Our first edition of the top-10 positional rankings in the 2022 NFL Draft is brought to you by our NFL Draft & College Football editor, Owain Jones. He takes you through the top 10 players at each position who could be on your team’s roster in 2022.
The 2022 NFL Draft will be loaded with defensive talent. If you are a team with problems on the defensive side of the ball and have multiple picks, then you will be rubbing your hands together!
That is true specifically of the trenches. defensive ends/edge rushers are plentiful and dominate our early Top-50 Big Board. Cornerback is also strong at the very top and we also have a much better safety class than we have seen in some time.
*Although we have started to see some prospects declare. some prospects included in these lists could still choose to return to school*
Here are our Defensive top-10 positional rankings.
POSITIONAL RANKINGS
DEFENSIVE TACKLES
| 1. | DEMARVIN LEAL | TEXAS A&M |
| 2. | JORDAN DAVIS | GEORGIA |
| 3. | DEVONTE WYATT | GEORGIA |
| 4. | PHIDARIAN MATHIS | ALABAMA |
| 5. | LOGAN HALL | HOUSTON |
| 6. | PERRION WINFREY | OKLAHOMA |
| 7. | TRAVIS JONES | UCONN |
| 8. | TYLER DAVIS | CLEMSON |
| 9. | CALIJAH KANCEY | PITTSBURGH |
| 10. | COLBY WOODEN | AUBURN |
It has been the case now for multiple draft cycles, but the defensive tackle class again lacks some quality. DeMarvin Leal has the makings of a top prospect and Jordan Davis a juggernaut, the rest will be drafted later on. Perrion Winfrey has dropped since preseason after a rough 2021 season.
DEFENSIVE ENDS/EDGE RUSHERS
| 1. | KAYVON THIBODEAUX | OREGON |
| 2. | AIDAN HUTCHINSON | MICHIGAN |
| 3. | GEORGE KARLAFTIS | PURDUE |
| 4. | DAVID OJABO | MICHIGAN |
| 5. | KINGSLEY ENAGBARE | SOUTH CAROLINA |
| 6. | NIK BONITTO | OKLAHOMA |
| 7. | TRAVON WALKER | GEORGIA |
| 8. | MYJAI SANDERS | CINCINNATI |
| 9. | JERMAINE JOHNSON | FLORIDA ST |
| 10. | ARNOLD EBIKETIE | PENN ST |
This defensive end/edge rusher class has star quality spread throughout. All 10 prospects feature on our first top-50 big board in a studded class. It appears Kayvon Thibodeaux and Aidan Hutchinson will be locked in a battle for the #1 overall pick, while we could see many others go in the first round.
LINEBACKERS
| 1. | DEVIN LLOYD | UTAH |
| 2. | NAKOBE DEAN | GEORGIA |
| 3. | BRANDON SMITH | PENN ST |
| 4. | HENRY TO’OTO’O | ALABAMA |
| 5. | CHRISTIAN HARRIS | ALABAMA |
| 6. | LEO CHENAL | WISCONSIN |
| 7. | OWEN PAPPOE | AUBURN |
| 8. | BRIAN ASAMOAH | OKLAHOMA |
| 9. | PAYTON WILSON | NC STATE |
| 10. | CHAD MUMA | WYOMING |
Both Nakobe Dean and Devin Lloyd are the headline acts and have first round potential. The others have quality too. You can expect starting calibre linebackers into day 3. There is something for everyone in this linebacker class who have great mental processing and athletic traits.
CORNERBACKS
| 1. | ANDREW BOOTH | CLEMSON |
| 2. | DEREK STINGLEY | LSU |
| 3. | AHMAD GARDNER | CINCINNATI |
| 4. | KAIIR ELAM | FLORIDA |
| 5. | ROGER MCCREARY | AUBURN |
| 6. | TRENT MCDUFFIE | WASHINGOTN |
| 7. | MARTIN EMERSON | MISSISSIPPI ST |
| 8. | DERION KENDRICK | GEORGIA |
| 9. | KYLER GORDON | WASHINGTON |
| 10. | MYKAEL WRIGHT | OREGON |
Ranking Andrew Booth over Derek Stingley may raise some eyebrows, but the Clemson Tiger has been a dynamic playmaker throughout his college career. Stingley has been impacted by yet another injury in 2021. Him being the first corner off the board may not be the slam dunk many thought it would be.
SAFETIES
| 1. | KYLE HAMILTON | NOTRE DAME |
| 2. | JAQUAN BRISKER | PENN ST |
| 3. | DAXTON HILL | MICHIGAN |
| 4. | JORDAN BATTLE | ALABAMA |
| 5. | LEWIS CINE | GEORGIA |
| 6. | VERONE MCKINLEY | OREGON |
| 7. | JALEN CATALON | ARKANSAS |
| 8. | BRANDON JOSEPH | NORTHWESTERN |
| 9. | JALEN PITRE | BAYLOR |
| 10. | TYKEE SMITH | GEORGIA |
It will be repeated by all draft analysts here at NinetyNineYards.com, all draft season. Kyle Hamilton is a generation prospect. The rest of this safety group is also blessed with quality and we could see multiple players at the position taken higher than usual.
You can see our early 2022 NFL Draft Top-50 Big Board here.
What do you make of our current Top-10 Positional Rankings? Let us know over on Twitter @NinetynineYards and @Owain_Jones_