I think this is the least we knew about a draft class going into draft day that I can remember. This 2022 class is really, really interesting. There are not a lot of consensus first round talents, a normal year would see about 20 to 23 first round grades whereas this year could have as low as 14 depending on the team. The first round, especially the second half, could be extremely chaotic.

Here is my first and only full first round mock draft, with trades, for this season. It’s a mixture of what I think will happen and what I would do. That’s the only way to approach this class. Nothing would surprise me, and I think fans should avoid overreacting to whatever happens tonight. No one knows how this class will work out. Let’s get to it, and see how the New Orleans Saints turned out:

Trent Baalke has his archetype and Walker fits that to a tee. It’s the worst kept secret in the world that Jacksonville plans to reach for a potential freak that can play all over the defensive line.

Aidan Hutchinson falling past here would be the first huge surprise of the draft to the general fan. The Lions supposedly really like Thibodeaux, and have a familiarity with Oregon after drafting Penei Sewell last year. People have started to overthink Thibodeaux, but he’s a fantastic player.

The Houston draft room rejoices after the third straight edge rusher gets taken at the top of the first. Hutchinson is an ultra high floor prospect, you’re getting a great player here. Don’t overthink it.

Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images

Robert Saleh gets his perfect cornerback. Gardner is as much of a lock as you can have at that position in any scheme, but he will without a doubt be a lockdown in this defense.

Rumors have started to surface of an Evan Neal drop, but I think it’s smoke at this point. Neal fits perfectly in New York, and allows them the opportunity to be set at either tackle spot no matter what the future of Andrew Thomas brings.

We’re getting to a few teams that we could see Willis go to. If Pittsburgh loves him like it seems like they do, they need to move up to get him. Carolina, however, wants to move back and get more picks. Willis has the highest potential of any quarterback in this class and is the only one worth a trade up.

The Jets want to jump ahead of the Falcons to assure that they get the best wide receiver in this class. Zach Wilson needs weapons to work out. Wilson is the cleanest receiver in this class at getting open, has yards after catch abilities, and is a smart receiver.

AP Photo/Hakim Wright Sr.

They got jumped to get Garrett Wilson, likely the next guy on their board would be Jermaine Johnson. Johnson blew up after a dominant Senior Bowl, but delving back into his tape you see all of the tools an EDGE needs to succeed in 2022. The Falcons desperately need pass rush help as well.

Seahawks fans rejoice as they finally have a franchise tackle, it just comes after the end of the Wilson era. Seattle hopefully learned from the mistake and takes the opportunity to offer a young quarterback protection for a long time.

Stingley is another player that people need to stop overthinking. He is an insane talent. Talking to his teammates, concerns of him being a bad teammate and not loving the game enough are drastically overblown. Stingley is a great athlete and fits will to cover the other insane athletes that get drafted at wide receiver every year.

London is a player that seems to be more beloved by NFL teams than he is by the general public. You know what you’re getting with him. A guy that is really good at getting up and coming down with the football. Sometimes that’s all you need. He’ll be solid at the next level, but he’s just not one of those crazy athletic freak receivers.

A little bit of positional value drop, a little bit of a athletic concern drop (for some reason) but Hamilton is a guy that’s arguably the best football player in the class. He can make up for his slight lack of speed with his very high quality football brain. He can do a bit of it all as a safety, could be used all over the defense.

The Saints have built themselves to be able to move up in the first round to get a guy they want. Cross just happens to be that guy in this scenario. He is a perfect fit in New Orleans that can start from day one. He’s an ideal NFL athlete for the future of the position. He’s got every trait in the book with a good starting point.

Trent McDuffie is a perfect Baltimore Ravens cornerback. He’s highly technically sound for a rookie. Great athlete and a high IQ football player. He’s a good run defender for a corner. He could play either inside or out and be solid. Big fan of his game. The only knock I could think of is that he’s not the biggest corner in the draft.

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The Saints got their choice of tackle by moving up, but will now have to settle with whatever wide receiver the Eagles don’t want if that’s how they want to play things. Eagles go with Williams who is the best true Z-receiver in this draft, who could slip into the slot and do very well.

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We’ve all heard it a million times, but it’s too good to pass up here. Olave is a crisp route-runner who can play all over the field. He has solid hands and offers RAC ability. He’s a little undersized, but paired with Michael Thomas he can form a great receiving duo. It would offer versatility in the wide receiver room that the Saints haven’t had since Brandin Cooks was on the roster.

As the Chargers are working around their offensive line, Johnson offers a chess piece that could get moved around a couple of places. Johnson was always considered a guard, and still could be, but flashed as a center during Senior Bowl workouts.

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Elam is without a doubt physically and atheltically ready for the NFL. He has some mechanics to tighten, but he has the promise to be a complete cornerback. His timeline matches up will with Darius Slays to be ready to takeover as the team’s lockdown boundary corner.

I mentioned the second half of the draft could be all over the place. This is one that would affect a lot. Cine is a thumper, that offers a lot at the next level. He has a ways to go in coverage, but brings enough to start immediately for a team like the Houston Texans.

Carolina took a chance and traded back. Their guy is still here and honestly makes the most sense at this spot. They got additional assets to help build around him as well. He is a solid game manager type. Not the biggest arm, not the slowest legs. An offense can be built to hide his deficiencies as well.

What a slam dunk pick for the Patriots. Lloyd is a fantastic talent, who I firmly believe will be a perennial All-Pro linebacker. He has no holes, on or off the field. If the positional value wasn’t considered, he could go a lot higher.

I have a feeling Pickens is going to be taken in the first round, even if he isn’t being mocked there a lot. Pickens has the talent to be considered with the “big four” of this class, it’s just character concerns that see him drop. Someone is going to recognize that talent and take the risks of how physical and even arguably “mean” he plays. Most would expect this to be Burks, but I think Pickens is a bit more talented.

Ebiketie offers everything you could want from an athletic, arm length, and motor standpoint. He needs to improve his technique, but when has that ever stopped the Cardinals. They are a team likely to be excited about his high upside.

Mafe is similar to Ebiketie. Great athlete with a crazy high upside, but also low floor. He has solid control of his body for a rookie, but still needs find the consistency of an NFL rusher.

I think Kyler Gordon is pretty similar to his Washington running mate McDuffie who went to Philadelphia. He just isn’t as complete of a prospect going into year one. Buffalo has the advantage of kind of just drafting whoever they feel like. Right now they are starting Dane Jackson, who I like, but was a seventh round pick in just 2020. A lot of competition could go over well in that room.

Smith is not the interior offensive lineman people would expect to hear the name called of right here, but is one that teams would certainly want that fifth year option on. He is a crazy strong mauler whose game I like a lot.

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I know people don’t speak highly of this quarterback class, but for quarterback hungry teams the end of this first round is wide open to trade up and get that fifth year option. Ridder is a high character, volatile quarterback. If he can work on his accuracy inconsistencies, he can for sure run an NFL team.

I think it’s pretty impossible to find a better run defense prospect than Jordan Davis. He’s very talented, but issues arise about his ability to stay on the field. At this point of the first round it is definitely worth the risk.

Obviously he’s no Tyreek Hill, but he can be used creatively on offense like Hill used to. He’s big, but versatile in how he can be used. I think he has a pretty low floor, but again, it’s worth the risk. He also gets the advantage of this Chiefs offense with Mahomes throwing him the ball.

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Karlaftis is sound EDGE rusher that could fall in this class due to him not being as exciting of a project as some of the players taken ahead of him. Of course, the Chiefs will take advantage of a fall like this.

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I know the easy thing would be to protect Joe Burrow even more, but the Bengals invested a lot of free agency into the offensive line. Early in the draft they can allow themselves to look elsewhere now. Adding a high upside, high floor corner at the end of the first round would work well. Booth will likely start by the end of the year.

Outside of Malik Willis, I think Sam Howell offers the most potential of anyone in this class. I also really like the fit in Detroit. Both culture wise, and the fact that he doesn’t need to start right away.

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