The Penn State football 2022 NFL draft player signing tracker is now live!
Penn State is coming off an impressive 2022 NFL draft that saw a Big Ten-leading eight players selected by NFL franchises. The highlight of the draft class was first-round pick [autotag]Jahan Dotson[/autotag] going to the Washington Commanders as the highest-drafted receiver from Penn State in nearly 40 years.
But now that the draft picks have all been made, it is now time to see just how lucrative those rookie contracts will end up being for the eight drafted Nittany Lions. As is to be expected, players selected in the later rounds will likely be among the first in this draft class to let the ink dry on their fresh contracts, while some of the earlier picks may benefit from seeing how some contracts are coming together.
We’ll keep tabs on all of the draft pick contracts to be signed this year by Penn State players who have become NFL rookies in 2022, and we will update this information as needed when more information does become available. Contract details used here are obtained through the terrific sports contract resources available from Spotrac.
Penn State had the most players from the Big Ten drafted in the 2022 NFL draft
Penn State may not have had as many draft picks in the 2022 NFL draft as the reigning national champions from Georgia (nobody did), but the Nittany Lions did deliver on some of the draft expectations for this most recent draft class. Penn State ended the draft with eight players selected by NFL teams, which was more than any Big Ten team had this season.
Penn State’s eight draft picks included;
[autotag]Jahan Dotson[/autotag], WR (Washington)
[autotag]Arnold Ebiketie[/autotag], DE (Atlanta)
[autotag]Jaquan Brisker[/autotag], S (Chicago)
[autotag]Brandon Smith[/autotag], LB (Carolina)
[autotag]Jordan Stout[/autotag], P (Baltimore)
[autotag]Tariq Castro-Fields[/autotag], DB (San Francisco)
[autotag]Rasheed Walker[/autotag], OT (Green Bay)
[autotag]Jesse Luketa[/autotag], LB (Arizona)
Not a bad three-day result for Penn State, and a good way to follow up a solid draft class from 2021 as well. Penn State even had one more player drafted this year than perennial NFL factory Alabama, with the Crimson Tide ending the draft with seven players.
Penn State also had two more players drafted than Ohio State and three more than Michigan and Wisconsin.
Most NFL Draft Picks – 2022
15- Georgia 10- LSU 9- Cincinnati 8- Penn State 7- Alabama 7- Oklahoma 6- Baylor 6- Ohio State 6- Ole Miss 6- UCLA 5- Michigan 5- Tennessee 5- Wisconsin 4- Arizona St, Iowa St, Kentucky, Mich St, Minnesota, San Diego St, Texas A&M, UNC, VT, Washington
Penn State head coach James Franklin has been on the receiving end of a good amount of criticism for not being able to win more at Penn State, and this latest draft result helps strengthen the case for the naysayers. Franklin has certainly established he can recruit among the best of them and send off that talent to the next level. But the last two seasons have failed to deliver the wins that teams with as much NFL talent as Penn State has had should be expected.
But, let’s not pretend Penn State is far removed from playing in New Years Six bowl games in three out of four years, a stretch that included a good amount of the recent NFL talent on the field or a part of the program. But it is fair to suggest Franklin and Penn State do need to redeem themselves a bit on the football field and in the win column in 2022.
But the bottom line is Franklin has another good recruiting sales pitch to offer with eight more players sent to the NFL via the draft, as his list of drafted players only continues to grow year by year.
Penn State defensive back Tariq Castro-Fields will be an interesting prospect to watch with the San Francisco 49ers.
He ended up waiting a little longer than he would have wanted but it will be a great landing spot for his development. Tariq Castro-Fields carved out a career as a good corner in a tough Penn State defense, now he needs to earn the same role in the Bay Area.
He was projected to go in the early part of day three of the NFL draft but he ended up waiting for the second half. The 49ers have a history of finding values at the corner position where they take players who should’ve gone sooner and Castro-Fields may be the latest example of that.
Overall, he will be a little limited in what he can do on a talented 49ers defense to start his career but by winning reps in a rotation, well then we may see more of him.
Penn State offensive tackle Rasheed Walker was drafted by Green Bay Packers in Round 7.
Another Penn State player is now an official NFL draft selection. Offensive tackle [autotag]Rasheed Walker[/autotag] saw his wait to head to the NFL come to an end when the Green Bay Packers used a seventh round draft pick to add the Nittany Lion tackle to their roster.
Rasheed Walker has been viewed as a likely draft pick on Penn State’s roster since the close of the 2021 NFL draft. And although some earlier projections of Walker being a possible first-round draft pick fell well short, Walker is one of Penn State’s highest-drafted offensive tackles of the James Franklin era. Walker is the third offensive tackle from Penn State to be drafted under Franklin. He follows Will Fries, who was a seventh-round pick of Arizona in 2021 and Donovan Smith, a second-round pick of Tampa Bay in 2015.
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Penn State cornerback Tariq Castro-Fields is officially off the board at the 2022 NFL draft
One of the key defensive players for the Penn State defense in 2021 is now officially heading to the NFL. Cornerback [autotag]Tariq Castro-Fields[/autotag] saw his dream become a reality when the San Francisco drafted him in the sixth round of the 2022 NFL draft on Saturday.
Casto-Fields made the decision to return for his extra year of eligibility in 2021 after seeing his 2020 season cut short due to injury. That allowed Castro-fields to have a steady season on the playing field that ultimately helped lead to receiving an invite to the Senior Bowl.
Castro-Fields is the latest cornerback from Penn State to be drafted by an NFL franchise, joining recent draft picks such as [autotag]John Reid[/autotag] (2020), [autotag]Amani Oruwariye[/autotag] (2019), [autotag]Nick Scott[/autotag] (2019), [autotag]Troy Apke[/autotag] (2018), [autotag]Chris Campbell[/autotag] (2018) and [autotag]Marcus Allen[/autotag] (2018), [autotag]Jordan Lucas[/autotag] (2016), and [autotag]Adrian Amos[/autotag] (2015).
What Penn State players appeared in this ESPN draft analyst’s seven-round mock draft?
ESPN has always been a hub for NFL draft content, especially mock drafts. One of their new analysts this year, Jordan Reid, dropped a doozy by giving us a full seven-round mock draft.
With seven full rounds, we get a whopping 262 picks, just like we will on April 28. Based on Jordan Reid’s projection, there could be up to nine Penn State players selected from rounds one through six. On offense, there are just two offensive players being selected, whereas defense makes up six of those selections with punter [autotag]Jordan Stout[/autotag] rounding out the group.
Penn State offense in the draft
On offense, the mock draft had receiver [autotag]Jahan Dotson[/autotag] landing with the Kansas City Chiefs. Dotson with Kansas City would have him in a fun spot to produce right away and be a starter the moment he is drafted. The Chiefs traded away Tyreek Hill this offseason so there is a gap to fill on offense, Dotson would do well in that role.
As for the other player on offense, offensive lineman [autotag]Rasheed Walker[/autotag] was selected by the Baltimore Ravens to address a glaring need in the trenches this offseason for the AFC North franchise. The Ravens need more consistent play from their tackles to protect Lamar Jackson, and Walker could do that and bring some tenacity to the line as well.
NFL draft heavy on Penn State defensive talent
Matthew OHaren-USA TODAY Sports
For the defense, Reid’s mock draft had several players heading to teams where they could start immediately. Those players would be [autotag]Jaquan Brisker[/autotag] and [autotag]Arnold Ebiketie[/autotag] to the New York Jets and [autotag]Brandon Smith[/autotag] to the Seattle Seahawks.
For Brisker and Ebiketie to the Jets, they have long been trying to get that defense up to head coach Robert Salah’s standard. Both men could see themselves thrust into starting and meaningful roles as the Jets look to turn the corner.
As for Smith, he would be tasked with replacing a future hall of fame player on a Seahawks defense that has been disappointing as of late. All three guys would be getting a ton of NFL playing time and continue the recent run on Penn State producing quality talent to the NFL.
Who else could be drafted?
Rounding out the rest of the players selected is [autotag]Jesse Luketa[/autotag] to the Baltimore Ravens, [autotag]Tariq Castro-Fields[/autotag] to the Los Angeles Chargers, and star punter Jordan Stout lands with the Los Angeles Rams. The Rams have one of the best offenses in the NFL, so he may not be having to punt very often so be sure to fire up those YouTube punting highlights.
With two weeks until the NFL draft, it will be interesting to see where else this year’s Nittany Lion draft class gets mocked and where they ultimately get drafted.
NFL draft analyst from The Athletic has Penn State in elite company this draft season
Each year that Dane Brugler has worked at The Athletic he has put together arguably the best NFL draft guide for fans titled The Beast. This year he has Penn State in some notable company after publishing it this past week.
Several schools had multiple players listed in its top fifty, none could compete with the seven that Georgia has on the list, but Penn State is in some solid company.
Penn State, along with Big Ten rival Michigan and Alabama, all have three players inside the top fifty of Brugler’s. Penn State has safety [autotag]Jaquan Brisker[/autotag] and edge/linebacker [autotag]Arnold Ebiketie[/autotag] on the list that is highlighted by [autotag]Jahan Dotson[/autotag] who ranks the highest of them all. Dotson comes in at number 25 on his overall big board with Ebiketie coming in just behind Dotson at 28, and Brisker ranking 42 on it.
All three were Penn State leaders last year and were selected as All-Americans, in the NFL they are going to have to face some adversity such as will Dotson be different from [autotag]K.J. Hamler[/autotag] and [autotag]Daesean Hamilton[/autotag]? Which position is the best for Ebeketie?
Brugler says that Dotson “puts defenders in conflict with his twitchy speed” and when discussing his size he drops one of his best compliments possible. With Dotson’s size, Brugler says “he has above-average hands and natural body control with maybe the largest catch radius of any sub-5-foot-11 receiver I have ever scouted”. One would think he may be the best receiver for Penn State out of the trio that was mentioned above.
He has more glowing reviews of Ebiketie and some good points on Brisker in The Beast. You can also read about [autotag]Rasheed Walker[/autotag], [autotag]Jesse Luketa[/autotag], [autotag]Brandon Smith[/autotag], [autotag]Ellis Brooks[/autotag], and [autotag]Tariq Castro-Fields[/autotag] All of the players mentioned have full player summaries from The Athletic’s lead draft analyst Dane Brugler. Be sure to check that out and to stay tuned for our coverage of the draft and all things Penn State.
Twitter reacts to everything that went down during Penn State’s pro day
Penn State Football had its annual Pro Day for its 15 players from the 2021 team that are looking to complete their NFL dreams. Coach James Franklin and his staff hosted the event and the players were able to perform. They would use their scripted workouts in front of all 32 teams to give them the best chance possible to be drafted.
Media and draft analysts were all over Happy Valley covering the event which means there are plenty of tweets to review from the day. Getting the complete picture from a school and media angle will help you see how the player’s Pro Day went.
Three perfect fits in the NFL draft for Penn State CB Tariq Castro-Fields.
We are just a few weeks away from the NFL combine and Penn State has eight players headed to Indianapolis to showcase their skills. One of them is Tariq Castro-Fields.
Fields brings plenty of starting experience to the table from his collegiate career with the Nittany Lions. This is another deep secondary class with a good number of players that could turn out to be gems. Castro-Fields could be among them.
Here the top three team fits for Penn State cornerback Tariq Castro-Fields.
