Combined 2021 and 2022 NFL Draft Positional Rankings
I stacked prospects at each position from last year's draft and the upcoming one to contextualize the classes.
I had the idea to combine my big boards from 2021 and 2022 to see how this year’s draft class stacked up to the last one. It was a disaster and will never see the light of day. It was the equivalent of trying to build one picture when working with pieces from two different puzzles. The whole exercise came out horribly distorted, but it wasn’t a total waste.
Instead of creating a single collective board, I’ve used my notes from the past two years to create positional rankings combining the 2021 and 2022 classes. I’ve ranked at least the top 20 players at each position. Hopefully this provides some context for how the drafts compare.
During this process, I realized that the 2021 draft was exceptionally top-heavy, dominating the upper rankings at most positions (especially on offense). However, the 2022 class is far deeper at many positions. I feel that this year’s group could produce more impact players than the 2021 class (granted, I say that with the benefit of only one year’s worth of hindsight).
Please understand that I’m strictly comparing these players from their time as prospects. How players from the 2021 class performed as rookies had no impact on these rankings.
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Quarterback
1. Trevor Lawrence, Clemson (2021)
2. Zach Wilson, BYU (2021)
3. Justin Fields, Ohio St. (2021)
4. Trey Lance, North Dakota St. (2021)
5. Mac Jones, Alabama (2021)
6. Malik Willis, Liberty
7. Kenny Pickett, Pittsburgh
8. Matt Corral, Ole Miss
9. Sam Howell, North Carolina
10. Desmond Ridder, Cincinnati
11. Carson Strong, Nevada
12. Kellen Mond, Texas A&M (2021)
13. Kyle Trask, Florida (2021)
14. Bailey Zappe, Western Kentucky
15. Davis Mills, Stanford (2021)
16. Ian Book, Notre Dame (2021)
17. Sam Ehlinger, Texas (2021)
18. E.J. Perry, Brown
19. Aqeel Glass, Alabama A&M
20. Jack Coan, Notre Dame
The quarterback comparison isn’t pretty for the 2022 draft class. My rankings overwhelmingly favor last year’s draft. I could see an argument for ranking Willis as high as fourth, but I have several reasons for keeping him below Lance and Jones.
Willis has a significantly higher ceiling than Jones, but I had more faith in the Alabama product turning into a long-term starter. The pre-snap work, processing, accuracy, and low-risk decision making Jones displayed in college put him slightly above Willis, who struggled with ball placement, missing reads, and challenging double teams.
I like comparing Willis’ status as a prospect to Lance when the FCS product declared for the NFL with just one year of starting experience. However, Willis is almost a full year older than Lance, and he lacks the former third overall pick’s ball security.
Book and Ehlinger (who didn’t make my top 200 big board last year) appear on this list. Perry and Glass are longshots to turn into anything significant at the NFL level, but I always felt like Book and Ehlinger could hold down roster spots for almost a decade.
Running Back
1. Travis Etienne, Clemson (2021)
2. Najee Harris, Alabama (2021)
3. Javonte Williams, North Carolina (2021)
4. Kenneth Walker III, Michigan St.
5. Breece Hall, Iowa St.
6. Dameon Pierce, Florida
7. Jerome Ford, Cincinnati
8. Isaiah Spiller, Texas A&M
9. Michael Carter, North Carolina (2021)
10. James Cook, Georgia
11. Kenneth Gainwell, Memphis (2021)
12. Trey Sermon, Ohio St. (2021)
13. Tyler Allgeier, BYU
14. Khalil Herbert, Virginia Tech (2021)
15. Rachaad White, Arizona St.
16. Brian Robinson Jr., Alabama
17. Pierre Strong Jr., South Dakota St.
18. Kyren Williams, Notre Dame
19. Kylin Hill, Mississippi St. (2021)
20. Chris Evans, Michigan (2021)
21. Hassan Haskins, Michigan
22. Chuba Hubbard, Oklahoma St. (2021)
23. Zamir White, Georgia
24. Abram Smith, Baylor
25. D'Vonte Price, Florida International
I went back and forth between Etienne and Harris atop last year’s running back class. Williams even crept into the top-30 on last year’s board. While I think the 2022 running back class is extremely deep (they have 15 of the top 25 spots), I don’t feel the same way about Walker or Hall that I felt about the top three last year.
Etienne and Harris offered elite receiving options out of the backfield and the ability to play limited snaps in the slot. Williams was the ultimate powerhouse. I don’t think Walker or Hall have the elite traits to match those evaluations.
Wide Receiver
1. Ja’Marr Chase, LSU (2021)
2. DeVonta Smith, Alabama (2021)
3. Jaylen Waddle, Alabama (2021)
4. Drake London, USC
5. Jameson Williams, Alabama
6. Rashod Bateman, Minnesota (2021)
7. Chris Olave, Ohio St.
8. Garrett Wilson, Ohio St.
9. Terrace Marshall Jr., LSU (2021)
10. Treylon Burks, Arkansas
11. Elijah Moore, Ole Miss (2021)
12. Christian Watson, North Dakota St.
13. Jahan Dotson, Penn St.
14. Dyami Brown, North Carolina (2021)
15. Kadarius Toney, Florida (2021)
16. Skyy Moore, Western Michigan
17. George Pickens, Georgia
18. Rondale Moore, Purdue (2021)
19. Jalen Tolbert, South Alabama
20. John Metchie III, Alabama
21. Justyn Ross, Clemson
22. Khalil Shakir, Boise St.
23. Alec Pierce, Cincinnati
24. Romeo Doubs, Nevada
25. Nico Collins, Michigan (2021)
Smith’s body type was the storyline of the 2021 wide receiver class, but I still viewed him as an elite prospect. Frankly, there’s a wide gap between Chase, Smith, Waddle, and London. The 2022 class gets demolished at the top of these rankings, but it wins with a bunch of late Day 2/early Day 3 selections near the end of the top 25. Only three of the receivers outside of the top 15 came from the 2021 class.
Tight End
1. Kyle Pitts, Florida (2021)
2. Trey McBride, Colorado St.
3. Pat Freiermuth, Penn St. (2021)
4. Isaiah Likely, Coastal Carolina
5. Jeremy Ruckert, Ohio St.
6. Tommy Tremble, Notre Dame (2021)
7. Greg Dulcich, UCLA
8. Jalen Wydermyer, Texas A&M
9. Brevin Jordan, Miami (2021)
10. Hunter Long, Boston College (2021)
11. Cade Otton, Washington
12. Jelani Woods, Virginia
13. Charlie Kolar, Iowa St.
14. Derrick Deese, San Jose St.
15. Jake Ferguson, Wisconsin
16. Chigoziem Okonkwo, Maryland
17. Cole Turner, Nevada
18. Daniel Bellinger, San Diego St.
19. Grant Calcaterra, SMU
20. Gerrit Prince, UAB
21. James Mitchell, Virginia Tech
22. Zach Davidson, Central Missouri (2021)
23. Lucas Krull, Pittsburgh
24. Tony Poljan, Virginia (2021)
25. Peyton Hendershot, Indiana
The 2021 and 2022 tight end classes are fairly evenly matched at the top. Five tight ends from each year appear in the first ten spots, but the class of 2022 takes over from there. This year’s draft finished with 18 of the top 25 tight end evaluations from the past two years. That’s thanks to a large cluster of fourth to sixth-round prospects dominating the teens and early twenties.
I was too low on Georgia’s Tre' McKitty (who didn’t make this list) last year. In hindsight, he should’ve received a high enough evaluation to crack the top 20.
Offensive Tackle
1. Penei Sewell, Oregon (2021)
2. Rashawn Slater, Northwestern (2021)
3. Evan Neal, Alabama
4. Ikem Ekwonu, N.C. St.
5. Charles Cross, Mississippi St.
6. Christian Darrisaw, Virginia Tech (2021)
7. Trevor Penning, Northern Iowa
8. Teven Jenkins, Oklahoma St. (2021)
9. Bernhard Raimann, Central Michigan
10. Alex Leatherwood, Alabama (2021)
11. Dillon Radunz, North Dakota St. (2021)
12. Samuel Cosmi, Texas (2021)
13. Walker Little, Stanford (2021)
14. Abraham Lucas, Washington St.
15. Liam Eichenberg, Notre Dame (2021)
16. Jackson Carman, Clemson (2021)
17. Kellen Diesch, Arizona St.
18. Nicholas Petit-Frere, Ohio St.
19. Daniel Faalele, Minnesota
20. Rasheed Walker, Penn St.
21. Jalen Mayfield, Michigan (2021)
22. Brady Christensen, BYU (2021)
23. James Hudson, Cincinnati (2021)
24. Stone Forsythe, Florida (2021)
25. Spencer Brown, Northern Iowa (2021)
I will lose my mind if the Jacksonville Jaguars take Neal with the first overall pick this year because I’m giving him a lower evaluation than both of last year’s blue-chip tackles. These rankings again display how the 2021 draft appears top-heavy compared to the upcoming class. Neal, Ekwonu, and Cross occupy three of the top five spots, but Sewell and Slater dominate the list.
This position slants toward last year’s draft, which produced 15 of the 25 ranked prospects. However, five of them appear at the very back of the line. In my opinion, a strong collection of third-round options puts this coming class on par with its predecessor.
Interior Offensive Line
1. Tyler Linderbaum, Iowa
2. Alijah Vera-Tucker, USC (2021)
3. Zion Johnson, Boston College
4. Landon Dickerson, Alabama (2021)
5. Kenyon Green, Texas A&M
6. Tyler Smith, Tulsa
7. Wyatt Davis, Ohio St. (2021)
8. Creed Humphrey, Oklahoma (2021)
9. Jamaree Salyer, Georgia
10. Darian Kinnard, Kentucky
11. Quinn Meinerz, Wisconsin-Whitewater (2021)
12. Dylan Parham, Memphis
13. Zach Tom, Wake Forest
14. Sean Rhyan, UCLA
15. Kendrick Green, Illinois (2021)
16. Ben Cleveland, Georgia (2021)
17. Trey Smith, Tennessee (2021)
18. Luke Fortner, Kentucky
19. Luke Goedeke, Central Michigan
20. Cole Strange, Tennessee-Chattanooga
21. Ed Ingram, LSU
22. Dohnovan West, Arizona St.
23. Deonte Brown, Alabama (2021)
24. Justin Shaffer, Georgia
25. Aaron Banks, Notre Dame (2021)
Linderbaum’s physical profile isn’t on par with a blue-chip prospect’s, but his tape is the best I’ve seen from a center in recent history. He took the top spot by a significant margin. I was a huge fan of Dickerson last year, but I think Johnson offers some of the Alabama product’s positional versatility without the injury history.
The class of 2022 produced 15 of the prospects on this list. Once again, it’s the depth that creates separation. Eight of the top 17 interior prospects are from 2021, but six of the final eight spots went to incoming rookies.
Interior Defensive Line
1. Devonte Wyatt, Georgia
2. Jordan Davis, Georgia
3. Christian Barmore, Alabama (2021)
4. Travis Jones, UConn
5. Logan Hall, Houston
6. Perrion Winfrey, Oklahoma
7. Levi Onwuzurike, Washington (2021)
8. Daviyon Nixon, Iowa (2021)
9. Alim McNeill, North Carolina St. (2021)
10. Tyler Shelvin, LSU (2021)
11. Milton Williams, Louisiana Tech (2021)
12. Phidarian Mathis, Alabama
13. Tommy Togiai, Ohio St. (2021)
14. Marvin Wilson, Florida St. (2021)
15. Osa Odighizuwa, UCLA (2021)
16. Jay Tufele, USC (2021)
17. Matthew Butler, Tennessee
18. Neil Farrell Jr., LSU
19. Zachary Carter, Florida
20. John Ridgeway, Arkansas
21. Bobby Brown III, Texas A&M (2021)
22. Marlon Tuipulotu, USC (2021)
23. Haskell Garrett, Ohio St.
24. Eyioma Uwazurike, Iowa St.
25. Thomas Booker, Stanford
The top three players ranked here earned top-40 grades in their respective draft classes. There’s an argument for elevating Barmore (who inconsistently flashed in college) ahead of Davis because of the latter prospect’s snap limitations, but Davis is such an intriguing athlete.
The thought process surrounding the 2022 interior defensive line class has changed significantly over the past four months. Near the end of the college football season, we thought the 2022 interior defensive line class was a re-run of the depleted 2021 draft. That’s not the case at all, as five of the top six prospects are from 2022, and they all have second-round grades.
EDGE
1. Aidan Hutchinson, Michigan
2. Kayvon Thibodeaux, Oregon
3. Jermaine Johnson II, Florida St.
4. Jaelan Phillips, Miami (2021)
5. George Karlaftis, Purdue
6. Travon Walker, Georgia
7. Kwity Paye, Michigan (2021)
8. David Ojabo, Michigan
9. Azeez Ojulari, Georgia (2021)
10. Odafe Jayson Oweh, Penn St. (2021)
11. Gregory Rousseau, Miami (2021)
12. Boye Mafe, Minnesota
13. Arnold Ebiketie, Penn St.
14. Nik Bonitto, Oklahoma
15. Carlos Basham Jr., Wake Forest (2021)
16. Drake Jackson, USC
17. Kingsley Enagbare, South Carolina
18. Myjai Sanders, Cincinnati
19. DeMarvin Leal, Texas A&M
20. Ronnie Perkins, Oklahoma (2021)
21. Payton Turner, Houston (2021)
22. Cameron Thomas, San Diego St.
23. Josh Paschal, Kentucky
24. Joseph Ossai, Texas (2021)
25. Joe Tryon-Shoyinka, Washington (2021)
Edge rusher and cornerback are the two greatest strengths of the upcoming draft. Coincidentally, last year’s draft had a weak edge class (or at least it appears that way compared to the upcoming group). Five of the top six edge prospects are from 2022, including the top three. Last year’s group pulls it back a little by having four prospects listed between seven and eleven, but 2022 takes over from there.
Fifteen of the prospects listed above will hear their names called in April. That’s not even counting the slew of early Day 3 prospects like Michael Clemons, Jesse Luketa, DeAngelo Malone, Dominique Robinson, Tyreke Smith, and Sam Williams. If you need an edge rusher this year, draft two.
Linebacker
1. Micah Parsons, Penn St. (2021)
2. Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, Notre Dame (2021)
3. Devin Lloyd, Utah
4. Nakobe Dean, Georgia
5. Zaven Collins, Tulsa (2021)
6. Leo Chenal, Wisconsin
7. Jamin Davis, Kentucky (2021)
8. Jabril Cox, LSU (2021)
9. Brian Asamoah, Oklahoma
10. Nick Bolton, Missouri (2021)
11. Christian Harris, Alabama
12. Troy Andersen, Montana St.
13. Chad Muma, Wyoming
14. Baron Browning, Ohio St. (2021)
15. Quay Walker, Georgia
16. Brandon Smith, Penn St.
17. Pete Werner, Ohio St. (2021)
18. JoJo Domann, Nebraska
19. Channing Tindall, Georgia
20. Darrian Beavers, Cincinnati
21. Damone Clark, LSU
22. Chazz Surratt, North Carolina (2021)
23. Cameron McGrone, Michigan (2021)
24. Dylan Moses, Alabama (2021)
25. Terrel Bernard, Baylor
The 2022 linebacker class is significantly deeper than last year’s group. Beavers and Clark are in the twenties, but I could see both of them starting as rookies. I was too high on my evaluations for Davis, Cox, Surratt, McGrone, and Moses. Surratt, McGrone, and Moses probably shouldn’t even crack the top 25, but I got a little linebacker happy last year.
However, this coming draft lacks star power at the top. Lloyd and Dean will likely go in the first-round, but I had Parsons as a blue-chip prospect last year. Meanwhile, Owusu-Koramoah’s versatility was enough to warrant a top-16 grade. I don’t think this year’s group has any players with their elite traits.
Cornerback
1. Ahmad Gardner, Cincinnati
2. Derek Stingley Jr., LSU
3. Caleb Farley, Virginia Tech (2021)
4. Patrick Surtain II, Alabama (2021)
5. Jaycee Horn, South Carolina (2021)
6. Trent McDuffie, Washington
7. Andrew Booth Jr., Clemson
8. Roger McCreary, Auburn
9. Greg Newsome II, Northwestern (2021)
10. Kaiir Elam, Florida
11. Asante Samuel Jr., Florida St. (2021)
12. Elijah Molden, Washington (2021)
13. Eric Stokes, Georgia (2021)
14. Kyler Gordon, Washington
15. Martin Emerson, Mississippi St.
16. Mario Goodrich, Clemson
17. Alontae Taylor, Tennessee
18. Ifeatu Melifonwu, Syracuse (2021)
19. Tyson Campbell, Georgia (2021)
20. Coby Bryant, Cincinnati
21. Aaron Robinson, UCF (2021)
22. Kelvin Joseph, Kentucky (2021)
23. Tariq Woolen, UTSA
24. Paulson Adebo, Stanford (2021)
25. Marcus Jones, Houston
Thirteen of the prospects listed above, including six of the top ten, are from the upcoming draft. I loved Farley last year. I don’t have specific number grades (something I should probably change), and that made it difficult to separate Gardner and Stingley from Farley. Just be aware, those guys are essentially 1A, 1B, and 1C on this list.
I was somewhat surprised with how well Horn stacked up against McDuffie and Booth, considering I was significantly lower on Horn last year than many analysts (on my big board at least). Although, as you can probably tell from these rankings, my cornerback evaluations as a whole last year were pretty awful.
If I could, I would go back and beat myself over the head for having overly optimistic evaluations for players like Melifonwu and Joseph.
Safety
1. Kyle Hamilton, Notre Dame
2. Daxton Hill, Michigan
3. Trevon Moehrig, TCU (2021)
4. Jalen Pitre, Baylor
5. Lewis Cine, Georgia
6. Jevon Holland, Oregon (2021)
7. Jaquan Brisker, Penn St.
8. Richie Grant, UCF (2021)
9. Kerby Joseph, Illinois
10. Jamar Johnson, Indiana (2021)
11. Andre Cisco, Syracuse (2021)
12. Nick Cross, Maryland
13. Hamsah Nasirildeen, Florida St. (2021)
14. Bryan Cook, Cincinnati
15. Ar’Darius Washington, TCU (2021)
16. James Wiggins, Cincinnati (2021)
17. Tycen Anderson, Toledo
18. Divine Deablo, Virginia Tech (2021)
19. Sterling Weatherford, Miami (OH)
20. JT Woods, S Baylor
21. Tyree Gillespie, Missouri (2021)
22. Leon O'Neal Jr., Texas A&M
23. Smoke Monday, Auburn
24. Reed Blankenship, Middle Tennessee
25. Markquese Bell, Florida A&M
I felt very comfortable with Moehrig and Holland as top-50 picks last year (in hindsight I should’ve been higher on Holland), but this year’s safety group blows the class of 2021 out of the water. Sixteen of the prospects on this list are from the upcoming draft, including six of the top nine.
I’m not a huge fan of the safety prospects on this ranking past Woods at 20. Any safety that low will probably start (and possibly end) their career as a special teams player. However, players with safety/linebacker upside like Monday and Bell offer a lot for Day 3 selections.