Tag: Matthew Butler

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.

2022 NFL draft: Former Vols’ rankings for every position

2022 NFL draft: A look at former Vols’ rankings for every position

The 2022 NFL draft will take place April 28–30 in Paradise, Nevada.

Four former Vols took part in the 2022 NFL scouting combine March 1-7 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana.  Defensive lineman Matthew Butler, wide receiver Velus Jones Jr., offensive lineman Cade Mays and defensive back Alontae Taylor participated in the scouting combine.

The University of Tennessee held its pro day March 30 at Anderson Training Center. In addition to Butler, Jones Jr., Mays and Taylor, former Vols Ja’Quain Blakely (defensive line), Kenneth George Jr. (defensive back), Theo Jackson (defensive back), JaVonta Payton (wide receiver) and Donovan Slates (linebacker) took part in pro day.

Ahead of the NFL draft, Draft Wire ranked the top prospects at every position. Below are rankings for every former Vol looking to be drafted.

Lions 2022 NFL draft: A defensive tackle for every round

This isn’t a great DT class but the Lions could find some useful reinforcements in the draft

Putting a bow on the series of positional scouting reports for the Detroit Lions in the 2022 NFL draft. Last up are the defensive tackles, an area where the team has a definite need with Nick Williams leaving in free agency and veteran Michael Brockers entering the final year of his contract.

Lions 2022 NFL draft: A wide receiver for every round

Lions 2022 draft: A cornerback for every round

Lions 2022 draft: A linebacker for every round

Lions 2022 NFL draft: A safety for every round

Lions 2022 NFL draft: A tight end for every round

Lions 2022 NFL draft: A quarterback for every round

The focus here is on more athletic tackles who can play the 3-tech through the 5-tech, which is technically a DE spot. When the Lions use three linemen, the DE spot tends to be a bigger guy (Brockers, Levi Onwuzurike), so players who have some positional versatility get lifted up a bit. Detroit has Alim McNeil and John Penisini at the nose tackle spot and that’s a decent tandem, though more depth would always be nice.

The purpose here isn’t to advocate for or against any specific player. This is about presenting the options that are likely available to the Lions (and other NFL teams) at the position in each round. We’ll go through the options at each position, and we’ll also include projections for the fourth and seventh rounds, where the Lions do not currently hold a pick.

The most underrated prospects in the 2022 NFL draft class

Touchdown Wire’s Doug Farrar reveals his most underrated prospects in the 2022 NFL draft class.

When we media yahoos talk about “sleepers” in any draft class, it’s true what NFL teams will tell you — it’s generally a case of the media simply catching up to what those teams have known about those prospects for months. Perception versus reality means that what we’re really talking about are prospects we’re just getting around to after the top-tier players at every position.

So, maybe it’s better to say for the purposes of this exercise that the prospects you see here are the ones whose tape stands out beyond the recognition they’ve gotten. With days to hours left until the 2022 draft, these players are the ones you may not have heard of, or have experienced in passing but haven’t watched, or have watched and wondered where they might be drafted.

Any of these guys going in the first round would be a longshot, but they each have remarkable attributes that show their professional potential, and could seal their NFL futures.

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.

2022 NFL mock draft: Where nine former Vols are slated to be selected, draft status

2022 NFL mock draft: A look at where nine former Vols are slated to be selected and their draft status

The 2022 NFL draft will take place April 28–30 in Paradise, Nevada.

Four former Vols took part in the 2022 NFL scouting combine March 1-7 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Defensive lineman Matthew Butler, wide receiver Velus Jones Jr., offensive lineman Cade Mays and defensive back Alontae Taylor competed at the scouting combine.

The University of Tennessee held its pro day March 30 at Anderson Training Center.

In addition to Butler, Jones Jr., Mays and Taylor, former Vols Ja’Quain Blakely (defensive line), Kenneth George Jr. (defensive back), Theo Jackson (defensive back), JaVonta Payton (wide receiver) and Donovan Slates (linebacker) took part in Tennessee’s pro day.

Ahead of the NFL draft, CBS Sports released its seven-round mock draft on Tuesday. Below are where former Vols are projected to be selected in the 2022 NFL draft.

7 interior pass-rush prospects for Cowboys to get excited about in 2022 draft

There’s no top-10 talent this draft class, but that doesn’t mean the impact 3-tech is scarce in 2022. @TimLettiero finds a handful of hopefuls to add to the Cowboys’ pass rush.

Dallas has had inconsistent play from their interior defensive line play for a while now. This impact is felt from the 3-tech  position in even fronts or the 5-tech position in odd fronts where their main duties are to either gap control or get after the QB. Given the hybrid system of Cowboys defensive coordinator Dan Quinn, this has the likes of DTs Neville Gallimore, Trysten Hill, Carlos Watkins, Osa Odighizuwa and DE DeMarcus Lawrence all play both roles effectively.

Although these players contributed a fair amount last season, Dallas still lacks a dominant force up the middle to get after the QB. This draft class may not have top-tier talent coming from the interior, but has plenty of guys who have heaps of talent and potential. Here are a few names to look out for when Dallas is on the clock each day of the 2022 NFL Draft.

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.

Mock draft watch: Some new names for Detroit in Touchdown Wire’s latest 3-round projections

The latest 3-round mock draft from Touchdown Wire offers some different ideas for Detroit

All the trades that keep happening around the league keep forcing NFL draft analysts to do a lot more mock draft updates than normal. The latest updated set of projections from Touchdown Wire’s Mark Schofield offers some fresh new names over the first three rounds for the Detroit Lions.

The No. 1 overall pick is Michigan’s Aidan Hutchinson, which leaves the Lions with a plethora of options. In this situation, the choice is Notre Dame safety Kyle Hamilton. Once a fairly common projection, it’s been weeks since we’ve seen a mainstream mock draft with Hamilton at No. 2. A slow 40-yard dash time at both the scouting combine and his pro day have dampened the enthusiasm, but Schofield still sees the dire need at safety for the Lions.

At No. 32, it’s “QB of the future” time with Ole Miss gunslinger Matt Corral. That mirrors the selection we made in the latest mock draft from all the Wire site editors. It’s certainly not a popular projection, but a QB at 32 fits more in line with what head coach Dan Campbell said this week about the No. 2 pick.

At 34, it’s a linebacker to help bolster the ranks. But it’s not any of the Georgia trio or Utah’s Devin Lloyd. Christian Harris from Alabama gets the nod. He’s a good scheme fit with his size and tackling oomph.

With the two third-round picks (66 and 97 overall), Schofield injects two names we’ve not seen before for the Lions in mocks we’ve tracked: Michigan State RB Kenneth Walker and Tennessee DT Matthew Butler.

It’s a different approach to filling several of the Lions’ remaining needs, and it ignores the dire lack of a top-shelf pass rusher. Adding Walker to the deep RB group in lieu of a wide receiver or tight end also raises some skeptical eyebrows.

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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.