Tag: 2022 NFL draft

Only 2 Alabama players projected first round in latest 2022 NFL mock draft

Despite this team being LOADED with talent, only two draft eligible players are projected first-rounders.

The 2021 college football season has only gotten to see the Crimson Tide hit the field once, but certain players are already on the rise in the eyes of NFL scouts and analysts; and while the 2022 NFL draft is still months away, it’s never too early to begin projecting the landing spots of college football’s biggest stars.

Pro Football Network’s Oliver Hodgkinson put together his latest 2022 NFL mock draft, which has only two Crimson Tide stars being drafted in the first round.

19. Philadelphia Eagles – Christian Harris, LB

(AP Photo/Vasha Hunt)

“Although they used their first pick of this 2022 NFL Mock Draft to acquire a new quarterback, let’s not pretend that the Eagles’ primary problems are the lack of offensive production,” writes Hodgkinson. “There are issues at all three levels of the defense, with Philadelphia ranking near the bottom in several defensive metrics last season.”

10. Atlanta Falcons, Evan Neal, OT

Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

“Neal is a man-mountain at 6’7″ and 360 pounds,” writes Hodgkinson. “Despite this, he’s incredibly athletic while possessing the strength to dominate at the line of scrimmage. Neal plays the game with a competitive toughness that will appeal to head coach Arthur Smith, a former offensive lineman for UNC.”

Roll Tide Wire will continue to cover Alabama players and their projections for the 2022 NFL draft.

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2022 NFL draft: QB stock report after Week 1

Breaking down the season-opening performances from some of this year’s top quarterback prospects

Week 1 of the 2021 college football season brought plenty of impressive performances from some of the top prospects in the 2022 NFL draft class, but it may have given us more questions than answers about this year’s top quarterbacks.

Here’s where the arrow is pointing for this year’s big-name passers after their first game of the year:

Matt Corral racks up 436 total yards as Ole Miss routs Louisville

Ole Miss quarterback Matt Corral started his 2021 season with a bang Monday night against Louisville

Despite being without their head coach due to COVID-19, the Ole Miss Rebels started their 2021 campaign with a blowout win over Louisville, and their quarterback led the way with an impressive performance.

Matt Corral threw for 381 yards and a touchdown, and added 55 yards and another score on the ground in the 42-23 victory Monday night.

Corral is one of the top quarterback prospects in the 2022 NFL draft class, and he proved he should remain in that conversation moving forward.

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The scenario where the Texans finish with the worst record but fail to get the No. 1 overall pick

ESPN has a scenario wherein the Houston Texans finish with a 5-12 record, tied for worst in the NFL, but fail to secure the No. 1 overall draft pick.

Houston sports fans will hold their noses and swallow the “process oriented” approach that Texans general manager Nick Caserio mentioned on Sept. 1. Houston fans can accept a 2021 replete with heartbreak and beatings so long as the team secures the No. 1 overall pick in the 2022 NFL draft.

Not so fast.

According to Seth Walder from ESPN, the sports entertainment network ran a series of simulations for the 2021 season. In one of them, the Texans do finish with a 5-12 record, tied with the New York Giants, New York Jets, Seattle Seahawks, and Carolina Panthers for the worst in the NFL. However, a series of tiebreakers award the Panthers with the No. 1 overall pick while Houston slips to No. 5.

There was a moment, early in the season, when it looked like the Sam Darnold experiment was going to work out and that offensive coordinator Joe Brady had fixed the mess that Adam Gase (Darnold’s former coach in New York) had made. The Carolina Panthers opened the season 4-1, first beating Darnold’s old Jets team in Week 1 and then going on to earn wins against the Saints, Texans and Eagles (with a loss to the Cowboys). But those opponents were not that tough, and the 4-1 record was a mirage.

Coach Matt Rhule’s team would win just one more game the rest of the way (against the Falcons) and end the season at 5-12 and in a dramatic five-way tie for the NFL’s worst record. Carolina needed to lose in its final week to win the strength-of-schedule tiebreaker and earn the No. 1 overall pick — and it did, as the Bucs beat Carolina 33-7.

Not only would the Texans pick fifth, but the Jets would have embarrassment of riches as their top-5 selections went in consecutive order 3-4.

Those are the results Texans fans don’t want to see after a season of watching process orientation on the field.

Saints were busy scouting dramatic Notre Dame-Florida State matchup

Saints were busy scouting dramatic Notre Dame-Florida State matchup

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Everyone who tuned in Sunday night for the Florida State Seminoles’ prime-time matchup with the Notre Dame Fighting Irish caught a game that set a fiery tone for the 2021 college football season. Two teams swarming with NFL prospects each got their moments to shine, and an unexpected appearance from fan-favorite backup quarterback McKenzie Milton sent it into overdrive, even if Florida State’s overtime comeback bid fell short in their 41-38 loss.

NFL teams were paying close attention. Half the league sent scouts to watch live from the press box, per Irish Sports Daily’s Matt Freeman, and the New Orleans Saints were one of those 16 teams.

That shouldn’t be too surprising. The Saints were in the area just days earlier, having visited West Florida’s campus before the Argos kicked off their Division II title-defending season with McNeese State. And New Orleans has drafted players from both teams in recent years: they picked Notre Dame quarterback Ian Book in 2021 and tight end Alize Mack in 2019, as well as Florida State offensive lineman Rick Leonard in 2018 and defensive back P.J. Williams in 2015.

Now, that doesn’t mean the Saints are going to draft anyone from either of these teams just because one of their scouts was in the stadium. They’ll review the tape to help fill out scouting reports for reference in the spring. But it’s fun to speculate about who may have caught New Orleans’ eye.

Notre Dame tight end Michael Mayer had a huge game, catching 9 receptions for 120 receiving yards (including a touchdown). Defensive end Isaiah Foskey was a force with a pair of sacks while safety Kyle Hamilton showed off incredible range on two big-time interceptions. Mayer is just a sophomore, but the others should be early selections next year.

On the other side, Florida State running back Jashaun Corbin looked the part while picking up 144 rushing yards on just 15 carries (averaging an unspectacular 3.9 yards per attempt outside of his 89-yard touchdown sprint). Defensive end Jermaine Johnson had a strong debut after transferring from Georgia, posting a sack and a half (plus 2.5 tackles for loss) with several other pressures. The Seminoles may not be back to churning out first-round picks like they used to, but they’re trending in the right direction.

Anyway: hopefully the Saints’ college scouts learned a lot to help the team make informed personnel decisions later on down the line. They’re headed for a four-month marathon from now to the college football playoffs.

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Is Kyle Hamilton the best prospect in the 2022 NFL draft class?

Notre Dame safety Kyle Hamilton just might be the best prospect in the 2022 NFL draft class

If you weren’t aware of Notre Dame safety Kyle Hamilton before, his performance in Sunday night’s overtime win against Florida State should have remedied that.

Already widely regarded as one of the top prospects in the 2022 NFL draft, Hamilton put on a ball-hawking show against FSU, picking off two passes and showing off the skill set that might just make him the best overall player in the entire class.

Hamilton’s first pick came in the second quarter, as he took advantage of a wobbly throw by Florida State quarterback Jordan Travis, showing great awareness to maintain possession before landing out of bounds:

The star of the show was Hamilton’s second interception, though. On this one, he started on the opposite hash mark, and came across the entire field to make a diving catch, dragging his feet to secure the takeaway on the sideline:

Much of the conversation surrounding next year’s top overall prospect has been centered on Oregon edge defender Kayvon Thibodeaux, LSU cornerback Derek Stingley Jr., and even Alabama offensive tackle Evan Neal. But Hamilton’s performance Sunday night proved he belongs in that conversation as much as anyone else.

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Minnesota RB Mohamed Ibrahim out for season with leg injury

Minnesota running back Mohamed Ibrahim will miss the rest of the 2021 college football season due to a leg injury

Minnesota running back Mohamed Ibrahim will indeed miss the rest of the 2021 season with a leg injury, Golden Gophers head coach PJ Fleck confirmed to the media Monday morning (via ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg).

Ibrahim suffered the injury in the second half of Minnesota’s season-opening loss to Ohio State, after he had already racked up 163 yards and two touchdowns on the ground.

One of the top running back prospects in the country, Ibrahim will now face the decision of whether or not to return to the college ranks next season once he’s recovered from the injury, or make the jump to the 2022 NFL draft.

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ESPN projects Texans to finish last in 2021

The Houston Texans are projected to finish with the worst record in the league for 2021.

Don’t expect ESPN to give the Houston Texans much love ahead of the 2021 season.

According to the sports entertainment behemoth’s latest projections for who will get the No. 1 overall pick in the 2022 NFL draft, the Texans are among their favorite. They have a projected record of 5-12 and an average top overall draft pick of 5.2. Their football power index gives Houston a 24% chance to get the No. 1 overall pick, and a 66.3% chance to have a top-5 pick overall.

Stat to know: David Culley takes over as head coach for the Texans. At 65, Culley will be the oldest coach at the time of his head-coaching debut in NFL history, according to Elias Sports Bureau. Culley spent the past two seasons as the Ravens’ passing game coordinator. Over that span, Baltimore ranked 31st in passing yards per game (186.4), ahead of only the Jets.

General manager Nick Caserio told the media on Sept. 1 that the 2021 campaign may be a little bumpy.

“I’ll probably put my foot in my mouth for saying this, but it’s not as much outcome-oriented as process-oriented, and that’s what we’re trying to do and build,” Caserio said. “What we’re trying to do is create a foundational culture where we have players who are tough-minded, who are selfless, who are going to work hard every day, and they’re going to compete their ass off. That’s what we’re trying to do. How does that manifest itself on a field on Sunday? That’s going to be about execution and how we play.”

The Texans will get their first shot to prove ESPN’s projections correct or incorrect when they take on the Jacksonville Jaguars Sunday, Sept. 12 at NRG Stadium for the first game of the regular season. The Texans are home underdogs as Tipico has the Jaguars favored by -2.5, making Houston one of six home underdogs to open the season.

ESPN simulation predicts Panthers to land 2022 No. 1 overall pick

ESPN’s FPI simulation has the Panthers winding up with 2022’s No. 1 overall pick. It’s (very) early, but who are you taking?

Geez. Five wins doesn’t get you what it used to anymore, huh?

. . . or does it?

Results for ESPN’s Football Power Index simulation of the entire 2021 NFL season were released on Monday morning. The exercise went through the whole 285-game schedule a total of 20,000 times, aiming to nail down the most accurate forecast of the season.

Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, the simulation has the Carolina Panthers finishing at 5-12. (Remember, there are 17 regular season games now.) That record was bad, or good enough to land them the first overall pick of the 2022 NFL draft.

ESPN sports analytics writer Seth Walder writes how the Panthers spoiled a hot 4-1 start to wind up at the very bottom of the league, with five other teams, that is.

“There was a moment, early in the season, when it looked like the Sam Darnold experiment was going to work out and that offensive coordinator Joe Brady had fixed the mess that Adam Gase (Darnold’s former coach in New York) had made,” he notes. “The Carolina Panthers opened the season 4-1, first beating Darnold’s old Jets team in Week 1 and then going on to earn wins against the Saints, Texans and Eagles (with a loss to the Cowboys). But those opponents were not that tough, and the 4-1 record was a mirage.”

Carolina has a very realistic chance at starting off 4-0, with the Jets, Saints, Texans and Cowboys—each with their respective early-season problems—all on deck. Walder, though, continues with the sharp regression of the sim.

“Coach Matt Rhule’s team would win just one more game the rest of the way (against the Falcons) and end the season at 5-12 and in a dramatic five-way tie for the NFL’s worst record. Carolina needed to lose in its final week to win the strength-of-schedule tiebreaker and earn the No. 1 overall pick — and it did, as the Bucs beat Carolina 33-7.”

Obviously, it’s far too early to start pinpointing which prospects would be their likely options in the event that they do earn themselves that honor. But, as it currently looks, 2022 is not a great year to be looking for a great quarterback in the draft.

Sup, Kayvon Thibodeaux?

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Chargers in attendance to scout Notre Dame vs. Florida State

The Chargers were represented at Sunday’s showdown between Notre Dame and Florida State.

The Los Angeles Chargers were one of several teams in attendance to scout Sunday’s matchup between the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and Florida State Seminoles.

Here’s a look at the prospects that L.A. could very well have on their radar:

Notre Dame

S Kyle Hamilton

RB Kyren Williams

WR Kevin Austin

OL Jarrett Patterson

OL Josh Lugg

OL Cain Madden

EDGE Isaiah Foskey

Florida State

DL Robert Cooper

DL Fabien Lovett

EDGE Jermaine Johnson

TE Camren McDonald