2022 Draft - Who do you like outside of Round 1?

DB JALEN PITRE, BAYLOR
PFF Big Board Rank: 31st
Pitre was identified by league sources as a player who could go higher in the draft than initially expected. PFF already has him ranked higher than most sites inside our top 35.

Pitre ran a 4.46-second 40-yard dash at his pro day after clocking a 6.74-second three-cone at the NFL Scouting Combine. He primarily played out of the slot with the Bears and earned a 92.7 run-defense grade in 2021, the best among FBS cornerbacks. His current projection, per sources, is anywhere from late in the first round into the middle of the second round.

EDGE JOSH PASCHAL, KENTUCKY
PFF Big Board Rank: 44th
Paschal is a PFF and scout’s favorite. The accomplished run defender's 90.0 overall PFF grade ranked fourth among draft-eligble FBS edge defenders last season.

At 6-foot-3 and 268 pounds, Paschal played everywhere from nose tackle to edge in 2021 at Kentucky. He tested extremely well for his size and earned a 9.70/10 relative athletic score.

He’s projected as an early Day 2 pick, per a source. He looks like a prototypical New England Patriot.

LB TROY ANDERSEN, MONTANA STATE
PFF Big Board Rank: 51st
Andersen comes with a fascinating story. He started his college career at running back, moved to quarterback, then switched to running back/linebacker before flipping to defense full time in 2021. He has ideal size and athleticism for a linebacker at 6-foot-4 and 243 pounds, and he ran a 4.42-second 40-yard dash (98th percentile) with a 1.49-second 10-yard split (100th), 6.77-second three-cone, 4.07-second short shuttle, 36-inch vertical leap (73rd) and 10-foot-8 broad jump (95th).

Andersen will likely be a second-round pick, per multiple sources, though one source believes he could sneak into the first round.

OT LUKE GOEDEKE, CENTRAL MICHIGAN
PFF Big Board Rank: 62nd
Goedeke is another player who a team source identified as someone who could be selected earlier than expected. One source indicated he could go as high as the top 45 picks. Another source penciled him in for the late second round.

Goedeke played right tackle with the Chippewas but projects to guard in the NFL. He didn’t let up a sack in 2021 and earned a 94.3 run-blocking grade.

OT ZACH TOM, WAKE FOREST
PFF Big Board Rank: 64th
Tom began his career at center before moving to left tackle in 2020. He stuck at left tackle in 2021, and teams believe he could stay there in the NFL despite being slightly undersized at 6-foot-4 and 307 pounds with 33 1/4-inch arms. He tested very well with a 4.94-second 40-yard dash (93rd percentile), 1.63-second 10-yard split (99th), 33-inch vertical leap (93rd), 9-foot-10 broad jump (99th), 4.47-second short shuttle (94th) and 7.32-second three-cone (96th).

He let up just 13 pressures, including three sacks, two quarterback hits and eight hurries in 2021, and earned a 92.1 pass-blocking grade. He’s likely an early Day 2 pick, per a source.

WR JOHN METCHIE III, ALABAMA
PFF Big Board Rank: 74th
Metchie tore his ACL in the SEC Championship game but is still expected to be taken in the second round, per a source. He’s 5-foot-11 and 189 pounds and earned a 78.2 overall PFF grade in 2021. He split his time between the slot and outside and earned his highest grades in the short (94.2) and intermediate (92.7) parts of the field.

DI PERRION WINFREY, OKLAHOMA
PFF Big Board Rank: 84th
Winfrey is slightly undersized at 6-foot-4 and 290 pounds, but he has massive 35 1/4-inch arms and could be a surprise late first-round pick, per a source. He ran a 4.89-second 40-yard dash at the combine and excelled as a pass-rusher in 2021, earning a 79.3 pass-rush grade with 29 pressures, including six sacks, six quarterbacks hits and 27 hurries, on 285 snaps. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a team to watch.

Biggest Prospect Differences: Rounds 3 & Later

THE PROSPECTS PFF IS HIGHER ON

T ZACH TOM, WAKE FOREST
PFF Rank: 64
Consensus Rank: 163

I fully expect Tom to come off the board in the actual draft closer to the PFF rank than the consensus rank. And that’s because athletes like him simply don’t last long in the draft. Tom’s combine numbers were arguably the best of any tackle in the class, and he ticked the arm length box too.

That would be one thing if Tom were an athletic project, but he’s decidedly not. Tom earned the highest pass-blocking grade among all tackles in college football last year at 92.1.

T KELLEN DIESCH, ARIZONA STATE
PFF Rank: 77
Consensus Rank: 174

Diesch does not tick every box you want to see at the position by any means. He’s an ultra-slim 6-foot-7, 303-pound tackle with only 32 ¼-inch arms and is already 24 years old. That being said, he’s an elite athlete who was in the conversation for best pass-protector in college football last season. He allowed only eight pressures in all of 2021 and never allowed more than two in a single game. During the week of practices at the Shrine Bowl, Diesch didn’t lose once in the one-on-ones.

IOL DOHNOVAN WEST, ARIZONA STATE
PFF Rank: 80
Consensus Rank: 191

I’m not sure why the consensus seems so low on West. He’s started ever since he got to campus for the Sun Devils and performed well across multiple positions. In a class full of sixth-years along the offensive line, the 20-year-old West never got to hit his physical maturity as a true junior coming out. On 496 pass-blocking snaps the past two seasons, West allowed all of seven pressures.

WR DANNY GRAY, SMU
PFF Rank: 97
Consensus Rank: 150

Gray oozes physical ability. After starting his career at Blinn Community College, Gray came to SMU as still a very moldable ball of clay. Over the past two years, his game has improved by leaps and bounds to take advantage of his 4.33 speed. He was arguably the most impressive receiver in the Senior Bowl one-on-ones despite the fact he ran only four such routes before leaving with an injury. His stock would have soared much higher had he gotten a full week of practice.

CB CORDALE FLOTT, LSU
PFF Rank: 104
Consensus Rank: 180

Flott is a true junior who was quite frankly a surprise to declare. He had been the slot player in LSU’s defense over the course of his career despite not filling the traditional slot mold at 6-foot-1, 175 pounds. Despite that, Flott still earned an 84.8 coverage grade last season. His skill set is closer to that of an outside corner, and he has the physicality to excel in such a role. He’s also one of the youngest prospects in the class and won’t turn 21 until August.

S DANE BELTON, IOWA
PFF Rank: 113
Consensus Rank: 187

As you’ll see with a number of the players above: age + production + athleticism is a combination we covet. So, when we see a 21-year-old true junior who had five picks along with eight pass breakups and also runs in the low 4.4s with all-around excellent measurables, the chances are we are going to be high on them. That’s Belton’s prospect profile in a nutshell. He’s filled the slot for Iowa ever since his true freshman season as a rare first-year starter under Kirk Ferentz. He’s a touch rough around the edge and needs to improve as a tackler, but we didn’t get to see him take the next step like some 23-year-olds in this draft class.

RB ZAQUANDRE WHITE, SOUTH CAROLINA
PFF Rank: 158
Consensus Rank: 236

PFF is higher than the consensus on a running back? Well, White isn’t your typical running back. He started as a linebacker for Florida State before going the JuCo route and finding his way back to South Carolina. He managed only 105 carries in two seasons with the Gamecocks but broke an impressive 32 tackles. He’s got the kind of suddenness and elusiveness that everyone is looking for at the position with none of the polish.

PROSPECTS PFF IS LOWER ON

LB CHRISTIAN HARRIS, ALABAMA
PFF Rank: 96
Consensus Rank: 48

Harris is a speedy and violent linebacker. He just hasn’t been all that productive in a very pro-style defense. He’s earned overall grades of 61.6 and 62.1 the past two seasons and gets lost too often in coverage for us to covet highly. He’s allowed 961 yards over that span.

T DANIEL FAALELE, MINNESOTA
PFF Rank: 157
Consensus Rank: 61

Faalele has an interesting backstory and prodigious size at 6-foot-8, 390 pounds, which has led many to bill him as a “limitless upside” project. Size isn’t always a good thing, though. All that weight serious concerns about whether he can stay healthy and whether he has the foot speed to stick with NFL edge rushers. His 40 (5.6), 10-yard split (2.04), broad jump (7-10), short shuttle (5.06) and three-cone (8.47) were all below the 10th percentile for offensive tackles. There aren’t many that unathletic getting by in the league.

RB ISAIAH SPILLER, TEXAS A&M
PFF Rank: 150
Consensus Rank: 63

Not only does Spiller play a position we’ll covet lower on the PFF board than others, but he also did not test or grade out particularly impressively. He only earned an 83.2 overall grade last season, and his 4.27-second short shuttle was his only athletic measurable above the 50th percentile for the running back position. His 4.64 40-yard dash, 33-inch vertical, and 9-foot-6 broad jump are all uninspiring figures for someone that doesn’t qualify as a power back at 217 pounds.

TE ISAIAH LIKELY, COASTAL CAROLINA
PFF Rank: 232
Consensus Rank: 89

Likely was uber-productive on tape, but he was also a glorified receiver on tape in usage and how he looked. He barely stood out size-wise from the Chanticleers receivers, and in his pre-draft testing it became clear why. Even knowing he was undersized, Likely only managed to get to 238 pounds and then he ran a lethargic 4.82-second 40-yard dash at his pro day with rough change-of-direction drills. That’s going to be a tough sell finding a role for a player that size.

CB DERION KENDRICK, GEORGIA
PFF Rank: 204
Consensus Rank: 125

Kendrick has constantly needed protection on vertical routes over the course of his career. It became evident exactly why that was the case when he ran a 4.79-second 40-yard dash at Georgia’s pro day. That’s an untenable number that’s not even particularly worth the risk at a position like cornerback.

TE JALEN WYDERMYER, TEXAS A&M
PFF Rank: 240
Consensus Rank: 135

In case you haven’t noticed a trend here, we simply aren’t going to stick our necks out for a lot of well below-average athletes. Especially ones at non-valuable positions like tight end. Wydermyer not only offers very little as a blocker but also doesn’t profile as an impact receiver after running a 5.02-second 40-yard dash, vertical jumping 26 inches and broad jumping only 9-foot-1.

The Minnesota Vikings have been blessed with steady production from the wide receiver position for the past seven years. Adam Thielen and Stefon Diggs both outperformed their draft slots by a significant margin. Not to mention, first-round pick Justin Jefferson has taken the league by storm early in his professional career. Add in a couple of late-round receivers who have been providing quality depth in K.J. Osborn and Olabisi Johnson, and you’ve got yourself an above-average group of wideouts.

Despite all the quality depth Minnesota has at wide receiver, there’s not a lot of positional versatility these players offer outside of Jefferson and Thielen. Osborn and Johnson are slot guys, and Ihmir Smith-Marsette isn’t a consistent deep threat yet. Beyond those three, you have an assortment of practice-squad-caliber players who are unlikely to make the final 53-man roster.

The Vikings could use a wide receiver who can take the top off of opposing defenses. They recently met with speedy SMU wide receiver Danny Gray, ranked as the No. 64-overall player in this year’s draft, and the No. 8 wide receiver by Hall of Famer Gil Brandt. Not only did he clock in a 4.33 40 time at the combine (T-sixth-fastest among all participants), he was also a state champion in Texas, running the 100-meter dash and the 4×100-meter relay. Texas is the second-most populated state in the country, so that is a distinctive honor.