doesn’t help his stock. Still, he’s a big name prospect with solid size and athleticism who will get a fair shot at a roster spot next year.
Special Teams
- Andrew Mevis, Iowa State (K)
- Gabe Brkic, Oklahoma (K)
- Cal Adomitis, Pittsburgh (LS)
- Ryan Wright, Tulane (P)
- Caleb Shudak, Iowa (K)
- Cameron Dicker, Texas (K)
- Jonathan Garibay, Texas Tech (K)
- Daniel Whelan, UC-Davis (P)
- Antonio Ortiz, TCU (LS)
We had FOUR punters drafted this year, but just one kicker and no long snappers.
None of these guys ranked in my top-262 (the number of players drafted), but any of them can make an NFL roster.
Mevis and Brkic are my 2nd and 3rd ranked kickers, with plenty of leg strength and generally solid accuracy.
Adomitis was the most well known long snapper in the class, with good play strength and a fast, accurate snap.
Then Ryan Wright was my top remaining punter, ranked 4th on my board. He’s a former QB with great athleticism for his size, and a very strong leg. His accuracy improved significantly this past year.
Top Overall
Here are my top 10 undrafted players overall. You will have already seen these names above, but this is how they rank regardless of position.
I also included the grade I gave them, and when I expected them to be drafted. Often times these will be the same, but not always. Sometimes I know I had someone ranked much higher than most.
- Carson Strong, QB, Nevada: 4th Round Grade, 4th Round Projection
- Kellen Diesch, OT, Arizona State: Late 4th Round Grade, 5th Round Projection
- Verone McKinley, S, Oregon: Late 4th Round Grade, 5th Round Projection
- Dohnovan West, C, Arizona State: Early 5th Round Grade, 5th Round Projection
- Mario Goodrich, CB, Clemson: Early 5th Round Grade, 6th Round Projection
- Lucas Krull, TE, Pittsburgh: Early 5th Round Grade, 7th Round Projection
- Aaron Hansford, LB, Texas A&M: 5th Round Grade, 6th Round Projection
- Darrell Baker, CB/S, Georgia Southern: 5th Round Grade, 6th Round Projection
- Blaise Andries, G/T, Minnesota: 5th Round Grade, 6th Round Projection
- Alec Lindstrom, C, Boston College: 5th Round Grade, 6th Round Projection
