As we head into Week 10 of the 2022 NFL season — which starts with Thursday night’s game between the Atlanta Falcons and the Carolina Panthers — there are 15 teams with winning percentages of .500 or better, and 17 with winning percentages on the down side of the good stuff. The 4-5 Falcons and 2-7 Panthers are two of those teams, and while Atlanta is looking to maintain a serious presence at the top of the seriously weird NFC South, the Panthers are basically looking to do their best in the current season, but they’re really playing for 2023.
If you’re past the trade deadline (which the NFL is, but shouldn’t yet be), and you have no real shot in the playoff picture, it’s time to get those area scouts gathered in with their best prospects, turn on that college tape, and get rolling to the future. If you’re on the bubble, there’s still a focus on 2023 prospects already, and even if you’re nearly assured of a playoff spot in 2022, you’re still thinking about the draft to a greater or lesser degree.
But especially for the NFL teams with more 2023 first-round juice than 2022 in-season hope, here’s one first-round mock draft for next year.