The Grey Manes 2022 NFL Mock Draft

With the 2022 NFL Draft approaching this week in Las Vegas, NV, the Grey Manes decided to conduct and publish their first ever mock draft! The Manes have been meeting and analyzing NFL drafts together for over 25 years! This year we decided to share those 25 years of knowledge with the rest of the world! The Drafters are: Brent Crider, Michael Terry and Dan Keener.

1. Jacksonville Jaguars - With the number one pick in the 2022 Grey Manes Mock Draft, the Jacksonville Jaguars select offensive tackle Ikem Ekwonu from North Carolina State University. The Jaguars played musical chairs with their offensive line in 2021 and signed UFA Brandon Scherff to play Guard, re-signed offensive tackle Cam Robinson but still have no answer at right tackle where Jawaan Taylor struggled. The Jaguars know they will only go so far as Trevor Lawrence can take them so, adding up front gives them their best chance for success. (Brent Crider)

2.Detroit Lions - Aiden Hutchinson - Detroit has been at or near the bottom of the NFL in QB Pressure rates the past 5 years. Hutchinson led the B1G and was 2nd amongst all Power 5 players. He will fill a need for the Lions. (Michael Terry)

3.Houston Texans – Evan Neal OT Alabama - HOU needs pretty much everything, but what they need to do is rebuild in the trenches. With Ekwonu off the board, the next best option is big Alabama OT Evan Neal, who should slide in at RT and supplant Undrafted FA Charlie Heck the minute Neal steps foot into the Texans HQ. (Dan Keener)

4.New York Jets – Ahmed Gardner CB Cincinnati - The Jets would have loved to get Ekwonu or Neal but with them gone, they fill a hole in their secondary. The Jets were beat deep often last season and need a lockdown cornerback to help over the top on the other side of the field. With Gardner's ability to run and his skills, that is precisely what they get. (BC)

5. New York Giants – Garrett Wilson WR Ohio State - The Giants lack playmakers across the entire team. Garrett Wilson will fill that need for the WR group. Wilson has speed and run after catch ability that is not matched in this draft. He has decent height and great hands. He has great acceleration which he depends on for separation. (MT)

6. Carolina Panthers – Charles Cross OT Miss St - Let's face it, Sam Darnold sucks something awful, so the Panthers really need their QB of the future right now. However, when the NYG gambled and took WR Garrett Wilson at 5 instead of an OL, that cleared the path for the Panthers to pick up the best OT left in the draft in Charles Cross. (DK)

7. New York Giants – Jermane Johnson Florida State - The Giants have always valued pressuring the quarterback and have gotten away from the imposing defensive front in the past few years. Their quickest way back to the Super Bowl starts by adding a talented rusher to build around. (BC)

8. Atlanta Falcons – Drake London WR USC - The Falcons WR unit is in shambles right now, their WR #1 is Damiere Byrd!! Select the best WR in this draft and pair him with Pitts and that at least gives Mariotta a fighting chance to be a serviceable QB (MT)

9. Seattle Seahawks – Malik Willis QB Liberty - SEA has several rather glaring needs as they enter a full rebuild, however with Russell Wilson being traded to the Denver Broncos after a 10-year run, the Seahawks have an opportunity to remake the team from the ground up. Having said that, Drew Lock aint it and was nothing more than the "bag of chips" thrown in during the Wilson trade. While the Local Kid Thibodeaux was tempting, John Schneider and Trent Kirchner go nuts and grab the guy they think will be the next 10-year QB in the mold of Russell Wilson in Malik Willis. (DK)

10. New York Jets – Kayvon Thibodeaux Edge Oregon - The Jets could not be happier that they got arguably the best CB and pass rush prospects in the entire draft. Look for the Jets to address wideout and complete a successful 2022 draft! (BC)

11. Washington Commanders – Kyle Hamilton Safety Notre Dame - The Commanders already have a very good Defensive Line an elite level Safety will make the Defense even stronger. The Commanders need to improve their pass rush as a team and having Hamilton will allow them to be more creative up front. (MT)

12. Minnesota Vikings – Derek Stingley JR CB LSU - The Vikings have a few clear needs, and they are all in the back seven of their defense. With Rick Spielman no longer calling the shots and new GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah coming over from the Cleveland Browns, it tends to reason that he will throw some picks at the secondary like the Browns have done to shore it up once and for all. The logical choice would have been to grab the most talented player in this draft in Kyle Hamilton to be the heir apparent to the aging Harrison Smith, but the Commanders grabbed him at 11. So that leaves the Vikings to hit up that Cleveland Browns to LSU pipeline and bring Derek Stingley Jr to the Twin Cities to become Ed Donatello's new anchor for his back seven. (DK)

13. Houston Texans – Trayvon Walker Edge Georgia - The Texans had their eye on Hamilton, despite the pedestrian speed he displayed in workouts, but were happy to get a guy that will improve upon their bottom five ranking in 2021 at getting to the quarterback. Despite Walker's lack of evidence to do so, they were too intrigued with his athletic ability to pass him up at this point. (BC)

14. Baltimore Ravens – Tyler Linderbaum Center Iowa - The Ravens could really use an OT here, but with all of the highly rated Tackles already selected the Ravens move to the interior of their line and select IOL Tyler Linderbaum. He should help raise their OL rank from, the mid 20's. (MT)

15.Philadelphia Eagles - Trent McDuffie CB University of Washington - The Eagles have a couple picks coming up and they are in need of back seven help at both LB and CB. The choice comes down to LB Devin Lloyd or CB Trent McDuffie, and with the CB market kind of drying up after Stingley Jr and McDuffie and the next two teams seemingly not needing LBs, the Eagles take a risk and take McDuffie to backstop the aging Darius Slay and former 4th round pick Avonte Maddox in the hopes of grabbing their LB at 18. (DK)

16.New Orleans Saints – Jameson Williams Alabama - They are not concerned about his knee, have done their due diligence and feel they are getting the best playmaker in the draft. Desperate to add to their receiving corps, they traded up with this selection in mind. (BC)

17. Los Angeles Chargers – Chris Olave WR Ohio State - The Chargers could not be happier that Olave is still here for them at 17. Along with Keenan Allen and Mike Williams this trio will give Justin Herbert one of the best WR group in the NFL. Olave brings speed and sticky hands, he is the Buckeyes all-time leader in TD receptions and will bring that kind of playmaking ability to the Chargers, who will need to keep up with the high power offenses in the AFC West. (MT)

18. Philadelphia Eagles – Treylon Burks WR Arkansas - The Eagles gambled that Devin Lloyd would slip to them at 18, and sure enough, there he is. However, after WRs went back to back and four of the top 5 are already gone, Philly decided they can live with Reddick, Edwards and the recently signed Kyzir White at LB and decide that Jalen Hurts and DeVonta Smith need a new running mate. With Smith being more of the speed burner and guy that can hit the slot, the Eagles go for the Big Bodied catching presence on the outside to add back that enforcer they lost when injuries and the subsequent cut of Zach Ertz started their pass catching rebuild. Having said that, Welcome to Philly Treylon Burks, have yourself a cheesesteak. (DK)

19. New Orleans Saints – Devin Lloyd LB Utah - With their second first round selection and 19th pick, the New Orleans Saints select LB Devin Lloyd of Utah. Saints are happy to add to their two most pressing areas of need and believe they got the best wide receiver and linebacker in the draft. (BC)

20. Pittsburgh Steelers – Kenny Pickett QB Pitt - The Steelers need is obvious here. They need a QB and the best QB who has a chance to be a serviceable QB in the NFL is still on the board and he just so happens to be right down the road from the Steelers. Pickett had a breakout 2021 throwing for 42 TD's and just 7 ints in almost 500 pass attempts for the Pitt Panthers. He won’t need to throw that many times for the Steelers. (MT)

21.New England Patriots – Christian Watson WR North Dakota State - Bill Belichek has been the best coach and one of the better Gms in the NFL for a long time. He has been able to produce champions by not only having Tom Brady, but by keeping ahead of trends and developing talent in house. After spending the better part of the last decade trying to nail down a bona-fied WR for NE, and watching the FA market soar out of control and 5 of the top 7 WRs already go off the board, Bill has decided that Mac Jones needs some home grown production and grabs the best of the rest and the hottest name in this draft in NDSU WR Christian Watson. (DK)

22. Green Bay Packers – Andrew Booth Jr CB Clemson - The Green Bay Packers have not picked a wide receiver in the first round since of the NFL Draft 2002. It is not in their DNA. Given the top wide receivers are all gone, they will not do it again this year. Wrap it up, Andrew Booth of Clemson, you are heading to the frozen tundra! (BC)

23. Arizona Cardinals – Jordan Davis DT Georgia - The Cardinals may have other needs but play the true BPA card here. The Outland and Bednarik Award Winner is still on the board and the Cardinals jumped at the chance to select him. He is a huge mountain of a man and has speed and agility to go with it. JJ Watt will immediately befriend Davis as Davis will command double teams often. (MT)

24. Dallas Cowboys – Trevor Penning OT Northern Iowa - Dallas had four main needs in this draft at WR, DE, LB and OL. The WR room has been picked clean, LB only has Nakobe Dean left as a viable option and the Edge market is down to a guy that won’t play in Ojabo, reaching for Mayfe or an enigma in Karlaftis. So that leaves Dallas to solve their biggest need, which is an OL to replace RT Laremy Tunsill who was traded away with an eye on possibly replacing Tyron Smith in a few years at LT. A couple names jump out in the versatile local product from A&M Kenyon Green, the mountain of a man Trevor Penning from Northern Iowa and slightly slimmer darling of the Senior Bowl Bernhard Raimann from Central Michigan. While the choice is tough, Dallas likes their guys big and beefy with everything being bigger in Texas, so they take the massive Trevor Penning to restock their OL for the next decade. (DK)

25. Buffalo Bills – Kair Elam CB Florida - The Buffalo Bills are on the precipice of reaching the top echelon of the NFL. If not for the defensive meltdown against the Chiefs in the playoffs, we may be talking about another Bills Super Bowl loss. The Bills had a top-notch secondary until they lost TraDavious White late in the season. They didn't slide much, but everything was revealed as the Chiefs could not be stopped. To improve their depth and competitiveness in the secondary, the Bills select cornerback Kaiir Elam of Florida. (BC)

26. Tennessee Titans – Nakobe Dean LB Georgia - The Titans can really use a CB but from a value standpoint it is hard to pass up on a talent like Dean at this point in the draft. Dean has the skills to be a 3 down LBer and can hold up against the run. He is a hard-nosed player that will fit in nicely with the way that Head Coach Mike Vrabel likes to play the game. (MT)

27. Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Kenyon Green OT Texas A&M - Tom Brady is back for another go around, but that Tampa Defense, especially the line, is getting a little long in the tooth. While it might be the perfect opportunity to gamble on an injured player like David Ojabo to replace former Lions 7th round pick and castoff Patrick O'Connor, with Brady back and a new coach, this team needs a player that can produce to keep up with the win now mentality while building for the future. That leaves the trenches to upgrade the DL with younger players or help facilitate the OL rebuild to keep Brady upright. While pondering between the two choices of DL Devonte Wyatt and OL Kenyon Green, Brady called the war room and said, give me the big boy for the OL, and Green is now headed to Tampa. (DK)

28. Green Bay Packers – Bernhard Raiman OT Central Michigan - The Green Bay Packers came into this draft in need of a wide receiver, given they have not chosen one in round one since 2002, that would be a good position to target. However, they are desperate to protect Aaron Rodgers and need to shore up the offensive line more. The Green Bay Packers select offensive tackle Bernhard Raimann of Central Michigan University. Instead of "fire up chips" it will be, "it is actually colder here than Mount Pleasant!" Raimann has risen on teams’ boards more than any other player leading up to this draft and the Packers are happy to secure him. (BC)

29. Kansas City Chiefs – Devonte Wyatt DT Georgia - The Chiefs look pretty good on the Offensive side of the ball; the Defense was unable to stop the Bengals in the AFC Championship game in the 2nd half. They add to their Defensive Interior Line with the other DT from Georgia Wyatt. Wyatt provides a consistent effort while utilizing movement and decent strength to disrupt plays. (MT)

30. Kansas City Chiefs – David Ojabo – OLB Michigan - With the trade of Tyreek Hill to MIA and the AFC West suddenly becoming the Pass Rushing Mecca, KC finds itself in need of ways to offset that huge production loss and to mitigate that massive amount of pressure that Mahomes is likely to face. With Smith-Schuster and Valdes-Scantling in the fold from FA, and their OL pretty well set, then defense needs the attention here to help that offense get better field position. Even though the Chiefs took Georgia's super active DT Devonte Wyatt with the last pick, the opportunity to protect themselves from losing their entire outside pass rush after 2022 when Clark ($28.7M cap hit) and Jones ($27.1M cap hit) are both in the last year of their contracts cannot be passed up. With a team fairly complete, the Chiefs roll the dice and grab David Ojabo from Michigan to let him heal and learn so he is ready to roll in 2023. (DK)

31.Cincinnati Bengals – Daxton Hill DB Michigan - The Cincinnati Bengals went into last season’s draft needing an offensive tackle to protect their young, franchise quarterback. They rolled the dice and went wide receiver. Although they made it further than they justifiably should have, they ultimately lost in the Super Bowl because they could not protect Super Joe in crunch time. He was sacked 70 times in 20 games. As a result, the Bengals invested heavily in the offseason adding two top-10 PFF rated Guards and former top-10 rated tackle. As a result, they are selecting the best player available to add additional strength to the defense. With the 31st selection, the cats from Cincy take safety Daxton Hill of the University of Michigan. The Bengals lock the top prospect up for five years and can let him develop. (BC)

32. Detroit Lions – Lewis Cine Safety Georgia - The Lions entered this draft with 3 glaring holes - Edge, Safety and WR. The Lions filled the Edge position earlier. They take perhaps the 2nd best Safety in this draft Lewis Cine. Cine is a big hitter with speed (4.37 at the Combine). He needs to work on his awareness, but the Lions have 2 of the better Defensive backfield coaches in the NFL to coach him up. (MT)