The 2022 NFL Draft proved to be extremely wild and unpredictable.
Both Nakobe Dean and Malik Willis falling to the third round just showed how unpredictable it was. Dean and Willis were players who were on most mock drafts as first-round talent and they just kept falling.
Another shocking scenario was the New England Patriots selecting Cole Strange with the No. 29 pick in the first round. Patriots fans were highly upset and most of the public didn’t have a clue who this offensive guard out of Chattanooga was.
The Athletic’s Mike Sando wrote an in-depth piece on the first round and he included quotes from NFL executives and talent evaluators.
“Cole Strange is really symbolic of the way people viewed this draft,” A league executive told Sando. “It really was such an eye-of-the-beholder draft. ‘We are taking guys we like, we don’t care where people have them mocked, we don’t care if people think it’s a reach.’ In the past, I feel like teams were more like, ‘We like him, but we can get him later.’”
Bill Belichick said he didn’t believe Strange would’ve been around much longer and that’s why the Patriots drafted him so early. A talent evaluator backed that sentiment up and said Strange is a very similar player to Joe Thuney — who signed an $80 million deal with the Kansas City Chiefs last offseason.
“He has unbelievable feet, his angles and technique are flawless, and I think he would have a high second-round grade,” the evaluator said. “He can get a little stronger. The rest, he has already got. Just an excellent lineman in space. He is Joe Thuney-like and can become a great left guard with the feet to play center. New England now has power on the right side of its line and good feet on the left.”
It was an unpredictable draft, but the Patriots may have done the right thing after evaluating the talent and looking back with a closer eye.
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