5 Winners & 5 Losers From The 2022 NFL Draft

The 2022 NFL Draft is over, and it will go down as one of the strangest and most unpredictable drafts in recent memory. This draft was one of the first times in the last few years that nobody knew who would be selected first overall until the day of the draft.

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Some teams benefited from allowing the draft to come to them and are in much better positions, while others reached and will regret it for years. These are just some of the winners and losers of the draft, but honorable mentions for winners go to the New York Giants, Detroit Lions, and an honorable mention for losers could be the New England Patriots.

10 Loser: Nakobe Dean

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Georgia linebacker Nakobe Dean was slated to be the first or second linebacker taken in the draft. Dean was projected to go anywhere between the middle of the first round to the early second round at the latest. However, that was not the case as Dean fell all the way to round three, pick 83.

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A large reason for the slide is due to Dean needing to have pectoral surgery and has still yet to do so. It went to the Philadelphia Eagles' benefit as they were projected to take him 19th in many mocks but got him at 83 instead as Dean could prove to be a massive steal.

9 Winner: University of Georgia

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The University of Georgia broke the record for most players drafted in a seven-round draft in NFL history, with 15 players selected. Most of that is due to Georgia's incredible defense, which led the university to a national championship win over Alabama this past season. The Georgia Bulldogs broke LSU's record of 14 players set in the 2020 NFL Draft after their national championship win led by Joe Burrow.

Players like Dean may have slid, but there were still five Georgia defenders drafted in the first round alone, with defensive end Travon Walker going first overall to the Jacksonville Jaguars.

8 Loser: The QB Class Not Named Kenny Pickett

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The biggest news coming out of round one of the NFL Draft was that only one quarterback went off the board. This was an incredibly criticized quarterback class, but as the draft process went on, it seemed more likely that around three to four quarterbacks would be taken in the first round and five taken before round two would be over. However, after the Pittsburgh Steelers took Pittsburgh Panthers quarterback Kenny Pickett with the 20th overall pick, the quarterback class hit a slide that has not been since in decades.

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This class had the fewest quarterbacks taken in the first 85 picks (2) since 1996. Malik Willis, a player that was believed to possibly go as high as second overall, fell all the way to 86th overall. It was truly a historically bad night to be a quarterback not named Kenny Pickett.

7 Winner: New York Jets

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The New York Jets left day one of the NFL Draft the happiest and with the most players. New York came into Thursday with two first-round picks at fourth and tenth overall, respectively. The Jets stayed at both spots and took Amad "Sauce" Gardner, the University of Cincinnati shutdown cornerback at fourth overall. The tenth overall pick was Ohio State's wide receiver, Garrett Wilson, and the Jets fans would have been happy with just those selections, fixing two of their biggest needs.

However, the Jets were not done as they traded back into the first round to take the highly-touted edge rusher, Jermaine Johnson, out of the Florida State with the 26th overall pick.

6 Loser: Ryan Tannehill

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One of the biggest losers as a player is unquestionably Ryan Tannehill. Tannehill didn't get traded, but he did lose his star wide receiver in AJ Brown, and we may have seen Tennessee draft his replacement. Brown was traded on Thursday to the Philadelphia Eagles due to contract issues, and although Tennessee did use that pick to take Treylon Burks, being able to replace Brown's production will be a challenge for Tannehill.

Then, at pick 86, Malik Willis' fall was finally over as the Liberty quarterback that was projected to be a top ten pick was selected by the Titans, making fans wonder if he will be Tannehill's replacement after his contract is up next season.

5 Winner: Philadelphia Eagles

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The Philadelphia Eagles, weeks before the draft, had the most top-end draft capital in the league with three first-round picks. After trading with the Saints, the Eagles dropped that down to two by gaining a first-round pick next season. In the draft, Philadelphia took one of the best prospects in defensive linemen, Jordan Davis, out of the University of Georgia and then traded out of pick 18 for top ten wide receiver AJ Brown from the Titans.

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The trade was by far the biggest splash of the draft, giving Jalen Hurts a true top-tier receiver. Philadelphia proceeded to have a great draft, selecting Cam Jurgens out of Nebraska and taking the first-round talent, Nakobe Dean, in the third round, fixing a desperate need at linebacker once he is healthy.

4 Loser: Washington Commanders

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Washington had one of the most confusing picks in the first round. The newly named Commanders started their new era with the 11th pick in the draft but traded down with the New Orleans Saints to pick 16. In those five picks, the Commanders lost out on Chris Olave and Jameson Williams, two wide receivers that were rated by many as much higher than Jahan Dotson, the receiver Washington ultimately selected.

The rest of their draft does not look incredibly special, but maybe Sam Howell can turn into a steal in the fifth round, and they will have their quarterback of the future behind Carson Wentz.

3 Winner: Kansas City Chiefs

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The rich just keep on getting richer. The Kansas City Chiefs are already one of the most dangerous teams in the league, with the best quarterback in the league. The Chiefs traded up to draft cornerback from Washington, Trent McDuffie at 21st overall, and George Karlaftis from Purdue at 30. In fact, Kansas City hit on great picks each day, replacing Tyreek Hill with Western Michigan wide receiver Skyy Moore, an electric pass-rushing and run-stopping middle linebacker Leo Chenal from Wisconsin.

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The Chiefs added Joshua Williams from Fayetteville State University to help a depleted secondary and added value with Darian Kinnard from the University of Kentucky to a line that can always use depth.

2 Loser: Arizona Cardinals

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The Arizona Cardinals traded their first-round pick, 23rd overall, for Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Marquise "Hollywood" Brown, and 100th overall, which Arizona used to pick University of Cincinnati's defensive end, Myjai Sanders. Brown did occur his first 1,000-yard season this past season and had a ton of talent, but with the likes of AJ Brown being traded for just slightly higher value, Arizona has to wonder if they could have traded their pick for someone better, or even just chose a receiver at 23 and not have to pay Brown next season.

This move may have been to make Kyler Murray happy, reuniting him with his college teammate. However, Murray could have really benefited from the Cardinals drafting linemen, which they chose not to address until the 6th round.

1 Winner: Baltimore Ravens

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The Baltimore Ravens are always one of the most consistent and well-run front offices in all of the NFL. The Ravens are known for drafting the best player available regardless of need, and it typically proves to be beneficial for them, and they kept the same philosophy with this draft. Baltimore let the draft come to them with their first pick, drafting Notre Dame Safety Kyle Hamilton, who a month ago was projected to be a top-five pick.

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Baltimore added a ton of value with nearly every pick, getting a steal in Iowa's center Tyler Linderbaum at 25th overall, as well as their next two draft picks being first-round worthy in Michigan edge David Ojabo and Connecticut's defensive lineman Travis Jones.