If the 2021 college football season has taught us anything so far, it’s that there’s not a quarterback prospect worthy of taking with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2022 NFL draft.
Sure, there are some intriguing passers who will warrant first-round consideration, but nobody worth passing up the likes of Oregon’s Kayvon Thibodeaux, LSU’s Derek Stingley Jr. or Alabama’s Evan Neal with the top selection.
That doesn’t stop the latest 2022 NFL mock draft from Pro Football Network from sending a quarterback to the Detroit Lions at No. 1, though. In this latest first-round projection, PFN indeed has the Lions passing up those blue-chip prospects for Mississippi’s Matt Corral.
Corral is a solid prospect, and it’s true that the quarterback position is just too important in today’s NFL. That said, it’s highly likely the Lions could land a prospect of similar caliber to Corral with their additional first-round pick (from the Matthew Stafford trade, courtesy of the Los Angeles Rams), or even their early second-round selection.
Passing up a stud defender like Thibodeaux or Stingley, or a franchise tackle like Neal, for a quarterback prospect who probably belongs 10-15 picks later in the first round isn’t exactly a sound team-building strategy.
Liberty’s Malik Willis is the only other quarterback to land in the top 10 in this projection, heading to the Washington Football Team at No. 7 overall. Nevada’s Carson Strong also cracks this first-round mock, giving the New Orleans Saints a new quarterback of the future at No. 23 overall.
To check out the full projection at Pro Football Network, click here.
