Much has been made about how the quarterback class of the 2022 NFL draft isn’t the most star-studded.
This is the year for the top teams (meaning, the worst teams!) to take the best player available, and thus far, it feels like pass rushers Aidan Hutchinson from Michigan and Kayvon Thibodeaux from Oregon could go at the top of the draft.
So when will see a QB go off the board?
ESPN’s Todd McShay has a projected answer in his first 2022 NFL mock draft of the season: It’s Kenny Pickett of Pitt, going to … Pittsburgh at 12th overall! Here’s his take on the fake slider who’s also really, really talented:
The wait is over: A quarterback finally comes off the board, and Pittsburgh gets its pick of the top prospects. Ben Roethlisberger is likely in his final season, and his predecessor is not currently in the building. The Steelers’ offense has playmakers, but it needs someone who can distribute them the ball as the team tries to stay competitive in an AFC North division stacked with young franchise QBs. Pickett moves through his progressions and gets the ball out quickly, and he has the class’ best combination of pocket awareness, accuracy and decision-making — which I think are the three most critical traits when projecting a quarterback forward to the NFL.
2022 Mock 1.0 is live tomorrow morning! Just wrapped it up tonight. Five QB’s are going in Round 1. Couple questions: Who are the five QB’s? And which QB-team match do you think would work best?
— Todd McShay (@McShay13) December 14, 2021
For what it’s worth, he has Ole Miss QB Matt Corral going to Washington with the very next pick and Malik Willis from Liberty going to Denver at No. 17. He has Desmond Ridder to the Saints at No. 19 and Sam Howell to the Lions at No. 25.
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