Tag: Alex Wright

With the 78th pick, the Browns select DE Alex Wright

Wright fits the team’s profile at defensive end and ranks high by both PFF and SIS in rushing the pass and more:

The Cleveland Browns have made their second selection of the night, and second in the third round of the NFL draft. Like their first pick, the team added to their defense. With the 78th pick in the 2022 NFL draft, the Browns selected defensive end Alex Wright out of UAB.

Wright, mentioned this morning in a mock draft, is a tall, strong defender with a lot of upside. At almost 6’6″ and 270 pounds, Wright gives the Cleveland defensive line another huge presence. With Myles Garrett on one side and Jadeveon Clowney expected to return on the other, but not yet signed, Wright fits the mold the team prefers at defensive end.

If Clowney does return, Wright will join Chase Winovich and Curtis Weaver in the team’s rotation.

Pro Football Focus ranked Wright very high in several important categories:

Sports Information Systems also rated him quite high as a pass rusher.

In three seasons with the Blazers, Wright had 11.5 sacks including six last year. He also added three forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries and five passes defended.

The Browns have one more selection currently scheduled for Friday night, the 99th selection acquired as a compensatory pick when Kwesi Adofo-Mensah was hired as the Minnesota Vikings general manager. The team has three selections in the fourth round on Saturday as well.

The perfect (slight hyperbole) day 2 Browns mock draft does exist

The Browns have three picks on day two of the NFL draft and this mock draft is close to perfection for those picks:

The NFL draft had a chaotic first night. It fits the chaotic offseason that has been seen all over the NFL this year including a number of trades, a couple of veteran receivers on the move and only one quarterback taken in the first round.

The AFC North had a few pieces of those significant moves. Pittsburgh selected the only quarterback, Baltimore seemingly upset their franchise quarterback and Cincinnati seemed to select a replacement for one of their best, young defenders after franchise tagging him.

The Cleveland Browns get to be involved as night two rolls around. After trading their first-round pick, which exchanged hands again on Thursday, Andrew Berry and company currently have a selection in the second round and two in the third round.

While mock drafts can be mocked (pun intended) quite often, they are a fun way to think about scenarios, learn about players and get hopes up of how things can go for a team or players. This day two mock draft is as close to perfect from top to bottom as possible. While it may not have the exact players you want, the three selections add together to put Cleveland in a great situation:

Indianapolis Colts’ final 2022 NFL mock draft

Our final mock draft for the Colts ahead of the 2022 NFL draft.

With the 2022 NFL draft set to begin Thursday night, the excitement is building for all 32 teams, including the Indianapolis Colts to add fantastic young talent to its roster.

There are sure to be many surprise trades, shocking selections and moves that will keep fans locked in throughout the weekend to see just how their favorite teams have improved.

With that hype spreading throughout the league, we will be attempting a final prediction of the upcoming draft using The Draft Network’s mock draft simulator. This mock will cover all picks that the Colts currently hold as of this writing.

We’ve looked at many scenarios and outcomes in previous mocks, including ones targeting quarterbacks and others trading back to add more picks, which seems to be a favorite move of Colts GM Chris Ballard in recent years. In this mock, however, we will attempt to simply predict the selections as they currently stand on the board.

With that, we will start the mock with Indianapolis’ first selection on Day 2 in the second round at No. 42 overall.

SKOL Search: Predicting the Vikings 2022 NFL draft class

It’s time to lock in the draft class predictions.

On Monday, I wrote about what I would do with the Vikings draft class. It went a different direction than I was expecting, but it ended up looking really good.

For this mock draft, there isn’t a lot we can surmise from Kwesi Adofo-Mensah. However, I can confidently predict he will do three things

  1. Target premium positions with premium picks
  2. Maximize the market
  3. Select younger players with premium picks

This is strictly projection based on how the organizations Adofo-Mensah previously worked for operated. It is something that I feel confident in because of his background and belief in analytics and data.

This mock draft will be made with those things in mind. But also keep this in mind, there can be selections that happen outside of these parameters based on how the board falls and if the talent value is too good to pass up.

After two months of focusing on exploring different possibilities, it’s time to predict. Here is my best projection for how the Vikings will draft this upcoming weekend using The Draft Network’s Mock Draft Simulator.

Ravens use best player available strategy in latest full 2022 7-round mock draft

The Ravens use the best player available strategy in our latest seven-round mock draft

The Baltimore Ravens will have ample opportunities to add talent to their roster over 2022 draft weekend. They will start the festivities with 10 draft picks, including nine in the first four rounds. That makes for a treasure trove of selections, and plenty of options as to what they could do with them.

One of the strategies that Baltimore has employed over the course of their franchise history is selecting the best players available, regardless of need. Recent examples of this include cornerback Marlon Humphrey and running back J.K. Dobbins, both picks that have turned out extremely well for the franchise.

Below we look at a full Ravens 2022 seven-round mock draft where the team uses the best player available strategy.

Texans should consider UAB edge rusher Alex Wright in the 2022 NFL draft

The Houston Texans should take a look at former UAB defensive end Alex Wright if they need to prepare for the future along the edge.

The Houston Texans need to prepare for the future at edge rusher, and they have many chances to do so in the 2022 NFL draft.

While Oregon defensive end Kayvon Thibodeaux, Florida State defensive end Jermaine Johnson, and Georgia defensive end Travon Walker figure to garner attention for one of Houston’s twin first-round selections, the Texans can still build for the future at the position later on in the draft.

One edge defender in the draft who had the highest pass rush win rate among eligible 2022 draft class members is former UAB defensive end Alex Wright, who is one of Pro Football Focus’ Ben Linsey’s “guys” heading into the draft.

Wright has pretty much everything an NFL team would want in a developmental edge prospect who will likely come off the board somewhere in the third to fourth round range. 

The size and length are there for Wright to be an every-down player at 6-foot-5 and 274 pounds with 34-inch arms. His production across the past three seasons at UAB was also impressive, albeit against less-than-stellar competition. Wright’s 19.9% pressure rate in 2021 ranked first among FBS edge rushers in this year’s draft class.

Linsey freely admits that Wright won’t “immediately step in as a high-end starter,” but the beauty is Houston doesn’t need him to.

Defensive end Jonathan Greenard led the Texans last season with 8.0 sacks and figures to be the Texans’ lead edge rusher in 2022 as well. Greenard is entering the third year of his four-year rookie contract. Whether Houston decides to move on from Greenard or extend him, it would behoove them to add a defensive end who can develop behind the scenes with no pressure.

Even if Houston picks a top-5 edge rusher on day one of the draft, by 2024, Houston could have a formidable tandem with the top-5 edge rusher and a more developed Wright.

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Packers meet virtually with UAB edge rusher Alex Wright

The Packers met virtually with UAB’s Alex Wright, one of the many intriguing edge rushers in the 2022 draft.

The Green Bay Packers met virtually and at the combine with UAB edge rusher Alex Wright, according to Justin Melo of The Draft Network.

Wright (6-5, 271) is one of many intriguing edge rushers in the 2022 NFL draft class.

He produced 19.0 tackles for loss, 12.5 sacks and three sacks over 35 games and 18 starts at UAB. Wright was a second-team All-Conference USA selection in 2021 after creating 7.5 tackles for loss and 7.0 sacks in 13 games.

He put up 15 reps on the bench press at the NFL Scouting Combine. At his pro day, Wright hit 29″ in the vertical leap, covered 9-6 in the broad jump, finished the short shuttle in 4.42 seconds and three-cone drill in 7.42 seconds. He has a wingspan of almost 83″

Wright is still 21 years old. He doesn’t turn 22 until September. Lance Zierlein of NFL.com sees a high-ceiling player in need of major development, but the Packers – with Rashan Gary and Preston Smith entrenched as starters – could offer Wright an ideal landing spot.

“In a projection-based model where additional size, strength and technique improvements are likely, his athleticism becomes an even more impressive weapon as both a run defender and pass rusher. He will require a runway for development, but he’s worth a middle-round selection as a potential three-down starter for odd- or even-front teams,” Zierlein wrote in Wright’s scouting report.

Dane Brugler of The Athletic ranks Wright as the No. 18 overall edge rusher and the No. 97 overall player in the class. The Packers have a need for a developmental edge rusher and also five picks in the top 100.

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Colts showing interest in UAB EDGE Alex Wright

The Colts have shown interest in UAB edge rusher Alex Wright.

Even after trading for defensive end Yannick Ngakoue, the Indianapolis Colts still have their eyes on the edge rusher position for the 2022 NFL draft.

After years of having an inconsistent pass rush, the Colts have to do everything they can to add as many pass rushers as possible. One of those may be in the form of UAB edge rusher Alex Wright.

According to Justin Melo of The Draft Network, the Colts have plenty of interest in the edge prospect.

Wright certainly has the frame the Colts like in their edge rushers. His 34-inch arms are nearly a requisite to get interest from the Colts.

In 2021, Wright recorded a career-high 6.0 sacks while adding 7.5 tackles for loss.

The Colts have a solid edge group with Ngakoue, Kwity Paye, Dayo Odeyingbo and Tyquan Lewis. But that shouldn’t stop them from adding a high-ceiling prospect like Wright.

Here’s the draft profile from Lance Zierlein of NFL.com, who compared Wright to Taco Charlton.

“Developmental defensive end who is still growing into his body and his position. Wright will likely look much different in pads within a couple of years. His current play lacks recognition, sophistication and technique. However, he’s a young player who flashes and still posts good rush production, albeit versus lesser blockers. In a projection-based model where additional size, strength and technique improvements are likely, his athleticism becomes an even more impressive weapon as both a run defender and pass rusher. He will require a runway for development, but he’s worth a middle-round selection as a potential three-down starter for odd- or even-front teams.”

The Colts have big positions of need yet to fill this offseason like quarterback, left tackle, wide receiver and cornerback. But they are still likely to add some more depth to the pass rush.

When the end of April arrives, Wright very well may be on their list for Day 2.

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Titans showing interest in UAB EDGE Alex Wright

The Titans are doing their due diligence on UAB EDGE Alex Wright.

Despite being in good shape at the position going into 2022, the Tennessee Titans are doing their due diligence on edge rushers for the upcoming NFL draft.

According to Justin Melo of The Draft Network, the Titans met formally with UAB EDGE Alex Wright at the combine and will do so again virtually ahead of April’s draft. They are one of several teams showing interest, though.

Melo projects Wright will go anywhere from late in the second round to early-to-mid third round.

The 6-foot-5, 271-pound pass rusher tallied 91 total tackles (19 for loss), 11.5 sacks and five passes defensed over the last three seasons. His best college campaign came in 2021, when he finished with a career-high six sacks.

Here’s more on Wright, courtesy of Lance Zierlein of NFL.com:

“Developmental defensive end who is still growing into his body and his position. Wright will likely look much different in pads within a couple of years. His current play lacks recognition, sophistication and technique. However, he’s a young player who flashes and still posts good rush production, albeit versus lesser blockers. In a projection-based model where additional size, strength and technique improvements are likely, his athleticism becomes an even more impressive weapon as both a run defender and pass rusher. He will require a runway for development, but he’s worth a middle-round selection as a potential three-down starter for odd- or even-front teams.”

The Titans have a whole list of needs to address in the draft before even thinking about taking an edge rusher, with wide receiver, tight end, and offensive line (guard and tackle) being the biggest.

I don’t see the Titans addressing EDGE with any of their first three picks over the first three rounds, thus they might not be able to get their hands on the talented UAB product.

UAB’s Alex Wright could be part of solution to replenishing Cowboys edge department

The Cowboys suddenly have a depth issue at defensive end they could be choosing to thin out. Tyler Browning (@DiabeticTyler) takes a look at a mid-round option to help replenish.

The Dallas Cowboys offseason is riddled with questions, including the expiring contract of edge rusher Randy Gregory. He has had some off-the-field issues in the past, and the Cowboys have stuck by him though it all; and it appeared he finally has everything sorted out as he played in all but 4 games this year and tallied 6 sacks and 17 QB hits. Will the Cowboys prioritize him going forward? Or will they think they can replace him in the draft and spend the money elsewhere?

UAB edge rusher Alex Wrigh is fantastic against the run, light on his feet, has a lethal swim move, and can split double teams. The main thing missing from his game is the ability to finish the play. He will get in the backfield hurry the QB or make initial contact with the RB, but just fails to secure the tackle a number of times. Does he fit in Dallas? A dive into his film will provide some answers.