Every team has its own scouting methods to get where they need to get before the draft begins. Area scouts compile their reports through the season, directors of scouting compile those reports over time, and then, everything is funneled up to coaches and general managers. Then, team musts and needs are considered, best players available regardless of position are listed, and eventually, NFL teams will put together their Big Boards — the players most highly regarded in the building as the draft goes down.
At Touchdown Wire, our two-person staff (Doug Farrar and Mark Schofield) did it a little differently. We had to act as our own area scouts, directors, coaches, and general managers, and we didn’t have any team needs to consider — we’ll save those for the mock drafts.
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So, this Big Board is all about the players we think are the 50 best overall in this draft class. We started the process by putting together our best players at every position, from quarterback to safety…
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…and then, we each put together their individual Top 50 lists. After a bit of thumb-wrestling, we came up with what you have before you. With well over 20,000 words, and more than 200 individual tape examples, and scads of advanced metrics, we feel that this is as comprehensive a top prospect list as you’ll see anywhere outside of an NFL front office.
Here are Touchdown Wire’s Top 50 prospects in the 2022 NFL draft class.
(All advanced metrics courtesy of Pro Football Focus and Sports Info Solutions unless otherwise indicated. All testing data comes from the 2022 scouting combine, with percentile per position, courtesy of MockDraftable.com. Certain biographical information was gleaned from Dane Brugler’s “The Beast” draft guide over at The Athletic, which is a must-read every year).