Players who have to wait around after the first round to hear their names called in the draft are by no means limited in their NFL potential. Since 2000 alone, the list of second- and third-rounders reads like a Hall of Fame buffet years from now: Drew Brees, Bobby Wagner, Steve Smith Sr., Andrew Whitworth, Marshal Yanda, Rob Gronkowski, Lavonte David, and on and on.
Take the view back a few decades, and you’ll see second- and third-rounders like Joe Montana, Dan Fouts, Mike Singletary, Michael Strahan, Ken Anderson, Terrell Owens, Aeneas Williams, Thurman Thomas, Kevin Mawae, Brian Dawkins, Larry Allen, and Mel Blount.
Those are all Hall of Famers, except for Ken Anderson, who should be.
The point is, there’s just about as much of a hit rate in the second and third rounds as there is a bust rate in the later rounds. So, when we get to the players who didn’t hear their names in the first round of the 2022 NFL draft, it doesn’t mean at all that these guys won’t be NFL stars — in fact, there’s no barrier to future stardom at all.
Based on our evaluations here at Touchdown Wire, here are the best prospects left on the board after the first round of the 2022 NFL draft.