Tag: 2022 redraft

Seahawks take Arnold Ebiketie over Boye Mafe in this ESPN 2022 re-draft

There’s still time for Mafe to catch up, but for now Ebiketie appears to have the higher ceiling in the NFL.

If it ain’t broke don’t fix it. That’s the energy that Brady Henderson brought into ESPN’s 2022 NFL re-draft. In the first round, he had the Seahawks going the same route they did last year, selecting Mississippi State left tackle Charles Cross with the No. 9 overall pick.

In the second round of ESPN’s re-draft, Henderson picked Michigan State running back Ken Walker in the spot (No. 40 overall) that had gone to Minnesota outside linebacker Boye Mafe.

With the very next pick, Henderson went in a different direction. Instead of taking Mafe, he went with a different edge defender: Penn State’s Arnold Ebiketie:

“The Seahawks loved Ebiketie but never got a chance to take him in the actual draft, ending up with Boye Mafe instead. With Mafe off the board in this scenario, they could take Ebiketie, who had similar production during his rookie season but a much better pass rush win rate — 17.6% compared to Mafe’s 10.2%.”

You’ll hear no argument from us. There’s still time for Mafe to catch up, but for now Ebiketie appears to have the higher ceiling in the NFL.

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Tyler Smith, DaRon Bland jump way up in 2022 redraft; Cowboys take CB, OG

In this do-over, Tyler Smith and DaRon Bland aren’t Cowboys. Would an SEC DB and a big-name lineman have made a difference in the season? | From @ToddBrock24f7

With only two teams still in game-prep mode and a shiny championship trophy on the line, the fanbases of 30 other NFL clubs are living out a far more disappointed version of the reality they had fervently believed was coming their way just a few months prior.

For those not in Chiefs Kingdom or Iggles Nation, it’s already the multiverse time of year. And while mock drafts let the faithful gaze into their crystal balls to imagine a new and improved future, redrafts allow for a hypothetical what-if look back at the season that might have been.

ESPN asked its NFL Nation reporters to rewind to April 28, 2022 and make their teams’ first two rounds of picks again, this time factoring in everything we learned about how last year’s rookies actually played over the course of their debut seasons.

In a do-over where there are no secrets or surprises, the Cowboys lose out on their impressive first-rounder and let their second-rounder fall. But every selection has a ripple effect of possibilities, and Dallas walks away from this imaginary exercise with two totally different players for the 2023 season.

Would they have changed the outcome of the season, for better or worse? That’s up for debate… maybe something Cowboys fans can chew on while they’re watching other teams battle for the Lombardi.