2022 Draft Review
by DirkDiggler0044 | 3 years ago | 0 Comments
2022 Draft In Review
As we inch closer to the draft, I wanted to look back on the first draft of the cycle after 2 full seasons. I know this draft has been touched on a couple times but I wanted to provide more in-depth analysis on the development and achievements of this class while providing a peak into my scouting process. The new scouting system has taken away almost all in-season responsibility but it does produce more uncertainty and opportunities later in the draft for the user’s willing to put in the work. I’ll typically spend a few hours sifting through the information available on these prospects to come up with a score from 0-10. For reference, scores between 9 and 10 are typically 1st round prospects, 8 to 9 are 2nd-3rd round and under 8 are day 3 prospects.
#1 Juan Bronson - Chargers. Justin’s Chargers move up from 26 to 3 and then to the 1st pick of the draft for a safety? He was the number 2 safety on my board and 13th overall prospect with a score of 9.2. One of those picks you love to see if you’re sitting at 2-3-4. I’m assuming Justin fully scouted Juan and revealed he was a top 5 talent but I’m inclined to believe he would have been there at 3.
Development: 80 > 86. Dev Trait: Hidden > Star
Stats: 86 tackles, 12 interceptions, 20 deflections, 2 forced fumbles, 4 touchdowns.
#2 Braylon Hampton - Eagles. Nick’s Eagles take my 3rd ranked corner and 7th ranked player overall. His measurables, combine and attributes were great but I don’t like taking a 23 year old here with the 2nd overall pick. I scored him 9.4 (7th overall).
Development: 76 > 82. Dev. trait: Hidden > SuperStar
Stats: 74 tackles, 11 interceptions, 5 deflections
#3 Jay Rodgers - Lions. After trading back from the pick that he definitely did not tank for, Bos takes the cornerback I scored just above Hampton at 9.45 (6th). Wildly enough, he hasn’t caught a pass from Aaron Rodgers yet. Great success.
Development: 76 > 85. Dev trait: Hidden > Star
Stats: 84 tackles, 10 interceptions, 13 deflections, 2 touchdowns
#4 Don Washington - Ravens. Cmass gets his Lamar replacement with easily the best quarterback in the draft. I had no need for a quarterback so he sat lower on my board at 24th overall with a 9.0 score.
Development: 78 > 87. Dev. trait: Hidden > X-Factor
Stats: 10,587 yards, 100 touchdowns, 81 interceptions
Awards: AFC Offensive Player of the Week (1x)
#5 Michael Holloman - Texans. At pick 5 Ben’s Texans take my top ranked prospect. Holloman received the highest score I’ve given out in several drafts at 9.9. He had a monster rookie season with Ben and made the Pro Bowl. He did drop off a bit through the transition from Ben to Fin in season two but still racked up 1300 yards and 14 touchdowns. Holloman has potential to be one of the best drafted receivers in BL history.
Development: 80 > 90. Dev Trait: Hidden > X-Factor
Stats: 144 receptions, 3117 yards, 33 touchdowns
Awards: Pro Bowl (1x)
#6 Rashard Robinson WR - Saints. Connor takes my 2nd best receiver in the draft at pick 6. I scored him a 9.6 which was good enough for 3rd overall on my board. He hasn’t cracked 1000 yards yet but he’s got 96 speed and evasive, so that’s nice.
Development: 74 > 83. Dev Trait: Hidden > SuperStar
Stats: 106 receptions, 1729 yards, 18 touchdowns
#7 Jeremy Rushing RE - Cowboys. Chase grabs the first big guy of the draft at 7. Rushing was the 2nd rated DE on my board and scored a solid 9.5 putting him at #4 overall. After a quiet rookie season he broke out in 2023 with 9 sacks and 15 TFL’s
Development: 75 > 83. Dev. Trait: Hidden > SuperStar
Stats: 30 tackles, 12 sacks, 20 TFL’s
#8 Rashaun Haywood CB - Steelers. Steel selects the first normal development player of the draft and 4th defensive back picked in the first 8 selections. Haywood lacked the height of the previous 2 corners which dropped him down my board a bit at 16 overall with a 9.2 score. He picked off 11 passes his rookie year and capped it off with a Super Bowl championship.
Development: 75 > 83. Dev. Trait: Normal > Star
Stats: 80 tackles, 17 interceptions, 13 deflections, 3 touchdowns
#9 Xavier Mullins WR - Jets. The third receiver off the board goes to Kiing’s Jets. I gave Mullins a 9.2 score as well but position priority put him 15th on my board. After a 44/910/9 rookie stat line Kiing took advantage of Phil who was ready to sell his soul for a receiver. Denver gives up a pair of first round picks for Mullins and turns in an almost identical statistical performance in 2023.
Development: 78 > 85. Dev Trait: Hidden > SuperStar
Stats: 91 receptions, 2660 yards, 19 touchdowns
#10 Khary Hood DT - Buccaneers. This was the best defensive tackle I saw in the draft and I had him as the #10 overall prospect with a 9.35 score. Thankfully, Gamble saved me from taking him because I got this wrong. He’s a 76 overall normal dev. which is solid, but he likely won’t get far from there in this madden.
Development: 76 > 78. Dev. Trait: Normal > Normal
Stats: 5 tackles, 3 TFL’s
#11 Jonathan Talley RE - Rams. This was my original draft slot and I was fully prepared to pick Talley who was my second ranked prospect with a 9.65 score. Cody had offered a 3 and 4 to make the move from 14 to 11 and I needed the picks to be able to fill out my roster so I pulled the trigger. The 3rd I received turned into SuperStar OLB Ernie Glass but I still regret not making this pick because Talley has been a dawg. He’s the only rookie on the defensive side of the ball from this class to make the pro bowl in both seasons since being drafted.
Development: 75 > 87. Dev Trait: Hidden > X-Factor
Stats: 59 tackles, 22.5 sacks, 33 TFL’s 4 forced fumbles, 3 deflections, 1 touchdown
Awards: Pro Bowl (2x)
#12 Edward Garrett MLB - Jets. The first linebacker comes off the board at 12 to Kiing. Garrett was the best linebacker in the draft and my 8th best prospect with a 9.4 score. He had an average rookie season but put up gaudy numbers year two earning himself AFC Player of the Week and a Pro Bowl appearance.
Development: 76 > 78. Dev. Trait: Hidden > SuperStar
Stats: 92 tackles, 29 TFL’s, 7 interceptions, 4 deflections, 3 touchdowns, 1 forced fumble
Awards: AFC Defensive Player of the Week (1x), Pro Bowl (1x)
#13 Connor Fowler RT - Jaguars. Kook makes the safe pick here to shore up his offensive line. Offensive lineman are never sexy picks, especially this early in the draft but Fowler was my highest graded tackle at 9.1 (18th). He’s allowed 9 sacks in his career, 8 of which came in his rookie season.
Development: 72 > 78. Dev Trait: Hidden > Star
Stats: 9 sacks allowed
#14 Garrett Thurman WR - Packers. In past Madden’s it seemed like Heisman winners had a pretty good shot at getting SS or XF development. Thurman was the 4th highest scored player remaining on my board but I took a shot on the Heisman storyline and it paid off with him getting XF development. Thurman doesn’t have the numbers of the top receivers in this class but look for him to start making some noise as Davante gets old and worthless. I scored him 9.2 (12th).
Development: 79 > 89. Dev Trait > Hidden > X-Factor
Stats: 112 catches, 1706 yards, 15 touchdowns
#15 Victor Jenkins QB - Panthers. The son of former legendary coach Leeeeroy Jenkins finally gets his name called at 15 by Morty. Vic throws a lot of picks but he’s won NFC Player of the Week once and he simply wins games. I scored him just above Marc Newell at 8.75 (30th) because of the draft story.
Development: 73 > 81. Dev Trait: Hidden > SuperStar.
Stats: 9,170 yards, 76 touchdowns, 82 interceptions
Awards: NFC Player of the Week (1x)
#16 Bruce Glenn CB - Eagles. Nick grabs my top rated cornerback at pick 16. He was 5th overall (9.5) on my board but didn’t come out with as much speed as I anticipated. While it was still a solid pick, Glenn hasn’t put up the type of numbers you would expect.
Development: 75 > 81. Dev Trait: Hidden > Star
Stats: 62 tackles, 4 interceptions, 9 deflections
#17 Kerry Chamberlain LG - Cardinals. My highest rated interior lineman comes off the board at 17. Another safe pick here by Caiden. I scored him 9.3 which was good enough for 11th overall.
Development: 72 > 78. Dev. Trait: Hidden > Star
Stats: 3 sacks allowed
#18 Justin Callahan TE - Jets. Kiing’s 3rd pick of the first round is a need pick. This wasn’t a great TE class and Callahan sat at 88th overall on my board with a 7.4 score but this was a miss by me. Callahan has had 2 monster seasons earning him a Pro Bowl appearance each year.
Development: 72 > 78. Dev. Trait: Normal > SuperStar
Stats: 154 catches, 3008 yards, 22 touchdowns
Awards: Pro Bowl (2x)
#19 Roman Riddick WR - Titans. The 5th receiver off the board goes to Cloud. Riddick had a strong rookie campaign but dropped off a bit last season. He was 26th on my board with a 9.0 score.
Development: 74 > 81. Dev. Trait: Hidden > Star
Stats: 91 catches, 1733 yards, 14 touchdowns
#20 Tony Carr WR - Steelers. Steel selects the first normal dev. receiver of the draft here at 20. After having only 398 yards his rookie season, Carr broke out in year two racking up 1,355 yards and 16 touchdowns. Carr was 37th on my board with a score of 8.8.
Development: 72 > 81. Dev. Trait: Normal > Star
Stats: 89 catches, 1753 yards, 19 touchdowns
Awards: Pro Bowl (1x)
#21 Matt Hall SS - Steelers. With his 3rd pick and final pick in the first round, Steel makes one of the best picks of the draft grabbing the #1 safety on my board. His 2-3 round projection probably dropped him this far but his numbers are very similar to #1 overall pick Juan Bronson after 2 seasons. He was 9th overall on my board with a 9.4 score.
Development: 78 > 85. Dev. Trait: Hidden > Star
Stats: 92 tackles, 11 interceptions, 5 deflections, 12 TFL’s, 4 touchdowns
#22 Juan White LOLB - Rams. Cody gets another pass rusher with his 2nd pick of the round. White hasn’t put up huge numbers yet but look for him to continue increasing his impact as the cycle progresses. He was another 9.0 scored prospect and sat 25th overall.
Development: 72 > 80. Dev. Trait: Hidden > Star
Stats: 45 tackles, 5.5 sacks, 12 TFL’s, 2 interceptions, 2 deflections
#23 Rashad Gentry RB - Ravens. The first running back off the board goes to Cmass’ Ravens. While Gentry is the longest tenured RB on the Ravens roster he still hasn’t gotten a shot to be the full-time starter. Gentry’s first two seasons have been hindered by the acquisitions of Derrick Henry and Alvin Kamara. With Kamara on the block heading into Gentry’s 3rd season, we’ll see if he finally gets his shot to lead the least secure position group in BL. Gentry was my top graded running back with an 8.9 score (30) but the normal dev trait probably led Cmass to pursue other options.
Development: 76 > 80. Dev Trait: Normal > Normal
Stats: 109 carries, 551 yards, 1 touchdown
#24 Rashaud Ferguson MLB - Bills. With pick 24, Cam grabs my second rated MLB. Ferguson was 20th overall on my board with a 9.1 score. He’s filled up the stat sheet in each of his first two seasons and at 91 speed, he’s one of the best user LB’s in the league.
Development: 72 > 80. Dev Trait: Normal > Star
Stats: 88 tackles, 22 TFL’s, 5 interceptions, 14 deflections, 2 forced fumbles, 1 touchdown
#25 Alex McCallister FS - Lions. Out of the 130 prospects I graded in this draft, McCallister was not one of them. I’d be curious to know if he was projected low or shot up the board late but Bos gets a good find here despite his starting overall of 69. A strong rookie season set the stage for a sophomore season where McCallister snagged 17 interceptions and earned Defensive Player of the Year and Best Defensive Back honors.
Development: 69 > 83. Dev Trait: Hidden > SuperStar
Stats: 94 tackles, 25 interceptions, 10 deflections, 5 TFL’s, 4 touchdowns
Awards: Defensive Player of the Year (1x), Best Defensive Back (1x), Pro Bowl (1x), Defensive Player of the week (1x)
#26 Alani Dorsey WR - Eagles. The 7th receiver off the board is Nick’s 3rd and final pick of the first round. Through his first two seasons, Dorsey has had an odd stat line. In his rookie season he caught 32 passes for 1,029 yards with almost half of his receptions going for touchdowns (14). The following season he caught 52 passes for 853 yards. I scored him 9.1 (17th).
Development: 78 > 85. Dev Trait: Hidden > SuperStar
Stats: 84 receptions, 1,882 yards, 20 touchdowns
#27 Shane Shelton QB - Raiders. Shelton was not the most attractive quarterback coming out of the draft but he put up massive numbers his rookie season and won the Best Quarterback award. He bested his rookie numbers in his second season earning himself a Pro Bowl appearance and a boost to superstar. Shelton got a 6.5 from me (115).
Development: 68 > 79. Dev Trait: Normal > SuperStar
Stats: 10,355 yards, 107 touchdowns, 53 interceptions
Awards: 2022 Best Quarterback, Pro Bowl (1x), AFC Offensive Player of the Week (2x)
#28 DeSean Northcutt WR - Falcons. Northcutt had the best receiver draft story and was a top 5 projection all year but his age and 40 time drop him this far down the board. He spent one season in Atlanta and was traded to Austin’s Patriots where he had much more success. I dropped him all the way to 49th overall with an 8.5.
Development: 75 > 81. Dev Trait: Hidden > Star
Stats: 118 receptions, 1850 yards, 20 touchdowns.
#29 Marc Newell QB - Lions: Bos waits all the way until 29 to grab his quarterback and it works out just fine. Newell has won NFC Offensive Player of the Week twice already in his early career and joins the group of young ascending quarterbacks chasing EZ mode. He was my 3rd rated quarterback at 8.7 (31).
Development: 74 > 83. Dev Trait: Hidden > SuperStar
Stats: 9,617 yards, 83 touchdowns, 96 interceptions
Awards: NFC Offensive Player of the Week (2x)
#30 Tracy Scott LE - Buccaneers. Gamble adds another solid prospect to his defensive line with his 2nd pick of the first round. Scott was moved inside to pair up with Khary Hood and has put up solid numbers in his first two seasons. He was my 4th rated defensive end and 25th overall rated prospect (9.0).
Development: 73 > 78. Dev Trait: Hidden > Star
Stats: 29 tackles, 9 sacks, 18 TFL’s, 2 deflections
#31 Rahim Fowler LOLB - Ravens. Unfortunately for Cmass, he misses again here on Fowler, selecting another normal development player. After two years he’s recorded only 10 tackles and is a depth piece at most. I scored him 8.5 (36).
Development: 72 > 73. Dev Trait: Normal > Normal
Stats: 10 tackles, 2.5 sacks, 3 TFL’s
#32 Dwight Caver ROLB - Falcons. With the final pick of the first round, another OLB comes off the board to the Falcons. I thought it was pretty obvious Caver was better than Fowler and he sat 14th overall on my board with a 9.2 score. He turned in a 9 sack rookie season and earned a spot in the Pro Bowl.
Development: 74 > 79. Dev Trait: Hidden > Star
Stats: 54 tackles, 14 sacks, 26 TFL’s, 2 interceptions, 3 deflections, 1 forced fumble
Awards: Pro Bowl (1x)