Final thoughts
So, after all that speculation, here’s the complete list of first-round selections in the 2022 NFL Draft.
1. Jacksonville Jaguars: Travon Walker, Edge Rusher, Georgia
2. Detroit Lions: Aidan Hutchinson, Defensive End, Michigan
3. Houston Texans: Derek Stingley Jr, Defensive Back, LSU
4. New York Jets: Sauce Gardner, Defensive Back, Cincinnati
5. New York Giants: Kayvon Thibodeaux, Edge Rusher, Oregon
6. Carolina Panthers: Ikem Ekwonu, Offensive Tackle, North Carolina State
7. New York Giants: Evan Neal, Offensive Tackle, Alabama
8. Atlanta Falcons: Drake London, Wide Receiver, USC
9. Seattle Seahawks: Charles Cross, Offensive Tackle, Mississippi State
10. New York Jets: Garret Wilson, Wide Receiver, Ohio State
11. New Orleans Saints: Chris Olave, Wide Receiver, Ohio State
12. Detroit Lions: Jameson Williams, Wide Receiver, Alabama
13. Philadelphia Eagles: Jordan Davis, Defensive Tackle, Georgia
14. Baltimore Ravens: Kyle Hamilton, Safety, Notre Dame
15. Houston Texans: Kenyon Green, Guard, Texas A&M
16. Washington Commanders: Jahan Dotson, Wide Receiver, Penn State
17. Los Angeles Chargers: Zion Johnson, Offensive Guard, Boston College
18. Tennessee Titans: Treylon Burks, Wide Receiver, Arkansas
19. New Orleans Saints: Trevor Penning, Offensive Tackle, Northern Iowa
20. Pittsburgh Steelers: Kenny Pickett, Quarterback, Pittsburgh
21. Kansas City Chiefs: Trent McDuffie, Defensive Back, Washington
22. Green Bay Packers: Quay Walker, LB, Georgia
23. Buffalo Bills: Kaiir Elam, Defensive Back, Florida
24. Dallas Cowboys: Tyler Smith, Offensive Tackle, Tulsa
25. Baltimore Ravens: Tyler LInderbaum, Center, Iowa
26. New York Jets: Jermaine Johnson II, Edge Rusher, Florida State
27. Jacksonville Jaguars: Devin Lloyd, Linebacker, Utah
28. Green Bay Packers: Devonte Wyatt, Defensive Tackle, Georgia
29. New England Patriots: Cole Strange, Guard, Chattanooga
30. Kansas City Chiefs: George Karlaftis, Defensive End, Purdue
31. Cincinnati Bengals: Daxton Hill, Safety, Michigan
32. Minnesota Vikings: Lewis Cine, Safety, Georgia
That was a lot of names (and a lot of trades) in a short amount of time. Thanks to everybody for following along with the Guardian’s live coverage of the 2022 NFL Draft, especially those who contributed their thoughts. Ciao!
Malik Willis goes undrafted in the first round
Labeled by many as the top quarterback in the entire draft, Malik Willis will have to wait until tomorrrow’s second round to be drafted. Just for fun, here’s what I had written about him:
Profile: Malik Willis, Quarterback, Liberty. A dual-threat QB who, nonetheless, has some serious concerns regarding accuracy, Willis is Exhibit A of why this is not a quarterback-centric draft. He also picked up a worrying 13.3% sack rate in his 2021 season. Still, he’s the exact type of exciting speedy QB that modern teams are eager to give a shot.
32. Lewis Cine, Safety, Georgia
The Minnesota Vikings select yet another Georgia player in safety Lewis Cine. That’s five defensive players from Georgia going in the first round of the NFL Draft.
The Minnesota Vikings have the final pick in the first round, via the Los Angeles Rams through the Detroit Lions.
And because it’s Las Vegas, they’re playing a Killers song in the background while the Vikings make their decision.
31. Daxton Hill, Safety, Michigan
The Cincinnati Bengals select safety Daxton Hill from Michigan with the 31st pick. Just one selection left today.
Willis is still on the board, but I’m assuming that the Cincinnati Bengals are happy with their starting QB.
As a Bostonian, I am attempting to make sense of the Patriots’ move. All that I’m coming up with is a “Cole Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” joke.
30. George Karlaftis, Defensive End, Purdue
Kansas City Chiefs just want this thing over with, they rush to make their selection: George Karlaftis, a defensive end out of Purdue.
29. Cole Strange, Guard, Chattanooga
The New England Patriots have selected Chattanooga guard Cole Strange with the 29th pick. This is definitely a Strange pick.
The New England Patriots are on the clock, once again continuing a long tradition of not making the first draft pick until 80% of the East Coast is in bed.
28. Devonte Wyatt, Defensive Tackle, Georgia
The Packers take another defensive player from Georgia by selecting Devonte Wyatt with the 28th pick. I’m sure Aaron Rodgers is psyched that they once again didn’t get him any offensive weapons.
Roger Goodell brings out Andrew Whitworth, the 2021 Walter Payton Man of the Year recipient. This is great but this is not exactly the best time for a long speech.
The Packers are on the clock. It’s now at the point where it’s not impossible that we won’t see another QB taken tonight.
Profile: Devin Lloyd, Linebacker, Utah. This is my random pick for the player in this year’s draft who probably deserved to be picked earlier than he did. “He’s the best defender that’s ever come through the University of Utah,” according to his coach Kyle Whittingham. His last season certainly backed up that lofty praise: 110 tackles, including 22 tackles for a loss, eight sacks and four interceptions in 14 games. That’s a ridiculously helpful combination of skills AND he was also a receiver and punter in high school.
27. Devin Lloyd, Linebacker, Utah
The Jacksonville Jaguars take Devin Lloyd! Yes, love it!
ESPN wants Malik Willis drafted soon and badly.
I think the Jets have had the best draft night so far? Meanwhile, the Jaguars (remember them?) have a draft pick they received from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
26. Jermaine Johnson II, Edge Rusher, Florida State
The New York Jets clearly decided to trade back up from the second round specifically to land Florida State’s Jermaine Johnson, who probably should have been taken much earlier.
BREAKING: At 26, the Jets select Florida State DE Jermaine Johnson II. It cost them 35 + a third rounder. #jets #NFLDraft
— Rich Cimini (@RichCimini) April 29, 2022
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BREAKING: At 26, the Jets select Florida State DE Jermaine Johnson II. It cost them 35 + a third rounder. #jets #NFLDraft
— Rich Cimini (@RichCimini) April 29, 2022
Nope, never mind, the Jets have moved up and taken the Titans’ pick. Of course they have.
The Tennesse Titans, with their own 26th pick, are now on the clock. We’re getting into the home stretch here in the first round.
25. Tyler Linderbaum, Center, Iowa
After all that, the Baltimore Ravens settle on Iowa center Tyler Linderbaum.
Oh, also the Ravens also picked up an additional fourth-rounder in the deal with the Bills. The Patriots would approve.
Okay, now the Ravens are going on the clock with that pick that they previously received from the Buffalo Bills.
You thought I was kidding about this draft being the live blogging equivalent to a pop quiz.
24. Tyler Smith, Tackle, Tulsa
I’m guessing whoever the Dallas Cowboys pick here won’t be a Michah Parsons-caliber difference maker. They select Tulsa offensive tackle Tyler Smith.
I stand by my guess.
The Dallas Cowboys not only have not traded the 24th pick, but it’s also actually their own pick that they “earned” and not the result of a previous trade. It feels like its been centuries since we had one of those.
23. Kaiir Elam, Defensive Back, Florida
The Buffalo Bills go with one of the best defensive players left on the board with Florida cornerback Kaiir Elam.
Yes, the 23rd pick was the one that the Ravens just acquired from the Arizona Cardinals like an hour and a half ago. Maybe this pick is cursed?
So much for “this is an unpredictable draft, so teams probably won’t be doing that much first-round trading.” So, the Buffalo Bills are apparently up next with the 23rd pick.
22. Quay Walker, LB, Georgia
The Green Bay Packers select… Quay Walker. Our analysts have to give a spelling and pronunciation guide for his name, which is normally a sign for “I didn’t have him going this round.”
The Green Bay Packers are up next, they’re apparently keeping the pick they received from the Las Vegas Raiders. I’m guessing they don’t go quarterback again, the last time they did they opened up a huge can of worms.
21. Trent McDuffie, Defensive Back, Washington
The Kansas City Chiefs take New England’s pick and use it to take Trent McDuffie from Washington to help shore up their defense.
The Patriots will now be picking at 29 and have also received the 94th and 121st pick from Kansas City. Because Bill Belichick loves nothing better than the all-important “value.”
Up next is the New England Patriots unless… oh, of course, they just traded down. In this case, to the Kansas City Chiefs.
This is the one thing I’ve gotten right, so I’ll just point out that I had Pickett as being the draft’s top quarterback:
“Kenny Pickett. It’s possible there won’t be a long-term starting quarterback in the first round of this draft, but there are always teams that are desperate enough that they feel it’s worth a gamble. Pickett maybe isn’t the first quarterback in most mock drafts, but he did few things wrong last year for Pittsburgh.”
Profile: Kenny Pickett, Quarterback, Pittsburgh. Pickett’s something of a one-year wonder, and would not have been anywhere close to a first-round pick in 2021’s quarterback-rich draft. Still, what a year he had in college! In just the span of 13 games, he threw for 4,319 yards and 42 touchdowns. I’m not sure there is a career starter in the first-round draft, but it’s not impossible that he’s it. It’s also not impossible that he’s out of the league within three seasons.
20. Kenny Pickett, Quarterback, Pittsburgh
The Pittsburgh Steelers select Kenny Pickett with the 20th pick of the 2022 NFL Draft. That answers that question. It might be something of a shocker for some since Malik Willis was getting hyped as the best QB prospect, but Pickett is already a Pittsburgh guy so why not?
The Pittsburgh Steelers should be looking for a quarterback now that Ben Roethlisberger has retired, but is there one in this draft worth committing to? They’re on the clock, so let’s find out!
19. Trevor Penning, Offensive Tackle, Northern Iowa
With the 19th overall pick, the New Orleans Saints go with oversized-but-penalty-prone tackle Trevor Penning to improve their offensive line.
So that explains why Tennessee was like “no thanks, let’s go young.” We’ll see how that works out for them in the next few seasons.
Source: New #Eagles WR AJ Brown gets a 4 Yr ext for $100M
57M Guaranteed
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) April 29, 2022
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Source: New #Eagles WR AJ Brown gets a 4 Yr ext for $100M
57M Guaranteed— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) April 29, 2022
Now it’s time for the Saints to make their selection. It’s also around the time when our Draft analysts are getting angsty that we haven’t had a quarterback selected yet.
Listen: we in sports media love talking QBs, it’s just our thing.
18. Treylon Burks, Wide Receiver, Arkansas
Well, the Tennessee Titans now could use a receiver. Well, they get one with the 18th pick of the draft in Arkansas WR Treylon Burks.
I don’t think he will be a replacement for a Pro Bowl talent like A.J. Brown, but I guess he was headed for free agency too soon for Tennessee’s tastes.
Titans trade A.J. Brown to the Eagles
Apparently, the Tennessee Titans are on the clock here? I don’t…
Oh, here we have the reason: The Titans have traded receiver A.J. Brown to the Eagles for the 18th overall pick plus a third-rounder.
Well, I guess that’s one way for Philadelphia to get a receiver in the draft.