Last time, I graded the NFC draft picks. Today, I’ll be doing the grades for the AFC. Before we start, I want to say that this is MY OPINION. Please don’t hate me if you disagree. Also, these players haven’t played in a real game yet, so these grades might not age well. Let’s begin.
New England Patriots: C-
The Patriots’ first-round choice was….interesting to say the least. They chose Cole Strange, an unheralded offensive tackle from Chattanooga who’ll be 24 in July. Then they reached with wide receiver Tyquan Thornton. They took a lot of old prospects.
Buffalo Bills: B+
The Bills traded up two spots and gave up a fourth-rounder for cornerback Kaiir Elam, who is pretty good. Their second-round pick, running back James Cook wasn’t the best, but it certainly wasn’t the worst. Buffalo then took an outstanding punter in round 6, San Diego State’s Matt Araiza. They could go all the way.
Miami Dolphins: B
The Dolphins only had 4 picks, but they did okay. Channing Tindall is an underrated linebacker. Despite not starting in college, he had 67 tackles (7.5 for loss) and 5.5 sacks.
New York Jets: A-
The Jets had three picks in round 1. They got some of the best players with them. Sauce Gardner had nine interceptions, 27 passes defended, and didn’t allow a single touchdown. WR Garrett Wilson has been compared to Stefon Diggs and might end up being the best wideout of the class.
Pittsburgh Steelers: B+
The Steelers got the quarterback they needed in round 1 with Kenny Pickett and then took a very talented receiver in George Pickens. However, Pickens has some off-field problems. We’ll see how this goes.
Baltimore Ravens: A+
This was my favorite class of the draft. The Ravens didn’t move up and stayed at pick 14 and got one of the guest safeties in the draft in Kyle Hamilton. Then they got a great center in Tyler Lindenbaum. Then they got one of my favorite prospects, edge rusher David Ojabo. Although he’s still recovering from his Achilles injury, he can be a force to be reckoned with once he recovers.
Cincinnati Bengals: C+
The Bengals had a great first-round choice in defensive back Daxton Hill. After that, it went downhill. Cincy only made six picks in the draft, and they didn’t do much with them. They only took one offensive player. So I’m not blown away.
Cleveland Browns: B-
The Browns made a good trade with the Rams to get cornerback Troy Hill. They traded back from No. 44 and got three picks (68, 108, and 124). The players they took, though, were only ok.
Martin Emerson, a corner from Mississippi State, tested out as a below-average athlete and ran 4.53 in the 40-yard dash.
Jacksonville Jaguars: D-
The Jags chose Travon Walker with the draft’s first pick, but Walker hasn’t rushed the passer from the edge, which is what the Jaguars are asking out of him. General manager Trent Baalke said, “You can never have too many guys at linebacker.” But they took a bit too many linebackers. They didn’t do anything to help out Trevor Lawrence.
Tennessee Titans: B-
The Titans traded away AJ Brown to the Eagles, which isn’t a good move because AJ Brown was a good, young receiver. Brown even told ESPN that he wanted to stay in Tennessee! The rest of the draft went pretty well, though. Wideout Treylon Burks is a good player with good upside, but he likely won’t immediately replace Brown. The Titans took a quarterback in Malik Willis in round 3, when he was likely to go much earlier.
Houston Texans: B
The Texans took LSU cornerback Derek Stingley at No.3. He has outstanding covering skills and plays a premium position. They moved back, then took Kenyon Green, an offensive tackle.
I wasn’t a fan of trading up for WR John Metchie. He is fine, but the Texans didn’t need to give up a pair of fourth-rounders for him.
Indianapolis Colts: B+
The Colts had eight picks this draft, and traded up once and down once. Their offense hasn’t been stellar in years past, but WR Alec Pierce should change that. He ran a 4.41 and averaged 17.5 YPR in college. The Colts overall had the 2nd-most athletic class in the draft.
Kansas City Chiefs: B-
The Chiefs overall did okay. But their first-round choice wasn’t amazing. Cornerback Trent McDuffie wasn’t the greatest pick since he has average to below-average size and length. The Chiefs need to help out Patrick Mahomes more, which they didn’t do. They drafted for volume and got ok prospects, but they didn’t do as well as others say they did.
Los Angeles Chargers: B+
The Chargers didn’t have the most exciting draft, but that’s alright! They protected Justin Herbert, which they needed to do. They got a good safety in JT Woods. They had a good draft, but now they need a right tackle.
Las Vegas Raiders: B-
There’s not much to say here. The Raiders only had six picks. They got two running backs, but they took too long to get one. The rest of the picks were offensive or defensive linemen.
Denver Broncos: B+
The Broncos wound up with nine picks even after the Russell Wilson trade. They even picked up a third-rounder in 2023. Nik Bonitto was a good choice. He had the highest pressure rate at 22% among edge rushers in the draft. The third-rounder, Greg Dulcich, can stretch the field well and Damarri Mathis is a good corner. This was a good class.
That is my grades on the 2022 NFL Draft. I hope you liked it. This was a fun draft and I can’t what for the season to start.
