2022 NFL Draft Grades: NFC North
The 2022 NFL Draft grades roll out as we now enter NFC North territory. The Packers have sort of owned this division but they don’t exactly have a strangle hold over it either. The Bears, Vikings, and Lions are a draft away from making some noise and turning the tide. Let’s get right to those 2022 NFL Draft grades!
Chicago Bears: Grade F
- Round 2: No. 39 – Kyler Gordon, CB, Washington
- Round 2: No. 48 (from LAC) – Jaquan Brisker, S, Penn State
- Round 3: No. 71 – Velus Jones Jr., WR, Tennessee
- Round 5: No. 168 (from BUF) – Braxton Jones, OT, Southern Utah
- Round 5: No. 174 (from CIN) – Dominique Robinson, LB, Miami (OH)
- Round 6: No. 186 – Zachary Thomas, OT, San Diego State
- Round 6: No. 203 (fro BUF) – Trestan Ebner, RB, Baylor
- Round 6: No. 207 (from HOU via SF via NYJ) – Doug Kramer, C, Illinois
- Round 7: No. 226 (from CIN via NYG) – J’atyre Carter, G, Southern
- Round 7: No. 254 (from LAC) – Elijah Hicks, S, California
- Round 7: No. 255 (from LAC) – Trenton Gill, P, NC State
The Bears gave away their first round pick because of the Justin Fields trade. Had Chicago been good, that trade feels more feasible. Instead, you lose out on a top tier talent. Hard to justify anything higher than an F. Especially when you consider you traded for Khalil Mack, wasted his talent because of the Trubisky years, and then sold low on him flipping Mack to the Chargers for Brisker. Love Brisker, still bad business.
The Washington corner will probably be fine. Don’t love him. We’ll see. This draft became an F the second the card got turned in for Velus Jones. That guy is going to be 25 in like six days. Yes, he’s fast but Jones couldn’t even really dominate at Tennessee as a much older player.
Just a horrible showing once again by this franchise.
Detroit Lions: Grade C+
- Round 1: No. 2 – Aidan Hutchinson, DE, Michigan
- Round 1: No. 12 (from MIN) – Jameson Williams, WR, Alabama
- Round 3: No. 97 – Kerby Joseph, S, Illinois
- Round 5: No. 177 – James Mitchell, TE, Virginia Tech
- Round 6: No. 188 (from JAX via SEA via PHI) – Malcolm Rodriguez, LB, Oklahoma State
- Round 6: No. 217 – James Houston, LB, Jackson State
- Round 7: No 237 (from NO via PHI) – Chase Lucas, CB, Arizona State
How am I supposed to give this draft anything higher than a C+ if you only get three guys that can realistically play? Everything the Lions did after the third round was probably a waste of time. Not a fan of any of their late round picks.
The rest of the draft was acceptable. The trade up for Jameson Williams was probably smart. Kerby Joseph is an interesting safety. I thought Aidan Hutchinson was overhyped during this process but I understand why they picked him. Hometown hero!
It’s a fine draft. The Lions got better. But let’s not act like this is franchise altering. The Lions did okay but it’s not like they made up significant ground. This team is still bad with no quarterback.
Green Bay Packers: Grade B-
- Round 1: No. 22 (from LV) – Quay Walker, ILB, Georgia
- Round 1: No. 28 – Devonte Wyatt, DT, Georgia
- Round 2: No. 34 (from GB via DET) – Christian Watson, WR, North Dakota State
- Round 3: No. 92 – Sean Rhyan, G, UCLA
- Round 4: No. 132 – Romeo Doubs, WR, Nevada
- Round 4: No. 140 – Zach Tom, G, Wake Forest
- Round 5: No. 179 (from IND via DEN) – Kingsley Enagbare, LB, South Carolina
- Round 7: No. 228 (from CHI via HOU) – Tariq Carpenter, LB, Georgia Tech
- Round 7: No. 234 (from DEN via CLE via DET) – Jonathan Ford, DT, Miami
- Round 7: No. 249 – Rasheed Walker, OT, Penn State
- Round 7: No. 258 – Samori Toure, WR, Nebraska
Was it a perfect draft for the Packers? No, but they got some things accomplished. The Georgia guys ruled this draft. Green Bay came out of it with two of them. Can the fan base really be mad about that? Quay Walker and Devonte Wyatt are huge upgrades for their defense. Walker is a bit of a riskier selection but Wyatt feels about as safe as it gets. This Packers defense was lowkey kinda soft last year. Two big selections that should go a long way.
Not sure I would have consolidated two picks for Christian Watson in a trade up but the Packers have had a lot of success in this round. Watson is a big target that can run. Adding Romeo Doubs as well feels like a solid outcome. Maybe not the best but they got the position hopefully taken care of.
I trust this team to develop offensive line talent. Zach Tom is going to be a contributor. Someway, somehow, it will happen.
It looks like a Packers draft. They’re going to hit on four or five of these guys. It just is what it is.
Minnesota Vikings: Grade C
- Round 1: No. 32 (from DET via LAR) – Lewis Cine, S, Georgia
- Round 2: No. 42 (from IND via WAS) – Andrew Booth Jr., CB, Clemson
- Round 2: No. 59 (from GB) – Ed Ingram, G, LSU
- Round 3: No. 66 (from DET) – Brian Asamoah, LB, Oklahoma
- Round 4: No. 118 (from CLE) – Akayleb Evans, CB, Missouri
- Round 5: No. 165 (from LV) – Esezi Otomewo, DE, Minnesota
- Round 5: No. 169 (from TEN via LV) – Ty Chandler, RB, North Carolina
- Round 6: No. 184 (from NYJ) – Vederian Lowe, OT, Illinois
- Round 6: No. 191 (from BAL via KC) – Jalen Nailor, WR, Michigan State
- Round 7: No. 227 (from LV via CAR) – Nick Muse, TE, South Carolina
I actually like the players the Vikings picked. I legit think they have an outside chance to win the division. Lewis Cine is my number one ranked safety. Andrew Booth in the second round is a damn good deal. Ed Ingram can really play too. Was stout at the Senior Bowl.
Then again, the guy running the Vikings is clearly a jackass. He moved down from 12 to 32 and collected zero future assets when every team in the NFL wanted to jump in there for Jameson Williams. He reeks like a first year general manager that doesn’t really know what he’s doing.
It wasn’t all bad. They got some interesting guys. Ty Chandler will be an okay third down back. Brian Asamoah wouldn’t have been the guy I picked but he’s interesting. Akayleb Evans wasn’t a bad flier corner pick either. It was just really hard to watch this dude make these trades and get robbed at every turn. Therefore, a C seems fair.
