What we learned on day one of 2022 NFL Draft

One of the most entertaining nights on the sports calendar is in the books. With three separate telecasts to pick from, viewers had numerous choices as a wild first round of the NFL Draft was consumed. The mega-event did not let us down.

There were a pair of blockbuster trades and plenty of movement from teams to move both up and down the board. In total, we saw wide receivers be heavily targeted along with the secondary. Meanwhile, the other skill talent positions on offense were hard to find.

After locking in for the entire event, KSR has some instant takeaways ready to be fired off.

Football is a wide receiver game now

For a very long time, there were three positions looked at as the most important spots on the field: quarterback, offensive tackle, and edge rusher. The teams that addressed these spots the best were usually the ones winning games.

However, another position now needs to be added to that group. There is a transition of power happening in football and it is at wide receiver.

After seeing the Bengals parlay huge success with Ja’Marr Chase as a rookie, multiple teams decided to move to get one of the top wideouts on the board. After the Jets took Garrett Wilson at No. 10, the Saints and Lions followed suit to trade up to land Chris Olave and Jameson Williams in consecutive picks.

Elsewhere, the Eagles traded for Titans wide receiver A.J. Brown and immediately signed the Ole Miss product to a $100 million extension. The Cardinals traded for Hollywood Brown to give Kyler Murray another weapon as the NFC West franchise feels like a championship is within reach.

At the college level, we’ve seen both Alabama and Ohio State now field offenses with multiple first-round picks with a first-round quarterback on the roster for consecutive seasons. As the game gets spread out at all levels, wideout is becoming a more premium position

The NFL is telling us that top talent is needed on the perimeter to win at the highest levels.

QB class is what we thought it was

Throughout the college football season, most of the top quarterback talk was around the sophomore class. Both C.J. Stroud and Bryce Young put together monster seasons with D.J. Uiagalelei coming short of expectations.

Meanwhile, everyone tried to find the guy or guys for this draft class. The NFL told us that there was not a clear answer on Thursday.

Kenny Pickett was the only quarterback taken in the first round, and the pick came from an NFL franchise he has spent the last five years sharing a practice facility with. The Steelers know Pickett very well and decided to roll the dice with the quarterback after a monster super senior season.

Malik Willis and Desmond Ridder are still on the board heading into day two and should hear their names called in the second round. The fact is that this was a down year for quarterbacks, and the NFL knows that. Even when the blueprint for winning is to get a quarterback on a rookie contract, no franchise decided to roll early draft capital on this group of prospects.

Recruiting star power matters

Every year in the draft, there are great success stories. Both Zion Johnson and Cole Strange went from FCS football players to first-round draft picks. Ikem Ekwonu is a great development story for NC State. Tulsa turned Tyler Smith into a draft pick in three short seasons after being a low three-star recruit in the class of 2019.

Yet, once again, former blue-chip recruits stole the show on day one of the NFL Draft.

Of the 32 selections, nine players were former five-star recruits in the On3 Consensus, and eight of those players were in the class of 2019. Kayvon Thibodeaux (2), Derek Stingley Jr. (3), Evan Neal (5), Daxton Hill (8), and Kenyon Green (9) all ranked inside the top-10.

Outside of the five stars, there were five more players ranked inside the top-100. After that, there were multiple other four-star prospects and two junior college products.

In total, 19 of the 32 picks (59.4%) were in the class of 2019 and only spent three years in college. Most made an impact as true freshmen. The good players on draft day are typically the good players as seniors in high school.

Georgia was elite

In Kentucky’s 30-13 loss to Georgia that ended a surprise 6-0 start, the best two players for the Bulldogs that day were Jalen Carter and Nakobe Dean. Carter is returning for his junior season, and Dean should be one of the first picks on day two.

Yet, that defense still saw five players go off the board in the opening round.

• 1. Jaguars — Travon Walker
• 13. Eagles — Jordan Davis
• 22. Packers — Quay Walker
• 28. Packers — Devonte Wyatt
• 32. Vikings — Lewis Cine

Jermaine Johnson was a member of that defense before transferring to Florida State for the 2021 season. Kirby Smart’s unit was dominant, and their success led to defensive coordinator Dan Lanning getting the head job at Oregon. Now we’re seeing it pay off in the draft.

Sometimes the eye test tells the truth, and Shane Beamer was right in September.

Shane Beamer on Georgia's defense: pic.twitter.com/TzSbHXoT9H

— SEC Network (@SECNetwork) September 21, 2021