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Jeff Dean/Associated Press
For all of the attention the first round receives, the heart of the 2022 NFL draft can be found in the middle rounds, particularly during the latter portions of Day 2.
“I think it’s very middle-of-the-draft heavy; third through the fifth round,” Dallas Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones told reporters before the start of the event. “First and second a little more thin than we’re used to, but I still think we’re going to have a great opportunity to really improve our football team.”
To quibble with Jones’ original point ever so slightly, some strange (looking at you, New England) and unexpected first-round moves make the top of the second round quite exciting.
Quarterbacks Malik Willis and Desmond Ridder, as well as top running backs Breece Hall and Kenneth Walker III, didn’t hear their names called during the opening frame. Linebacker Nakobe Dean, defensive lineman Logan Hall, cornerback Andrew Booth Jr., edge Arnold Ebiketie, offensive tackle Bernhard Raimann, safety Jaquan Brisker and linebackers Chad Muma and Christian Harris held first-round grades on Bleacher Report’s Top 300.
A ripple effect will occur throughout the rest of Friday’s proceedings since talented players slid a little further than projected.
Follow along as Bleacher Report provides analysis and grades for every pick.
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Chris O’Meara/Associated Press
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers opted out of the first round entirely when an opportunity to trade down presented itself. In doing so, the organization gained fourth- and sixth-round selections to move down only six spots and take over the driver’s seat at the start of the draft’s second day.
Since the NFL went to a three-day draft format in 2010, the 33rd selection has been one of the event’s most coveted slots.
Why?
The entire league resets after the first round, and the team at the top of the second tends to have fantastic options, either with available first-round talents who tumbled out of the opening frame or potential trade-up scenarios to gain additional assets.
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Icon Sportswire/Getty Images
The Minnesota Vikings completed a draft-day deal with the rival Detroit Lions so the latter could move up and land dynamite wide receiver Jameson Williams.
In exchange for moving down 20 spots, while throwing in a second-round pick, Minnesota moved up 12 spots in the second round and added a third-round selection.
“It’s really the same thing as economics. It’s how happy are you in this outcome versus in this outcome versus this outcome?” Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah told reporters. “You can talk about charts all you want. It’s not like you call somebody if you were buying a house and say, Hey, it should be worth this. Well, they might not pay that. If something is worth as much as someone is willing to pay for it.”
“… We weren’t necessarily looking to win points or this or that. We kind of look at the big picture, what it could be and what it ultimately might be in the end.”
The Vikings did choose Georgia safety Lewis Cine at the end of the first frame. Now, the organization has an opportunity to stack selections during the draft’s second day.
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Charlie Neibergall/Associated Press
The Tennessee Titans’ 2022 draft class will always be defined by a player who won’t even be included in the group. Tennessee traded A.J. Brown to the Philadelphia Eagles in a blockbuster draft-day swap.
The Titans immediately used the first-round pick acquired in the deal to select Brown’s replacement.
Treylon Burks’ addition is merely a trade-off, if not a downgrade for 2022. When Tennessee had an opportunity to add another talent in the first round, general manager Jon Robinson traded out of the 26th spot.
They’re back on the board near the top of the second round with an improved third-round pick and extra fifth-round selection in their back pocket.
Tennessee still needs help along the offensive line, at tight end and at linebacker.
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