Tag: 2022 NFL draft

Bears 2022 rookie review: P Trenton Gill

Bears rookie punter Trenton Gill looked like a seasoned pro.

The Chicago Bears saw significant contributions from rookies on offense, defense and special teams during the 2022 season, whether it was from draft picks or undrafted free agents.

Following the departure of punter Pat O’Donnell in free agency, the Bears drafted Trenton Gill in the seventh round of the 2023 NFL draft. Gill made the transition from O’Donnell a seamless one, as Gill looked like a seasoned pro during his rookie year.

Let’s take a look back at Gill’s rookie season and see what we can expect for the future.

Isiah Pacheco is the 1,000-yard rusher that Chiefs GM Brett Veach foretold

#Chiefs GM Brett Veach predicted a 1000-yard rusher would emerge from the late rounds of the 2022 NFL draft. He found that player in Isiah Pacheco:

Kansas City Chiefs GM Brett Veach rebuilt the team into a championship squad in record time, and it’s in part due to the work he did in the 2022 NFL draft.

On Super Bowl Sunday, 9-of-10 of the Chiefs’ 2022 draft picks were active and played a snap. From first-round draft picks all the way down to their last pick in the seventh round, each player contributed to the effort to hoist the Lombardi Trophy again.

Ahead of the 2022 NFL draft, Veach made a bold prediction. He found himself dazzled by the depth of the running back class, so much so that he expected a 1,000-yard rusher to emerge from Day 3.

“The running back class this year, it’s really crazy,” Veach said in his pre-draft press conference in April. “When you factor in that COVID year last year, and some of the guys that stayed in school. I’ve never seen such a large group of fifth-, sixth-, seventh-round running backs. It’s like the names go from the top of the ceiling down to the bottom. I told the guys that there is going to be a 1,000-yard rusher that is a seventh-round pick, just by the sheer volume of numbers.”

At the time he said it, everyone was wondering which player he might be talking about. As it turns out, he was talking about the player he’d end up selecting at No. 251, Rutgers RB Isiah Pacheco.

After Super Bowl LVII’s victory, Pacheco had amassed a total of 1,027 rushing yards on the year. It ranked the third-most among all rookie running backs. His six touchdowns were the second-most scores among rookies. He also ranked fourth in the league in yards after first contact with 653 on the season.

It wasn’t just Veach’s clairvoyance in finding Pacheco, though. The rookie had to earn his stripes and had to work for this opportunity. While he appeared in all 17 regular-season games, Pacheco didn’t make his first start until Week 7. The team and especially Patrick Mahomes believed in him all along, but now as the dust settles following the Super Bowl, we know that Pacheco was exactly the player that Veach thought he would be.

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Titans go in a different direction in Bleacher Report’s 2022 NFL re-draft

In a 2022 NFL re-draft, the Titans select George Pickens instead of Treylon Burks.

If the Tennessee Titans had another crack at the 2022 NFL draft, would they still take wide receiver Treylon Burks at No. 18 overall?

Well, Bleacher Report’s David Kenyon doesn’t believe so. He thinks the Titans would go with a different wide receiver with their 2022 first-round selection in Pittsburgh Steelers wideout, George Pickens.

Here’s what he had to say about the pick:

As the Titans dealt A.J. Brown, the takeaway was clear: The blockbuster that sent him to Philly meant Tennessee could not use the 18th overall pick on a different position. George Pickens, a second-round pick of the Pittsburgh Steelers, reeled in 52 passes for 801 yards and totaled five touchdowns. He would’ve been the Titans’ pick instead of…

Kenyon then goes on to place Burks with the Saints at No. 19 overall.

Pickens had an impressive rookie season, with his 801 yards ranking fourth among first-year receivers. He was also able to appear in every game, as opposed to Burks, who missed six and finished with 444 yards.

Knowing what we know about both receivers, there’s definitely a chance the Titans would go in a different direction, although there isn’t some major chasm between the two, making it possible it would still be Burks.

One change we can assume the Titans would make if they had another shot at the 2022 NFL draft would be the trade of Brown in the first place, which has proven disastrous for Tennessee.

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How Georgia Bulldog NFL rookies performed in 2022

What Georgia Bulldog rookies made the biggest impact in the NFL during the 2022 season?

The Georgia Bulldogs dominated the 2022 NFL draft with a record-breaking 15 selections. Most of the 15 Georgia players draft had a large role for their respective NFL teams.

However, some former Georgia standouts stayed on the practice squad and a couple of other players primarily saw special teams snaps in their first year in the league. The NFL is a big adjustment from college for most players. The game is faster and there’s stout competition to get on the field.

Former Georgia Bulldogs like George Pickens, Quay Walker, Jake Camarda, and Jamaree Salyer were all big contributors as rookies.

What Georgia Bulldog rookies made the biggest impact in the NFL during the 2022 season?

Why Chiefs RB Isiah Pacheco could take over the Super Bowl

The Kansas City Chiefs need to lean on their seventh-round rookie running back if they want to take home the Lombardi Trophy

In the history of the NFL, it’s not unheard of for a rookie to come into the biggest game of the year and be a contributing factor.

We’ve seen it time and time again, including just two years ago, when Tampa Bay Buccaneers rookie safety Antoine Winfield Jr. made a huge interception off Patrick Mahomes that helped close out Super Bowl LV.

This year’s game, however, may be the rare occasion when a late-round rookie comes in and dominates the game, and Kansas City Chiefs running back Isiah Pacheco is the man for the job.

The Chiefs will need to keep the ball away from one of the most explosive offensive units in the entire league, and to do that, it will be imperative to run the football. Towards the end of the regular season and onward, Pacheco has been the leading man in the Kansas City backfield, and with good reason. His incredible burst and physical running style have put an exclamation point on an already dangerous offense, allowing them to come out with a dynamic variance in how they execute their attack.

One of the areas where the Eagles’ defense has been susceptible is their rush defense, which ranked 18th in the league during the regular season. The Chiefs may be keen to hand the ball off to Pacheco to keep the ball away from Jalen Hurts and churn out the game, leaving the occasional third down or big play in the hands of Mahomes and the passing game otherwise.

Pacheco has shown he can handle the pressure, as he has been a huge factor in Kansas City’s playoff run, racking up over 180 scrimmage yards in their two playoff games so far. The rookie may ultimately be the not-so-secret weapon for Andy Reid and this Chiefs offense, and we could see a historic day for the seventh-round pick, who probably could only imagine such a scenario on draft night.

Bears 2022 rookie review: WR Velus Jones Jr.

Bears third-round pick Velus Jones Jr. had his share of struggles in his rookie season, but he ended the year on a high note.

The Chicago Bears saw significant contributions from rookies on offense, defense and special teams during the 2022 season, whether it was from draft picks or undrafted free agents.

Wide receiver Velus Jones Jr. was the first offensive player selected by GM Ryan Poles. There were some who questioned the pick, wondering why Chicago was reaching for Jones in the third round. Jones had a rough rookie season, but he needed the year on a high note.

Let’s take a look back at Jones’ rookie season and see what we can expect for the future.

Bears 2022 rookie review: CB Kyler Gordon

The Bears’ top draft pick Kyler Gordon had his share of ups and downs in his rookie season.

The Chicago Bears saw significant contributions from rookies on offense, defense and special teams during the 2022 season, whether it was from draft picks or undrafted free agents.

The Bears’ first pick of the 2022 NFL draft was cornerback Kyler Gordon, who saw time both in the slot and on the boundary during his rookie season. Gordon had an up-and-down season but showed plenty of promise that bodes well for his future in Chicago.

Let’s take a look back at Gordon’s rookie season and see what we can expect for the future.

Browns land a familiar face, just earlier, in a 2022 NFL Draft redo

The Browns landed a familiar face in a 2022 NFL Draft do-over.

We have officially hit the offseason, where there are no games to cover so the coverage gets a bit more creative. And that is just what ESPN did when they decided to re-draft the 2022 NFL Draft just a season later. In this scenario, the Cleveland Browns did not trade out of the 44th overall pick, but still landed the same familiar face in cornerback Martin Emerson Jr.

ESPN’s Jake Trotter had this to say about the selection:

“Emerson had a terrific rookie season for the Browns, winning a starting job out of camp opposite Denzel Ward. Cleveland would be happy to grab him again here, a round earlier. Emerson’s size and range allowed him to hang with some of the top wideouts in the league. With Ward, Emerson and 2021 first-round pick Greg Newsome, Cleveland would boast a foundational cornerback trio that is young, versatile and prolific.”

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ESPN’s 2022 re-draft lands quarterback Kenny Pickett with the Saints

ESPN’s 2022 re-draft landed quarterback Kenny Pickett with the Saints, who missed out of on Chris Olave and passed on Trevor Penning:

A burden of success is that others tend to take notice. ESPN’s NFL Nation reporters collaborated on a do-over of the first round in the 2022 NFL draft, which cost the New Orleans Saints their top prospect but brought them a hopeful franchise quarterback in Kenny Pickett, who they passed on twice last April before the Pittsburgh Steelers called his name at No. 20 overall.

Young star receiver Chris Olave was picked by the Saints last year when they traded up on draft day to No. 11 overall, but they didn’t have that mobility in this exercise and were forced to watch him go off the board to the Houston Texans at No. 13. With the Saints stranded at No. 16, ESPN’s Katherine Terrell chose to select Pickett. Here’s what she wrote of that match:

“The Saints have struggled to find the right quarterback for the past two seasons and, with no 2023 first-rounder plus limited salary-cap space, their options aren’t great. With Chris Olave off the board, they could use the first of their two picks on a quarterback instead of starting over for the third straight year. Pickett’s numbers aren’t great — seven touchdown passes, nine interceptions — but he and the Pittsburgh offense improved down the stretch.”

Pickett was one of the worst starters in the league last year, but much of that blame goes to ineffective play-calling by his offensive coaching staff. But he did beat the Saints head-to-head and he led the Steelers into four game-winning drives, finishing the year with a 7-5 record as a starter. A stronger supporting cast could see his stock improve.

What about their other first-round pick? New Orleans bet big on left tackle Trevor Penning at No. 19, but the hole at receiver was too big to ignore, so Terrell took the best pass-catcher available in Jahan Dotson. He isn’t Olave, but he still had an impressive rookie year and he’d be welcome in New Orleans:

“Penning has a lot of potential, but injuries at the beginning and end of the season delayed his progress and limited his playing time. With Chris Olave already taken in this scenario — and with Michael Thomas‘ future in question — this team needs to add a receiver. Dotson’s seven touchdowns were tied for the lead among all rookie wideouts and would have tied tight end Juwan Johnson as the Saints’ receiving leader.”

Pickett and Dotson might be an effective combo to build an offense around, but the Saints are betting differently in searching for Olave’s quarterback. That might lead them to veteran starter Derek Carr, or to an option in the 2023 draft (one scenario, unlikely though it may be: trading up for Olave’s college quarterback C.J. Stroud). Hopefully Penning can heal up and prove New Orleans was right to invest such a high draft pick in him.

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Bears 2022 rookie review: LT Braxton Jones

Bears LT Braxton Jones was a steal for Ryan Poles in the fifth round.

The Chicago Bears saw significant contributions from rookies on offense, defense and special teams during the 2022 season, whether it was from draft picks or undrafted free agents.

Fifth-rounder Braxton Jones was one of the team’s best rookies. He quickly worked his way up the depth chart during the offseason and cemented himself as the starter at left tackle. While Jones had his share of ups and downs, he gained valuable experience in his first year and made his case for why he deserves to be starting again in 2023.

Let’s take a look back at Jones’ rookie season and see what we can expect for the future.