The 2022 NFL draft is just three days away, and that means that the suspense is drawing to a close when it comes to where cornerback [autotag]Derek Stingley Jr.[/autotag] will land.
Stingley is a tricky prospect to evaluate. After a stellar true freshman season in 2019, he looked like a bonafide top-five pick. But the last two seasons haven’t been kind to Stingley, who has appeared in just 10 games after having some injury problems.
That took a toll on his draft stock, and now most projections have him outside the top 10 or even top 15. Most, but not all. In the latest mock from Touchdown Wire’s Mark Schofield, Stingley is the ninth player off the board going to the Seattle Seahawks.
The Seattle Seahawks have a number of positions they could address with this selection. Offensive tackle is certainly chief among them, and according to nflmockdraftdatabase.com, Charles Cross is the consensus pick right now for Seattle in this spot.
But with the top three tackles off the board, the Seahawks go in a different direction. Of course, with John Schneider and Pete Carroll still in the room, one might anticipate that Seattle throws everyone a curveball with this selection. However, with Derek Stingley Jr. staring them in the face, adding him to the secondary would be the move I’d be advocating for in the draft room.
Quarterback is another need, but with Willis off the board, Seattle goes in a different direction.
This is a Seattle team that was once known for its defense, affectionately dubbed the “Legion of Boom,” which was headlined by its strong secondary play. That has been lost under Carroll for some time, but the Seahawks could start to bring it back by adding Stingley.
As things currently stand, Artie Burns and Sidney Jones IV are the top-two corners in Seattle, so this is a defensive backfield that could definitely use an upgrade.
In Stingley, it would get an extraordinarily athletic corner with fantastic ball skills. The only major potential red flags have to do with Stingley’s health, and after he ran a 4.37-second 40-yard dash at LSU’s Pro Day, it seems fair to say those concerns are minimal.
If that’s the case, it wouldn’t be shocking to see Stingley sneak into the top-10 during Round 1 on Thursday night.
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