Hunter Thompson Final 2022 Mock

The 2022 NFL Draft Cycle is finally wrapping up. The draft is on Thursday, and everyone’s excitement is through the roof. And what is the perfect way to wrap up the 2022 NFL Draft cycle? A mock draft. So buckle up, here we go. This is my final mock of the 2022 season so here we go:

Round 1

Pick 1 Jacksonville Jaguars: Travon Walker, EDGE Georgia

The Jaguars take a super high upside player here who is a freak athlete and could be developed into a nice defensive piece next to Josh Allen for the Jaguars.

Pick 2 Detroit Lions: Aidan Hutchinson, EDGE Michigan

Lions take the hometown kid in Hutchinson and add a cornerstone piece on defense. Brad Holmes and Dan Campbell take one more step forward in the rebuild with this pick.

Pick 3 Houston Texans: Ahmad “Sauce” Gardner, CB Cincinnati

The Texans need so many different pieces across the board and Sauce feels like a pick that the Texans would make to help bring a swagger and confidence to the locker room that they need.

Pick 4 New York Jets: Ikem Ekwonu, OT NC State

Jets get a mauler here at 4 who can help establish the run game that Mike LaFleur envisions. Ekwonu can be a plug and play guy for the Jets anywhere across that offensive line and help keep Zach Wilson upright.

Pick 5 New York Giants: Evan Neal, OT Alabama

Giants are looking for a bookend type of player to put opposite of Andrew Thomas. Having Neal and Thomas as bookend tackles for the Giants would help hopefully rejuvenate Barkley and Jones for the Giants offense.

Pick 6 Carolina Panthers: Malik Willis, QB Liberty

Panthers could be a trade back team here, but I think Matt Rhule panics and takes a quarterback here to try and save his job with the Panthers. Willis is the most toolsy of the QB’s in this class and could be a nice prospect to build around if they have a plan for him.

Pick 7 New York Giants: Kayvon Thibodeaux, EDGE Oregon

Giants add a dominant EDGE prospect here to play opposite of Azeez Ojulari for the Giants defense. After adding Neal earlier, the Giants get two major building pieces for both sides of the ball.

Pick 8 Atlanta Falcons: Kyle Hamilton, SAF Notre Dame

The Falcons take a hometown kid and my highest rated player in the class. Adding a safety after a tight end in back to back drafts seems a little impractical, but the Falcons regime wants hometown kids that are good players to build around.

Pick 9 Seattle Seahawks: Matt Corral, QB Ole Miss

Don’t really have a great logic behind this pick, just feels like a Seattle pick.

Pick 10 New York Jets: Garrett Wilson, WR Ohio State

Jets have been in on every major WR on the trade market this year and here it feels like they could get a little desperate. Wilson would be a great add to play opposite of Elijah Moore and Corey Davis and help Zach Wilson progress.

Pick 11 Washington Commanders: Drake London, WR USC

Carson Wentz is a little bit of a concerning QB at times, so best thing you can do is give him another weapon and hope he thrives. London gives them a big bodied jump ball WR who is different than Terry McLaurin and Curtis Samuel.

Pick 12 Minnesota Vikings: Derek Stingley Jr., CB LSU

Vikings missed hard with Jeff Gladney but here they add an elite CB prospect with Derek Stingley Jr. The LSU CB has shut down CB skills that he displayed in 2019, but 2020 and 2021 left room to be desired. Will he bounce back to 2019 form? We’ll see.

Pick 13 Houston Texans: Charles Cross, OT Mississippi State

Texans need a lot of help across the board. Getting Cross here gives Davis Mills a blind side protector. Cross is a great OT prospect who can be a building block for the Texans moving forward.

Pick 14 Baltimore Ravens: Jordan Davis, DT Georgia

Davis is an absolute freak of a man. He is a physical specimen who can really take over games and dominates in the run game. Davis has some room to grow as a pass rusher, but the Ravens are the type of team who would be great for Davis to grow.

Pick 15 Philadelphia Eagles: Andrew Booth Jr., CB Clemson

Booth is one of my favorite players in the 2022 Draft. Fantastic CB prospect who can really help the Eagles defense take the next step as they giving Darius Slay an elite running mate.

Pick 16 New Orleans Saints: Jameson Williams, WR Alabama

Saints need to build back an elite offense that they had under Sean Payton. Williams is a great first step to that. Williams is a major burner that can be a great complimentary piece for Michael Thomas on the Saints offense and give Jameis Winston an elite vertical threat.

Pick 17 Los Angeles Chargers: Zion Johnson, OL Boston College

The Chargers have had an amazing off-season with adding Khalil Mack and JC Jackson. Here they add Zion Johnson who can be a plug and play OL for the Chargers weakest position group. They need to keep their franchise QB upright while they build around him.

Pick 18 Philadelphia Eagles: Jermaine Johnson II, EDGE Florida State

Eagles are adding a young dominant EDGE here who can help the Eagles establish a dominant defense. Johnson is a guy who can plug into multiple schemes and should be an instant starter for the Eagles.

Pick 19 New Orleans Saints: Kenny Pickett, QB Pitt

Saints get their QB of the future. After missing out on Watson they take Heisman finalist Kenny Pickett here. Pickett is a solid QB prospect who can give the Saints a young QB to build around while they attempt to make a playoff push in the weak NFC.

Pick 20 Pittsburgh Steelers: Desmond Ridder, QB Cincinnati

Don’t let Mitch Trubisky stop the Steelers from adding a guy that has some upside. Ridder was a dominant college QB who will be looking to keep the Steelers in contention in the AFC North.

Pick 21 New England Saints: Chris Olave, WR Ohio State

Patriots need a guy who can add another element to their offense. Olave has been one of the better receivers the past few years in college and the Patriots hope adding Olave can help take Mac Jones to the next level.

Pick 22 Green Bay Packers: Trevor Penning, OT Northern Iowa

Penning gives the Packers another piece on the OL to help Rodgers stay upright while they attempt to Last Dance the NFL.

Pick 23 Arizona Cardinals: Logan Hall, EDGE Houston

Cardinals lost dominant EDGE Chandler Jones this offseason and are looking to add a building block at the EDGE. Hall gives them a good athlete who can lineup across the defense and should help fill the hole left by Jones.

Pick 24 Dallas Cowboys: Kenyon Green, OL Texas A&M

The Cowboys offensive line was one of the strongest parts of this team just a couple years ago. After being decimated by injuries over time, the Cowboys add Green who isn’t far from Dallas over in College Station. Scouts in Mobile think Green has the potential to be an All-Pro if he were to stick to one position instead of being moved around like Texas A&M liked doing.

Pick 25 Buffalo Bills: Breece Hall, RB Iowa State

Bills have struggled to have a running game for years outside of Josh Allen. Hall fixes that issue for the Bills, Hall is an elite RB who can take over games and give the Bills another dimension in the elite offense.

Pick 26 Tennessee Titans: Devin Lloyd, LB Utah

The Titans lost Rashaan Evans in FA and fill the hole with Lloyd here. Lloyd is an elite LB prospect whose football IQ would elevate the Titans defense to help take pressure off Ryan Tannehill and Co.

Pick 27 Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Devonte Wyatt, DL Georgia

Each passing day the Bucs don’t bring Suh back makes me think this is the pick. Wyatt is a good IDL propsect who would thrive between Vita Vea, Shaq Barrett, and Joe Tryon as the Bucs gear up for one more push under new HC Todd Bowles.

Pick 28 Green Bay Packers: Jahan Dotson, WR Penn State

The Packers finally draft a WR in Round 1. It feels a little counter productive at this point now that the Packers traded away star Davante Adams, but Dotson is a solid replacement for him. The smooth route runner and separator should help the Packers make a push.

Pick 29 Kansas City Chiefs: Christian Watson, WR North Dakota State

The Chiefs need to add a weapon to help replace Tyreek Hill. They added Juju Smith-Schuster, but he doesn’t offer the same type of big play threat that Christian Watson does. Adding Watson gives the Chiefs a Julio Jones level athlete who can become a dominant WR for the Chiefs to build around.

Pick 30 Kansas City Chiefs: David Ojabo, EDGE Michigan

Ojabo’s slide stops here as KC takes Ojabo and lets him have a “redshirt” year of sorts as he comes back from his injury. Ojabo has the potential to be a dominant EDGE for the Chiefs if he fully recovers and adding him to play with Frank Clark and Chris Jones would be a great start.

Pick 31 Cincinnati Bengals: Tyler Linderbaum, C Iowa

Keep. Joe. Burrow. Upright. The Bengals have followed this plan well so far this offseason with adding Alex Cappa and La’el Collins this free agency. Adding Tyler Linderbaum here would help bolster the offensive line and give the Bengals the best shot of extending their Super Bowl window.

Pick 32 Detroit Lions: Sam Howell, QB North Carolina

The Lions take a gamble on one of the quarterbacks they worked with at Senior Bowl. Sam Howell is a toolsy quarterback who can be a guy that the Lions can potentially build around that offers more upside than Jared Goff.