Tag: Chigoziem Okonkwo

Final Ravens 2022 7-round mock draft

We look at a final 2022 seven-round mock draft for the Ravens

The Baltimore Ravens have built up plenty of talent throughout the draft over the course of their franchise history. That likely isn’t changing during the 2022 draft, where the team houses 10 draft picks, including nine in the first four rounds.

The 2022 prospect class is considered extremely deep by many, which bodes well for Baltimore. They have plenty of needs, which they’ll be able to look to fill over the course of draft weekend.

Below we look at our final seven-round mock draft for Baltimore, projecting what the Ravens will do with all of their draft picks.

Denver Broncos pre-draft visit tracker

The list of prospects who have visited the Broncos ahead of the NFL draft includes OT Matt Waletzko, RB James Cook and OLB Nik Bonitto.
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Each offseason, NFL teams are allowed to host 30 non-local prospects at their facilities ahead of the NFL draft. We will be tracking the Denver Broncos’ top 30 visits on this page.

Broncos Pre-Draft Visits

1. RB Shermari Jones
2. RB James Cook
3. RB Isaih Pacheco
4. RB Zamir White
5. OT Tyler Smith
6. OT Abraham Lucus
7. OT Matt Waletzko
8. OT Braxton Jones
9. OL Cam Jurgens
10. OL Dylan Parham
11. OL Cole Strange
12. TE/FB Chigoziem Okonkwo
13. WR Tyquan Thornton
14. WR Jared Bernhardt
15. CB Cordale Flott
16. CB DaRon Bland
17. CB Ja’Quan McMillian
18. CB Martin Emerson
19. DB Nick Grant
20. DB Tariq Carpenter
21. OLB DeAngelo Malone
22. OLB Nik Bonitto

Non-Top 30 Visits

1. LB Chad Muma (local visit)
2. TE Cole Turner (virtual visit)
3. OL Thayer Munford (virtual visit)
4. OL Jamaree Salyer (virtual visit)
5. OLB Isaiah Thomas (virtual visit)
6. RB Hassan Haskins (virtual visit)
7. WR Mike Harley Jr. (Hula Bowl)
8. WR D’Eriq King (pro day)
9. K Cade York  (pro day)

The draft will be held in Las Vegas from April 28-30. The Broncos currently own nine selections, including a second-round pick and a pair of third-round picks.

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Ravens trade up for a star in latest 2022 7-round mock draft

We look at a trade up scenario for the Ravens in our latest 2022 mock draft

With 10 selections in the 2022 draft, the Baltimore Ravens have no shortage of possibilities as to how they can add talent to their roster come draft weekend. They can select players with each of those 10 picks, or they could move up and down the draft board to get the best value for their selections.

In situations where they trade up, they would most likely do so if there’s a falling star taking an unprecedented drop. It’s been rare that Baltimore has a first-round selection as high as No. 14, so it would cost less draft capital to move up into the top-ten as opposed to if they had a pick in the late first round.

Below we look at our latest seven-round mock draft for the Ravens, this time including a trade-up scenario.

Bears 2022 NFL Draft preview: Where does Chicago stand at tight end?

We’re breaking down each position ahead of the 2022 NFL draft. Next up is TE, which may not be as big of a priority during the draft.

The Chicago Bears are coming off a disappointing 2021 season that ushered in the start of a new era with general manager Ryan Poles and head coach Matt Eberflus. The hope is this Ryan-Matt duo will be able to guide the Bears  back to relevance.

With the NFL draft fast approaching, Poles still has plenty of work to do with the current roster, which features some glaring holes at positions of need. Positions like wide receiver, offensive line and defensive back remain huge concerns.

Here at Bears Wire, we’re going position by position to break down where Chicago stands entering the 2022 NFL draft. It’s time to look at tight ends, a position that was bolstered last week and may not be as big of a priority during the draft.

Lions 2022 NFL draft: A tight end for every round

The latest in the “prospect for each round of the 2022 NFL draft” series focuses on tight ends, a definite need for the Detroit Lions

It doesn’t get brought up very often in the list of Detroit Lions needs this offseason, but tight end definitely merits inclusion. The Lions bring back Pro Bowler T.J. Hockenson, who should be healthy and ready to roll once again. Free agent signee Garrett Griffin can handle the veteran blocking TE role, at least that’s the expectation. Griffin is on a one-year, veteran-minimum contract so that certainly doesn’t mean anything for the long-term team building.

The rest of the depth chart consists of undrafted rookies from a year ago (Brock Wright, Shane Zylstra) and some castoffs (Matt Sokol, Jared Pinkney) who have collectively never caught a single NFL pass. While the Lions subsisted a year ago by using an extra offensive tackle (primarily Will Holden, still unsigned) as a blocking tight end, it would be nice to get some youthful potential with experience at the position into the Lions pipeline. Hockenson is the only tight end under contractual control after 2022.

As with the rest of this series of identifying potential prospects of interest in each round of the draft, the purpose here isn’t to advocate for any one player. It’s to show the different options that could be available for Lions GM Brad Holmes and his staff to consider, and what caliber of player and positional depth looks like in this class.

Lions 2022 NFL draft: A quarterback for every round

Lions 2022 NFL draft: A safety for every round

Lions 2022 NFL draft: A wide receiver for every round

Tight end is a little tougher. There isn’t a prospect worthy of consideration with any of the Lions’ first three picks (2, 32, 34). To keep the same format, consider the second-rounder listed here as the Lions’ pick at the top of the third. It seems very unlikely any tight ends are drafted by any team in the first 50 or so picks this year.

Ravens add numerous athletes in latest 7-round mock draft

The Ravens select numerous athletes in our latest 2022 seven-round mock draft

The 2022 NFL draft is less than one month away, meaning that the Baltimore Ravens will be able to add plenty of talented playmakers to their team. Baltimore currently has 10 draft picks in this month’s draft, including nine in the first four rounds.

The Ravens have plenty of needs to fill, even after signing players such as safety Marcus Williams, offensive lineman Morgan Moses and defensive lineman Michael Pierce. The draft will be key for the team round out the rest of their roster with rookies that can contribute at a high level both right away and in the future.

Below we look at a full seven-round mock draft for Baltimore.

How Chigoziem Okonkwo’s athleticism translates to the field

Maryland tight end Chigoziem Okonkwo made some money with his Combine performance. Here is a look at his athleticism on film.

One of the best parts about the annual Scouting Combine is when a player’s performance on the turf in Indianapolis forces those in the evaluation game to look back at their film.

Maryland tight end Chigoziem Okonkwo turned in one such performance last week. The Maryland prospect posted a 40-yard dash of 4.52 seconds, with an unofficial 10-yard split of 1.59 seconds, both of which put him in the elite tier of tight end prospects. Okonkwo also put up a 35.5-inch vertical jump, also an elite result for tight ends.

While he might be undersized for the position, Okonkwo might be an ideal hybrid player at the next level, similar to how the San Francisco 49ers use Kyle Juszczyk.

To see how that athleticism translates to the field, we can dive into five plays in this following breakdown:

Lions full mock draft v5.0: Post-combine edition

With the scouting combine now done it’s time for an updated set of Detroit Lions draft projections

Now that the preeminent event of NFL draft season is in the books, it’s time to update the Detroit Lions 2022 mock draft. The scouting combine in Indianapolis shook things up a bit with workouts both good and bad, official player measurements, interviews and medicals, as well as the chance for those of us in attendance to get direct access to NFL decision-makers and pick their brains a bit.

This is the fifth edition of the 2022 NFL draft projections for the Lions in each round.

Lions mock draft v4.0: Pre-combine edition

Full 7-round Lions mock draft v3.0: Kicking off 2022 NFL draft season

Lions full mock draft v2.0: Post-Week 14 edition

Lions 7-round mock draft for the bye week

A couple of ground rules here. First, this mock ignores free agency and potential signings and releases of veterans. We explore those more comprehensive offseason projections and ideas in the mock offseason series, which will update later this week.

Secondly, no trades. It’s incredibly difficult to accurately predict what players will be available for the Lions at each pick, let alone trying to forecast what other teams will try and do to move up or down. Projected compensatory draft picks are included. Those should be made official any day now.

Tight end standouts from the first day of scouting combine drills

These five tight ends helped their draft stock the most during the first drills of the 2022 scouting combine.

There may not be a first-round tight end in this draft class, but that doesn’t mean you can’t get a Pro Bowl starter at the position in the later rounds. The 49ers stole George Kittle in the fifth round of the 2016 draft out of Iowa, the Ravens got Mark Andrews in the 2018 draft out of Oklahoma, and theChargers got Hunter Henry in the second round of the 2016 draft out of Oklahoma.

So, it’s important to watch this year’s class of tight ends as they go through their combine drills, and here are the guys who stood out as those drills got underway on Thursday afternoon at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.

2022 NFL draft: TE prospect from Maryland to keep an eye on

The #49ers need another tight end and Chigoziem Okonkwo from Maryland checks a lot of boxes.

The 49ers could be in the market for a tight end when they enter the 2022 NFL draft. TE Ross Dwelley is set to hit free agency and 2020 sixth-round selection Charlie Woerner hasn’t put a stranglehold on the backup TE spot. One intriguing player San Francisco could target in the draft is Maryland’s Chigoziem Okonkwo (Chiggo-zem OH-konk-woe).

Okonkwo had meetings with virtually every team at the Shrine Bowl, but per Justin Melo of the Draft Network the 49ers were among the teams he had more in-depth talks with.

It would behoove San Francisco to add another dynamic playmaker at tight end since neither Dwelley nor Woerner developed into that role, leaving virtually all of the receiving production at TE to come from George Kittle. They’ve tried a couple times to find that player and haven’t been able to secure one.

Okonkwo is listed at 6-2, 244 pounds and while the raw receiving numbers don’t jump off the page, his athleticism really stands out in video.

As a freshman he started four games and caught six balls for 69 yards and one touchdown. He also had three carries for 72 yards and two touchdowns. Okonkwo started three games the following year and improved to 19 catches, 201 receiving yards and two receiving TDs.

His ascent was halted before his junior season when chest pains forced him to the hospital where he learned his 2020 campaign was over.

“The MRI showed that I had some scarring on my heart and that’s when they told me that I had myocarditis,” Okonkwo told UMTerps.com. “They told me that I had to sit out for six months, so I knew then that my season was over.”

He rallied back from the once dire prognosis and broke out with a huge senior year where he posted 52 receptions, 447 yards and five touchdowns in 13 starts.

His physicality and athleticism after the catch are both things that would fit nicely in the 49ers’ passing offense, but he spent plenty of time at Maryland blocking which would be a requirement to get on the field in the pros. Okonkwo worked as an in-line blocker, but also went in motion a lot and is capable of filling a similar role to the one Kyle Juszczyk occupies in the 49ers’ offense.

That versatility is something San Francisco could use on their tight end depth chart behind Kittle, and their Shrine Bowl meeting with Okonkwo shouldn’t be their last talk with him.

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