Derek Stingley Is The Best Player In The 2022 NFL Draft
Derek Stingley is really going to fall in the draft isn’t he? NFL teams never learn their lessons… do they?
The Draft is an art and a science at the same time. Often times, people find themselves overthinking things for no reason. Remember when Micah Parsons slipped in the draft? Made no sense to me. Yet, here we are again with Stingley.
As the 2022 NFL Draft inches closer, the top of my board will not change and has not changed from three years ago. Derek Stingley is the best player in this year’s class and if you don’t pick him, get your head checked.
Certainly, there are other names in this class that should be considered home runs. I just believe Stingley stands in a class of his own. We all need to use common sense a bit more. Did you guys see what Ja’Marr Chase just did as a rookie? Nobody could cover that guy in college so more people should have seen this coming.
Actually, I lied. Only one guy can actually cover him and that was his true freshman teammate, Stingley.
Find me another corner who battles against Ja’Marr Chase better than this guy? I’ll wait cause all I saw Chase do is beat the piss out of every NFL corner he went up against. If you’re going to sit here and pass on this guy, I will laugh my way to the podium while turning in the card for Stingley.
Stingley is the Jalen Ramsey of the draft. The only difference is Stingley was more NFL ready sooner and probably has a higher ceiling. Don’t forget, Ramsey played some safety at Florida State. Stingley is a lock down corner that you feel comfortable leaving on an island. You can’t put a price tag on corners that good. They change the game.
From a measurable standpoint, Stingley has everything you want. The LSU product checks in at 6-foot with 31-inch arms. His movement skills are off the charts good. He’s an explosive knee bender. His back pedal is filthy and has no issues staying low. He’s a springy athlete that can recover when getting beat and really attacks the ball in the air. He’s also great at unlocking his hips and using his hands in press.
If you were comparing Stingley to a baseball player, he’s an automatic five tool prospect. Talent isn’t the issue. Stingley was a historic cornerback recruit. In the class of 2019, Stingley was the 3rd overall hs player in the country and number one ranked corner. All Stingley did was step on the field immediately as a freshman at LSU and became the best defensive back in the country over night helping lead the Tigers to a National Championship.
Do we see how insane this is yet? Yeah, you go ahead and pass on him for some bum that plays in the Pac 12. What are we doing here?
The anti-Stingley crowd can’t come up with a logical reason why they’re not high on the LSU corner. They just haven’t accepted they’re not as good as me at this draft thing. Scouts claim Stingley wasn’t as good in 2020 and 2021. Which is factually true. The only problem with their argument is that it isn’t one that makes sense. I’ll just let Stingley tell you this one.
“Going into my second year and throughout my second year, I felt it was just as good as my freshman year,” he said. “Freshman year I had over 90 targets. Sophomore year I had 30. If anything, that should just say I was doing my job.”
So we’re supposed to punish Stingley for teams refusing to throw the ball in his direction? That’s not doing your homework. That’s called lacking intelligence. You can throw in 2021 if you want to but it was a lost season for LSU anyway. I’m just not passing on a Hall of Fame corner because of a Lisfranc injury.
Passing on Stingley is exactly why the same teams suck all the time. They care about things that don’t matter. It’s amazing anyone finds Aidan Hutchinson as the superior prospect. It’s almost as bad as the year I had to sit and listen to all the fools talk about Trubisky while I sat here and giggled the whole time.
The Draft isn’t about collecting a body of work. Strong resumes don’t make strong draft prospects. Passing on Stingley because he didn’t play a large portion of his final collegiate season is as dumb as it gets. Corners with these type of ball skills don’t grow on trees.
There are no red flags. None? Could he tackle better? Sure, but that will come? How fast is he? You think LSU has him return punts if he can’t run? C’mon. I’m not sure what to tell you but this guy is the only sure fire can’t miss home run in the draft.
If I hold the first pick in the 2022 NFL Draft and am unable to trade down, I’m taking the LSU corner. I’m not thinking twice. Turn the card in for Derek Stingley. You won’t regret it. He’s the best player in the Draft.
