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7 bold predictions for the Philadelphia Eagles in the 2022 NFL draft
We’re just moments from the start of the NFL draft, where the 9-8 Philadelphia Eagles will look to add more talent to an ascending roster.
Philadelphia has needs on both sides of the ball and the general manager reportedly covets multiple dynamic players at key positions.
Howie Roseman loves to be aggressive and the Eagles will move up and down the draft board all weekend long.
With the first round of the draft set to start, here are seven bold predictions for the 2022 NFL Draft.
Six players made the cut for Tyler Forness’ “All-Forno Team”
Welcome to the first official All-Forno team.
Last year, I had five players that I considered “my guys,” but this year, I have turned it into a team. It isn’t a full roster, per se, but it is six players I would get on a soap box for.
There are a couple of first-round caliber players in here, but the key with finding guys you love isn’t based solely on talent. It’s about the nuances. It’s about how much fun you have while watching them.
Without further ado, here are the members of the All-Forno team.
2022 NFL draft: 10 prospects who are perfect fits for Jonathan Gannon and the Philadelphia Eagles’ defense
The Eagles will enter Thursday night’s first round of the NFL draft with 10-picks and immediate opportunities to add dynamic playmakers on the defensive side of the football.
Last year at this time, Jonathan Gannon was being introduced to the media and trying to describe his defensive scheme to inquiring minds.
Rather than describe a 4-3, or 3-4 scheme to the masses, Gannon spoke of versatility and adaptation while adopting 4 key principles to his defensive philosophy: H.I.T.S
Hustle
Intensity
Takeaways
Smarts
Gannon has previously referenced the Bears Matt Eberflus, Emmitt Thomas, Jerry Gray, and his biggest coaching influence, former Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer.
A mostly two-high safety, press-man scheme, that’ll employ a 4-2-5 nickel package in this pass-happy NFL, Gannon’s goal is to utilize cornerbacks that can deal with big wide receivers, while his interchangeable safeties make plays on the backend.
Gannon will focus on stopping the run while mixing up coverage with the back 7.
With Philadelphia looking to greatly improve on defense in 2022, here are 10 prospects that’ll immediately fit Gannon’s scheme.
Could the Philadelphia Eagles double-dip at the safety position early in NFL Draft?
The Eagles have several needs in this weekend’s NFL, but none bigger than addressing the lack of dynamic playmakers at the safety position.
The Eagles re-signed Anthony Harris this offseason but still have a pretty clear need at the safety position.
Rodney McLeod moved on to the Colts and Philadelphia has been in the mix for all-world safety, Tyrann Mathieu.
Even after the Eagles’ trade with the Saints, they still have two first-round picks and 10 total, allowing for numerous opportunities to add versatility at a position that has several dynamic prospects.
Philadelphia could even look to add multiple safeties in the draft, with several prospects carrying the hybrid role, that allows for players like Dax Hill, Jalen Pitre, or Kyle Hamilton to play at all three levels.
In the latest rotating mock draft from ESPN’s Mel Kiper and Todd McShay, the New York Giants land some familiar names early on.
ESPN’s Mel Kiper and Todd McShay released a rotating three-round mock draft on Tuesday and in it, the New York Giants end up with some familiar names early on.
With pick No. 5 overall, they project NC State offensive tackle Ikem Ekwonu to the Giants over both Evan Neal and Charles Cross.
Andrew Thomas looked better in 2021, but the Giants still need a tackle opposite him — and the best one in the class is still here at No. 5. New GM Joe Schoen would be sprinting to turn in the pick card if the board fell this way.
After the Carolina Panthers take Liberty quarterback Malik Willis, the Giants are back on the clock at No. 7. Unfortunately, Aidan Hutchinson, Travon Walker and Kayvon Thibodeaux are all off the board, leaving New York with Florida State edge rusher Jermaine Johnson II.
Hutchinson, Walker and Thibodeaux went 1-2-3, but Johnson is also worthy of a top-10 pick, and the Giants have a glaring issue at edge rusher. This would be a great start to the draft for the Giants, checking off a pair of boxes with their first two picks.
When things circle back to the Giants at No. 36 overall, Kiper has them addressing the safety position with Penn State’s Jalen Pitre.
If the Giants address their offensive and defensive lines with picks Nos. 5 and 7, they can move on to find a safety or linebacker here. Pitre is physical against the run and has some range in coverage.
In Round 3 (pick No. 67 overall), McShay and Kiper have the first new name going to the Giants that we’ve seen in a while: Wyoming linebacker Chad Muma.
With Blake Martinez coming off a torn ACL, why not get some insurance at inside linebacker? Muma tied for the FBS lead in tackles last season (125).
Finally, the Giants select UTSA cornerback Tariq Woolen at No. 81 overall.
I love this guy’s traits. Woolen is a former receiver who is still learning the cornerback position, but he ran a 4.26 in the 40-yard dash at the combine at 6-foot-4. Tack on the explosion demonstrated by a 42-inch vertical jump and some incredible 33 5/8-inch length, and you have someone who could develop into a star with time.
And that does it for the latest rotating mock draft from Kiper and McShay. How would you feel about this haul, Giants fans? Let us know in the comments below.
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Touchdown Wire’s Doug Farrar concludes our positional rankings with the top 11 safeties in the 2022 NFL draft.
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What the NFL expects from its safeties has changed drastically over the last decade. There are multiple reasons for this.
Think about the need for a true shutdown post safety in predominantly single-high coverage. A decade ago, when Seattle’s Legion of Boom defense was the desired template, you were playing heavy press underneath with defined box and post safeties. The Seahawks were able to do this because they had a dominant press cornerback (Richard Sherman), a dominant box safety (Kam Chancellor), and the best post safety of his era (Earl Thomas).
That’s not an easy archetype to copy, because you obviously have to hit on multiple generational players at crucial positions that all teams desperately desire. Your hit rate is reduced by the scarcity of human beings who can do what Sherman, Chancellor, and Thomas could do, and it’s then exponentially reduced even more by the fact that so many teams are looking for those same types of players. Factor in the relative lack of scheme versatility in that particular instance, and all of a sudden, the structure for your hit rate goes from the ceiling to the basement.
Now, look at where the NFL has prioritized its defensive resources in the last few years. The Vic Fangio/Brandon Staley template of two-high coverage and lighter boxes works in today’s NFL for a lot of reasons. Teams are throwing more often. Teams are running the ball not only less, but in different ways and with different types of players. In 2021, offenses threw out of more quick-game concepts (zero to three step drops) at a 60% rate, and the ability of the quarterback to have second-reaction ability to keep things alive when the play breaks down is seen as more of a near-necessity than a prominent luxury.
So, that Earl Thomas/Ed Reed-level deep safety, while awesome if you can get him and if he even exists in any draft cycle? I mean, if you know the draft prospect can possibly be that level of player, you move heaven and earth to get him, because you’re talking about a once-in-a-decade player who can define your defense.
More likely, you’re getting safeties who do a lot of things — some very well, some with developmental issues, and some things they probably shouldn’t be doing at all. You’re going to want a guy who can play some free, some slot, some box, maybe even a few snaps of outside corner, and some reps as a blitzer along the defensive line. It’s why teams go less and less for the defined box and free safeties as they used to.
There are far more Tyrann Mathieus than Earl Thomases. And there are far more safeties who work well in two-high shells, whether they stay in two-high or spin to something else post-snap. Player value at the position has turned from athletic to schematic. It’s more about finding the player who works in the concepts you want to run, as opposed to waiting around for the guy who will fill in the nearly impossible blank.
Notre Dame’s Kyle Hamilton, the consensus top safety in the 2022 draft class, had 1.440 defensive snaps over three collegiate seasons, per Pro Football Focus. Hamilton had 644 snaps at free safety, 437 in the slot, 313 in the box, 29 along the defensive line, and 15 at outside cornerback.
Hamilton’s specific value is not in his ability to play that many positions, because nearly every safety coming into the draft over the last few years has a somewhat similar position share. His specific value is in his ability to take the multi-position archetype that is the order of the day, and play those positions at a level that is disproportionately high in comparison to the other safeties in this class. Factor in his height/weight template, and that’s where Kyle Hamilton becomes a potentially generational prospect. It’s not at all that he does one thing very well. It’s entirely that he does 4-5 things, he’s NFL-ready at all of them, and he’s NFL-plus ready with this or that attribute in ways we haven’t seen from other players.
When you see the position snaps for the top 11 safety prospects on our list. you’ll see, over and over, how much the value guide for the position has flipped on its head.
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Here are Touchdown Wire’s top 11 safeties in the 2022 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).
2022 NFL draft: The top 11 cornerbacks
2022 NFL draft: The top 11 linebackers
2022 NFL draft: The top 12 edge defenders
2022 NFL draft: The top 11 interior defensive linemen
2022 NFL draft: The top 11 interior offensive linemen
2022 NFL draft: The top 11 offensive tackles
2022 NFL draft: The top 11 tight ends
2022 NFL draft: The top 16 receivers
The New York Giants address several key areas of need in the latest two-round mock draft from ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr.
The New York Giants will need to address multiple positions in the 2022 NFL draft in order to fill out their roster ahead of organized team activities and minicamps.
Perhaps chief among those is right tackle, which many anticipate the Giants the Giants will focus on early. That includes ESPN draft expert Mel Kiper Jr., who has them taking NC State offensive lineman Ikem Ekwonu with the No. 5 overall pick in his latest mock draft.
If the board shakes out this way, the Giants would have to be thrilled to get their pick of the top two offensive tackles. I have Ekwonu just slightly over Evan Neal, but it’s tough to go wrong with either — they are my Nos. 2 and 3 prospects in this class. Ekwonu answered every question about his pass-protection ability last season. If left tackle Andrew Thomas keeps improving, these two could form one of the NFL’s best bookend pairings.
Two picks later, Kiper believes the Giants will finally address their pass rush problem. But with Kayvon Thibodeaux already off the board, Big Blue lands on Florida State defensive end Jermaine Johnson II instead.
The Giants can get their tackle at No. 5 and then focus on their defense, which allowed 4.7 yards per play last season (31st in the NFL). Johnson had 12 sacks last season and was one of the most impressive prospects at the Senior Bowl in January. He already has a few veteran pass-rush moves and can be an instant starter. He also played a lot of outside linebacker for the Seminoles, so he will have some versatility in Don Martindale’s defense. And if you’re keeping track, this makes four edge rushers in the top seven picks.
And finally, in the second round, Kiper has the Giants nabbing Baylor safety Jalen Pitre.
This makes five safeties off the board in the top 36 picks. Pitre was stellar against the run last season; he had 20 run stops, according to ESPN Stats & Info, which were the most by any FBS defensive back. He impressed teams at the Senior Bowl. The Giants could target a wide receiver here, depending on how the board falls. The 6-foot-3 George Pickens (Georgia) could make sense.
How would you feel about this trio, Giants fans? It addresses three areas of need but from a mock draft standpoint, it’s really more of the same. The Giants are very predictable going into this draft and the mocks have become redundant.
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The Houston Texans bolster their defense with Ahmad Gardner and add complementary pieces on offense in the latest Texans Wire four-round mock draft.
The NFL draft is 15 days away.
It’s a draft that’s shaping up to define the future of the Houston Texans and provides a clear idea of how general manager Nick Caserio wants to run the team. With a draft of this level of significance, rumors are rampant leading up to the event.
There’s speculation the drafts priority will be to help second-year quarterback Davis Mills and give the Texans a proper evaluation of what they have under center. Some think the draft will focus on giving coach Lovie Smith the best possible chance to succeed as a defensive coach and Caserio’s second hire in as many seasons. Other still think it will just be Caserio taking his best player on the board at every pick, as a bad team attempts to accumulate value.
With little certainty as to the Texans’ plan but more and more public commentary coming out, the Texans Wire is releasing its first 4-round mock draft.
Everything NFL draft fans need to know about Baylor defensive back Jalen Pitre
A unique prospect who played the “star” position in the Baylor defense, Jalen Pitre enters the 2022 NFL draft with tons of positive momentum after a solid 2021 campaign, and a stellar performance during Senior Bowl week.
Here’s everything you need to know about the Bears’ dynamic defender:
The Jets could still use a safety after signing Jordan Whitehead. These eight could interest New York in the 2022 NFL draft:
Joe Douglas made a point of upgrading the Jets’ secondary early in free agency, signing D.J. Reed and Jordan Whitehead to multi-year contracts.
Whitehead’s arrival in New York instantly fills a hole at safety. Lamarcus Joyner, Will Parks and Elijah Riley are also returning for Gang Green next season and Jason Pinnock ended his rookie season on a high note after switching from cornerback to safety late in the season.
Even with the Whitehead signing and the team’s current personnel at the position, odds are the Jets aren’t done adding to their safety room. Riley and Pinnock are unproven and Joyner is an aging veteran who failed to make it through a quarter of New York’s season opener before suffering a season-ending injury in 2021.
This year’s safety class is a good one and Douglas has a chance to find a player capable of starting next to Whitehead for at least the next two seasons — the duration of Whitehead’s deal. Here are eight safeties Gang Green could target later this month.
