Few were more interested in the NFL draft last week than college football coaches.
They coached those whose names were called in Las Vegas and planned a game against them. They have seen players rise from high school to the highest level of the sport. College coaches ultimately don’t make decisions over the draft weekend, but they have a different perspective on good choices, bad choices, surprises, sleepers, trends, and how players project with certain teams.
After releasing a confidential draft last year, I approached more than 25 college coaches for their thoughts on the NFL 2022 draft. I spoke with head coaches at each Power 5 conference, as well as coordinators and position coaches who followed the draft like the others but could analyze players, position groups and teams from direct experience.
Most coaches spoke anonymously, but Luke Fickel of Cincinnati and Mark Stoops of Kentucky also discussed the impressive performances of the draft from their respective programs. The project for 2022 seems to be different from those of previous years. The quarterback election was delayed, Georgia had perhaps the biggest draft result ever, and the teams gave priority to wide receivers, cornerbacks and passers-by, while giving way to running backs, secret ends and some midfielders.
“It was a terrible project,” said a Power 5 coach. “Isn’t this the least moving draft in NFL history? It’s not a great year for the best boys.”
Another Power 5 coach noted that NFL teams have shown more patience than in other years, especially with certain positions.
“I don’t think teams touch, they pick guys for positions, enough to let them go where they fall,” the coach said. “They try to work through different versions of what they are willing to give to get the right person, and if they don’t, they won’t overdo the choices or pay more.”
Here is an estimate of the NFL draft for 2022 through the eyes of college coaches. (Note: Coaches are identified by the roles they played in the 2021 season.)
Skip to: Georgia and Dean Picket and QBs OL, WR, DBs Fickel and Stopes Best Drafts Protection of the Big 12 Bedrooms
The celebration of the Georgian National Championship was extended in the weekend draft, as 15 players were selected in the program, the most in the seven-round draft. The team set records for the most elections in the first round of one unit – the defense had five, starting with No. 1 in the overall standings Travon Walker – and the most in the first six rounds (all 15).
Bulldogs account for 5.7% of all drafts. The only teams with more selections in one draft – 1984 Texas (17) and 1946 Notre Dame (16) – did so in drafts involving more than 300 selections (there were 262 this year).
“If Georgia doesn’t win the national championship, this defender would have to be fired,” joked the Big Ten coach. “You have backups that are being made.”
The coaches understood the reason for the Georgia players’ run, although some questioned Walker as the first bulldog off the board. His numbers for 2021 – six sacks, 7.5 loss fights, two break-ups, a total of 37 fights – did not jump as much as those of teammates drafted behind him.
“The kid who went first, I can’t believe it,” said the Power 5 offensive coordinator. “A lot of really good generals out there were probably laughing behind closed doors. every mistake. “
The long and painful wait for midfielder Nakobe Dean – in the first round and well in the third, when the Philadelphia Eagles selected him – has become one of the most important stories in the draft. Coaches who saw Dean become All-American in Georgia and lead one of the most dominant defenses in recent memory shared the surprise that he was not selected earlier.
“He literally doesn’t allow you to run SEC football,” the SEC’s offensive coordinator told Dean. “If you put Nakobe Dean on the edge, he will be more productive and better than [former Georgia player and first-round pick] Jermaine Johnson will one day be. This is something that is so amazing to me in this league [the NFL]. They get so much resources and so much money, and you’re not going to take Nakobe Dean? “
Nakobe Dean fell in the third round of this year’s NFL Draft, a move that surprised many fans and college coaches. Zack Bollinger / Icon Sportswire
Dean’s health and measurable indicators – he weighed 5 feet 11 and 229 pounds – probably contributed to the decline. An assistant who faced Georgia this year said, “People don’t like short defenders in the NFL,” but he thought Dean would go to the second round early.
The Power 5 Coordinator attributes Dean’s situation to changes in the NFL and the way teams evaluate defenders.
“Teams want flexibility,” he said. “They want length and speed, so if you’re Dean and you’re 5-11, they want to see that Tampa Bay defender. [Devin White] speed. And he hasn’t released 40. With the Shirauts now, it’s such a passing league and you’re paying DB because you have to stop the Shirauts. It’s all about the pass. Your best paid positions are quarterback, grip, D-end and corner / wide out. “
Kenny Pickett is heading a mostly memorable QB class
After several quarterback drafts, this year included only one QB in the first round for the first time since 2013 and none in the second round. Quarterbacks, who were once identified as potential top 10, such as Sam Howell of North Carolina, fell on Day 3. The draft ended appropriately with Brock Purdy of Iowa, who covered more than 12,000 yards, receiving the label Mr. Irrelevant as the final choice.
A Power 5 coach attributes two factors to the poor performance of the quarterback: an unsurpassed quarterback recruiting class in 2017 and the transfer portal. Apart from Tua Tagovailoa from Alabama and Davis Mills from Stanford, the quarterback from 2017 did not really materialize in the NFL. Some struggled in college – Hunter Johnson (Clemson / Northwest), Tate Martel (Ohio / Miami / UNLV), Lowell Narcissus (LSU, UTSA) – while others are still looking for a breakthrough, such as Sean Clifford of Penn State and Miles Brennan of LSU.
“You’re in the top 10, man, that’s bad,” the coach said. “For some, this is a by-product of the portal. And going back to, they never evolved. It’s hard to believe. Their best football was in high school and in [7-on-7] circular throw without hitting defensive lines.
“It simply came to our notice then. We watched it before the draft and said to ourselves, “Look at all these gaps.”
Coaches said the lack of size also hurt this year’s quarterback draft class. They thought the right quarterback was the first in Pete’s Kenny Pickett to stay in the same city and facility with the Pittsburgh Steelers, who chose him as No. 20 overall.
“Pickett was the only real man in the NFL,” a Power 5 coach said Friday. I don’t think the others are first-round boys.
“Super competitive man, playmaker,” the ACC coach added to Pickett. “He is resilient and obviously being in Pittsburgh will be good for him. He’s very confused and that’s probably the only thing that can make him. “
Several coaches expected Matt Coral of Ole Miss to be next, but the Atlanta Falcons went with Desmond Rider of Cincinnati at the end of the third round, which also included Malik Willis of Liberty (Tennessee Titans) and Coral (Carolina Panthers).
“He’s not serious,” the SEC coordinator told Coral. “It reminds me a lot of Drew Bryce, more athletic, he just makes the games happen, even though he doesn’t look right.”
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Another defensive coordinator, familiar with Corral, noted concerns about size, but said he could make any throw using different hand slots and didn’t always need a clean pocket to make games.
“He’s a bit of a gambler with the ball – it can scare some people,” the coach said. “But he can do some plays. No doubt.”
After the 2020 season, Howell was widely designed as the top five pick for the 2022 draft. But he lost many of the weapons that helped him for a consecutive 3,500 yard passes, 30 touchdown seasons.
Howell was first offboard in the fifth round, going to the Washington Commanders. Several ACC coaches noted his endurance and how he had less work to do in 2021.
“I was more impressed than Kenny Pickett, but Sam Howell makes enough throws, has enough competitiveness and has enough frame, even though he’s not tall and big,” said the ACC’s defense coordinator. “He’s assembled and can take a hit. He’ll be able to stay in the NFL for a few years.”
Quarterback selections in the seventh round are long chances, but some coaches believe that Skyler Thompson from Kansas State can stay with the Miami Dolphins.
“He’s more prototypical in terms of size,” said the Group 5 defense coordinator. If he hadn’t been hurt so much, he would have been a better choice because he somehow fit all the things they were looking for. “
Intrigue from the first round with O-line, receivers, DB and others
The first round was largely determined by record selections for Georgia’s defense (five) and the broad successor position (six in the first 18 elections). But the college coaches noted a model with offensive lines – not so much the number, but the selected players.
As expected, the stars of the big school came out first: NC State fights Ikem “Ickey” Ekwonu against Carolina Panthers at number 6. Evan Neal from Alabama followed number 7 to the New York Giants, then Charles Cross from Mississippi ( № 9, Seattle Seahawks), Kenyon Green of Texas A&M (№ 15, Houston Texans) and Zion Johnson of Boston College (№ 17, Los Angeles Chargers). No one was a big surprise.
“Evan Neal was the best man we’ve faced all year,” said the SEC West’s defense assistant. “Cross was also a very good, big, long man [Mike] Leach violation, you get a lot of opportunities for a pass set. “
Evan Neal was one of several high-profile offensive fighters selected in the first round of the NFL Draft. Zack Bollinger / Icon Sportswire
But the end of the first round brought running …
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