Round 1 of the 2022 NFL draft kicks off in Las Vegas on Thursday at 8 p.m. ET and Rounds 2-7 will follow on Friday and Saturday.
We have you covered with a one-stop shop for everything draft related. Don’t know what time the draft starts each day or where to watch? Scroll down. Who are the top-ranked prospects according to Scouts Inc.? Scroll down. What is the draft order for each round? Scroll down.
The Jacksonville Jaguars have the No. 1 pick — again — but who that pick will be is still to be decided. For months, our four draft analysts — Mel Kiper Jr., Todd McShay, Jordan Reid and Matt Miller — and our 32 NFL Nation reporters have been assessing prospects and team needs, building mock drafts and finalizing prospect rankings.
You will be the most informed fan watching the draft if you — say it with us this time — scroll down the page.
In addition to all of the rankings and mock drafts, we have included information from ESPN’s Stats & Information, introductions to some of the top draft prospects and a look at ESPN’s Draft Day Predictor. Plus, details on our Draft Challenge where you can predict picks and potentially win prizes.
Let’s start with the basics:
ESPN Draftcast | Best available
When and where is the draft?
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Round 1: Thursday at 8 p.m. ET (ESPN, ABC, ESPN App, ESPN Radio, ESPN Deportes, NFL Network)
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Rounds 2-3: Friday at 7 p.m. ET (ESPN, ABC, ESPN App, ESPN Radio, ESPN Deportes, NFL Network)
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Rounds 4-7: Saturday at noon ET (ESPN with ABC simulcast, ESPN App, ESPN Radio, ESPN Deportes, NFL Network)
The 2022 draft is being held in Las Vegas. The 2020 draft was supposed to be held in Vegas before the league moved to a virtual draft that year during the pandemic. Among the many players who will be onsite are Michigan OT Aidan Hutchinson, Ohio State WR Chris Olave and NC State OT Ikem Ekwonu.
When is every team picking?
There will be 262 picks in this year’s draft and the Jaguars have the first pick for the second year in a row. The Jaguars and Kansas City Chiefs have the most picks in the entire draft with 12 each, while the Miami Dolphins have by far the fewest with just four after trading for Tyreek Hill last month.
Top 10:
1. Jacksonville Jaguars
2. Detroit Lions
3. Houston Texans
4. New York Jets
5. New York Giants
6. Carolina Panthers
7. New York Giants (via CHI)
8. Atlanta Falcons
9. Seattle Seahawks
10. New York Jets (via SEA)
See the full 262-pick draft order
How do the prospects in this class rank?
Scouts Inc. top 10 prospects:
1. Aidan Hutchinson, DE, Michigan (Highlights)
2. Travon Walker, DE, Georgia (Highlights)
3. Ikem Ekwonu, OT, NC State (Highlights)
4. Evan Neal, OT, Alabama (Highlights)
5. Ahmad Gardner, CB, Cincinnati (Highlights)
6. Garrett Wilson, WR, Ohio State (Highlights)
7. Kayvon Thibodeaux, DE, Oregon (Highlights)
8. Derek Stingley Jr., CB, LSU (Highlights)
9. Kyle Hamilton, S, Notre Dame (Highlights)
10. Charles Cross, OT, Mississippi State (Highlights)
Scouts Inc. top six quarterbacks:
1. Malik Willis, Liberty
2. Kenny Pickett, Pittsburgh
3. Desmond Ridder, Cincinnati
4. Matt Corral, Ole Miss
5. Sam Howell, North Carolina
6. Carson Strong, Nevada
Do our analysts agree or disagree with these rankings? Find each of their final prospect and positional rankings here:
• Kiper: Final rankings, top 230 prospects and best at every position
• McShay: Stacking 367 prospects plus position breakdowns
• Reid: Top 365 prospects and final positional rankings
• Miller: Top 300 prospects and final positional rankings
• Legwold: Ranking the top 100 prospects
Now that we have ranked all the prospects, let’s look at the risers and best skill players:
• Legwold: Seven prospects who climbed the boards over the past year
• The 2022 NFL draft’s best at everything: Most accurate, top route runner, best cover corner and more
Projecting the draft’s top players in the NFL
Football Outsiders uses metrics to predict how good players will be in their first five years in the NFL.
Does the 2022 class of quarterbacks have an elite QB in the mix? How do the running backs stack up? Which wide receiver in the deep class will make the biggest impact? And which pass-rusher should actually be drafted first? All of those are answered below.
• Quarterbacks
• Running backs
• Wide receivers
• Pass-rushers
What should I expect?
The theme of this offseason has been to expect the unexpected. There are many questions that simply won’t have an answer until Thursday night — like who will be picked at No. 1 and when will the first quarterback be taken off the board. But our draft analysts have been hard at work gathering insight and setting the final rankings and mock drafts.
The latest draft buzz:
• Last-minute updates on potential Round 1 trades, rising prospects, surprise picks
• Everything Todd McShay is hearing on top prospects, QBs, early picks and team strategies
• Draft buzz notebook, rumors, favorite sleepers: Updates on Willis, Pickett, more
Mock drafts:
• Reid’s seven round mock draft
• Miller’s seven round mock draft
• NFL mock draft 2022 with all trades: Bill Barnwell proposes deals for all 32 picks
Both Kiper and McShay will release their final mock drafts on Thursday morning, so stay tuned for those.
What is every NFL team’s outlook?
Every NFL team has its own draft board, its own strategy and a unique set of positional needs. How might your favorite team approach Round 1 … and beyond?
• Miller and Reid break down all 32 teams’ top draft needs
• Football Outsiders’ draft guides for all 32 teams
What do I need to know about betting on the NFL draft?
Yes, you can bet on what happens at the NFL draft. Our ESPN Chalk analysts are here to help.
• Betting the NFL draft: Tips, tricks and best practices to cash in
• 2022 NFL draft betting market poses challenges for league, bookmakers
Draft Day Predictor
Are you curious about what the odds are that your team picks your favorite prospect? Well, Seth Walder and ESPN’s analytics team have a tool that does just that. And it’s publicly available for the first time.
ESPN’s Draft Day Predictor is a statistical tool that produces a range of selection outcomes for prospects in the NFL draft. It uses expert mock drafts, Scouts Inc. grades and team needs as inputs and helps us answer questions about how things could play out. It gives percentage chances of each prospect being available — and being selected — at each draft slot, which of course leads to a likely range of picks in which he could realistically come off the board.
It will update on Thursday morning as final mock drafts come in and then update live during the draft Thursday night.
Meet some of 2022’s top prospects
Learn something new about these top prospects by reading these features below. You never know who your team could draft.
From ESPN’s Stats & Information desk
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After quarterbacks went No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3 overall in 2021, this draft could become the first time since 2013 — and only the second time in the past 20 years — that no quarterbacks are selected in the top five. Even if the quarterbacks don’t go early, this could be the seventh straight year that at least three quarterbacks are selected in the first round, extending what is already the longest streak in the Common Draft era (since 1967).
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While the players drafted in the first round get most of the spotlight, a significant portion of a team’s roster is built on Days 2 and 3. Among active players in 2021, 66% were drafted after the third round or went undrafted.
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There could be four Georgia defensive players selected in the first round, which would tie Miami (2004) and Florida State (2006) for the most defensive players from one school in the first round of a draft
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Of the 55 players drafted No. 1 overall, 33 have multiple Pro Bowl selections, 15 have a first-team All-Pro selection and eight are in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
How can I play the ESPN Draft Challenge?
With ESPN Draft Challenge, you can predict how the draft will play out and win prizes. And it’s easy and free to participate.
Source : ESPN
