Craig’s Final Position Rankings

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If you listen to the Ninety Nine Yards Draft Guys’ Podcast you’ll already know why Sam Howell is my number one QB. In 2020 he showed what he can do as a passer with a good supporting cast, and in 2021 he went and found new ways to win using his legs and running the ball far more. If I can combine those two years into one dual-threat quarterback then I’ve got to be onto a winner.

But if you gave me a top 10 draft pick on an historically bad team and told me I had to draft a quarterback this year, it would be Malik Willis every day. The ceiling is so high that you’d take that risk and keep your fingers crossed in hope.

This isn’t a particularly packed class at QB though and for me it is just my top 3 that I’d project as decent NFL starters.

1	Breece Hall	Iowa State
2	Kenneth Walker	Michigan State
3	Isaiah Spiller	Texas A&M
4	Kyren Williams	Notre Dame
5	Tyler Allgeier	BYU
6	D’vonte Price	Florida International
7	James Cook	Georgia
8	Hassan Haskins	Michigan
9	Rachaad White	Arizona State
10	Pierre Strong Jr	South Dakota State

Breece Hall just shades this for me ahead of Kenneth Walker based on his abilities in the passing game. Walker may well be a competent receiver who’s been lacking in opportunities, but his pass blocking needs work. By contrast, he is the harder runner between the tackles and probably has that greater natural purity to his game.

Tyler Allgeier makes it into my top 5 backs off the back of a couple of very strong and successful seasons at BYU, while spots 6 through 10 were very difficult to pin down. I had at least two or three more guys I thought belonged with this group and they could well go off the board in a very different order depending on scheme fit.

1	Chris Olave	Ohio State
2	Treylon Burks	Arkansas
3	Garrett Wilson	Ohio State
4	Jameson Williams	Alabama
5	Drake London	USC
6	George Pickens	Georgia
7	Jahan Dotson	Penn State
8	Skyy Moore	Western Michigan
9	Christian Watson	North Dakota State
10	Khalil Shakir	Boise State

The top 5 from this list could come off the board in almost any order on draft night and it would be hard to argue. But for me the polish on his routes combined with his deep speed makes Chris Olave my number one. Treylon Burks is the leading YAC guy while Drake London has a major height advantage against most DBs.

I saw someone describe choosing between the top WRs in this draft as like being in a really good ice cream parlour.

Lots of different flavours, each person will have their own favourite but all of them damned good!

— Craig Strachan (@UK_draft) February 21, 2022

George Pickens might well have have been talked about alongside those top 5 had he not suffered an ACL injury that kept him out for most of 2021, but its easy to see how he could be a true WR1 at the next level.

And let’s talk about one of my guys here shall we? Khalil Shakir made some incredible, highlight reel catches for Boise State in 2021 and is someone who definitely deserves more buzz.

1	Trey McBride	Colorado State
2	Jeremy Ruckert	Ohio State
3	Jake Ferguson	Wisconsin
4	Isaiah Likely	Coastal Carolina
5	Charlie Kolar	Iowa State
6	Greg Dulcich	UCLA
7	Cade Otton	Washington
8	Jelani Woods	Virginia
9	Daniel Bellinger	San Diego State
10	Derek Deese Jr.	San Jose State

This group of tight ends doesn’t have the sort of star quality we saw with the likes of Kyle Pitts last year, but there is plenty of depth. Jake Ferguson was one of the standout players in the Senior Bowl game, highlighting his abilities as both a blocker and a receiver and belongs higher up the rankings than I’ve seen others have him.

There are then a number of interesting traits within the rest of this group. Isaiah Likely is the best pure pass catcher of the group but he’s a bulked out wide receiver who needs to work on his blocking.

1	Evan Neal	Alabama
2	Ikem Ekwonu	NC State
3	Charles Cross	Mississippi State
4	Trevor Penning	Northern Iowa
5	Nicholas Petit-Frere	Ohio State
6	Sean Rhyan	UCLA
7	Bernhard Raimann	Central Michigan
8	Darian Kinnard	Kentucky
9	Tyler Smith	Tulsa
10	Abraham Lucas	Washington State

The top 3 on this list all excel in at least one facet of their game, which means they will be day one starters. Charles Cross is an elite pass blocker and Ikem Ekwonu is an absolute mauler in the run game. But Evan Neal is the most polished and all round offensive tackle who could play either tackle spot and deserves to be number one on this list.

At various points during this draft cycle there has been wild buzz about both Bernhard Raimann and Tyler Smith. Neither should be in first round consideration given their limitations – both have a lot to learn and Smith in particular is a penalty flag waiting to happen.

1	Tyler Linderbaum	Iowa
2	Zion Johnson	Boston College
3	Kenyon Green	Texas A&M
4	Jamaree Salyer	Georgia
5	Cole Strange	Chattanooga
6	Dylan Parham	Memphis
7	Ed Ingram	LSU
8	Alec Lindstrom	Boston College
9	Thayer Munford	Ohio State
10	Luke Fortner	Kentucky

If you take positional value out of the equation, Tyler Linderbaum is among the top 5 prospects in this draft so he belongs at number one on this list. I’ve got it very, very close between Zion Johnson and Kenyon Green, but Johnson’s versatility gives him the slight edge for me.

I can genuinely see everyone on this list having a solid NFL career. There’s going to be a lot of value at interior offensive line on days two and three!

1	Kayvon Thibodeaux	Oregon
2	Aidan Hutchinson	Michigan
3	George Karlaftis	Purdue
4	Travon Walker	Georgia
5	Jermaine Johnson	Florida State
6	David Ojabo	Michigan
7	Arnold Ebiketie	Penn State
8	Boye Mafe	Minnesota
9	Drake Jackson	USC
10	Nik Bonitto	Oklahoma

This EDGE group with packed with high quality players. KT has the ‘edge’ for me over Aidan Hutchinson and the weird media desire to knock Thibodeaux at all costs isn’t something I understand.

I’ve also got George Karlaftis ahead of Travon Walker here. Walker is clearly incredibly athletic and wasn’t asked to do as much as Georgia as he will be in the NFL. There’s an element of risk in taking Walker – especially in the top 10 as so many are projecting. George Karlaftis is a more sure-fire selection. His college production far outweighs Walker’s, and whilst that isn’t the be all and end all it certainly would make me think twice.

Despite his injury, I still expect David Ojabo to go in the first round, while Drake Jackson is probably my sleeper pick here. He’s relatively under-discussed when it comes to this group, but in a 3-4 defense he has all the tools to excel at the next level.

1	Jordan Davis	Georgia
2	Devonte Wyatt	Georgia
3	Travis Jones	Connecticut
4	Perrion Winfrey	Oklahoma
5	Logan Hall	Houston
6	Haskell Garrett	Ohio State
7	Phidarian Mathis	Alabama
8	DeMarvin Leal	Texas A&M
9	Zachary Carter	Florida
10	Otito Ogbonnia	UCLA

Jordan Davis just pips his former Georgia teammate Devonte Wyatt to the title of DT1. I know Davis hasn’t historically played all three downs for the Bulldogs, but with a 9.99 RAS score and NFL conditioning I’m backing him to make a major impact at the next level.

DeMarvin Leal started the 2021 season atop this list but his poor play followed by a terrible performance in post-season testing has left we wondering what he really is. He won’t be making my top 100 but I’d be tempted to see if I could get him back to 2020 form with an early day three pick.

1	Devin Lloyd	Utah
2	Nakobe Dean	Georgia
3	Christian Harris	Alabama
4	Brandon Smith	Penn State
5	Chad Muma	Wyoming
6	Darrian Beavers	Cincinnati
7	Channing Tindall	Georgia
8	Leo Chenal	Wisconsin
9	Troy Andersen	Montana State
10	Quay Walker	Georgia

Devin Lloyd takes LB1 ahead of Nakobe Dean for me given the latter’s size and the potential issues that causes at the next level. But both have a round one grade from me, though given positional value it wouldn’t shock me if at least one of them had to wait until round two to hear their name called.

When it comes to the rest of this talented linebacker group, I tend to value guys who have three down abilities. That means being able to play the run well, drop into coverage, and diagnosing what it is the offense is trying to do.

So while you’ve seen some people raving about Leo Chenal, he made my list of overhyped prospects for the simple fact that he offers very little in coverage. And in today’s pass happy NFL that’s a big problem for me.

1	Derek Stingley Jr.	LSU
2	Andrew Booth	Clemson
3	Ahmad Gardner	Cincinnati
4	Kaiir Elam	Florida
5	Trent McDuffie	Washington
6	Kyler Gordon	Washington
7	Roger McCreary	Auburn
8	Martin Emerson	Mississippi State
9	Tariq Woolen	UTSA
10	Coby Bryant	Cincinnati

There can be no doubting Derek Stingley’s ability when you watch him on tape, but sometimes the best ability is availability and Stingley has struggled to stay healthy over the last two years. Provided there are no red flags however, he still belongs as CB1 in this class for me.

I’ve got Andrew Booth ahead of the Ahmad ‘Sauce’ Gardner. This was a very close call, and I can also foresee why a number of teams might draft the Cincinnati Bearcat ahead of the Clemson Tiger.

Martin Emerson is one guy who has gone relatively unheralded throughout this draft process, and I like the Mississippi State man’s skills in coverage. He’s intelligent, an experienced starter, has great length that he uses well, and will be very well suited to a team that plays a lot of zone coverage.

1	Kyle Hamilton	Notre Dame
2	Lewis Cine	Georgia
3	Daxton Hill	Michigan
4	Jaquan Brisker	Penn State
5	Jalen Pitre	Baylor
6	Nick Cross	Maryland
7	Kerby Joseph	Illinois
8	Bryan Cook	Cincinnati
9	JT Woods	Baylor
10	Verone McKinley	Oregon

*Spoiler Alert* – Kyle Hamilton is my number one player in this draft.

I was very close to putting Dax Hill at number two on this list – his versatility to play up in the box and also a bit at corner is very appealing. But I went with the purer coverage safety in Lewis Cine given his specialism will prove very helpful in defending the pass – something modern NFL teams need to be able to do.

And I can’t finish talking about this safety class without quoting Kevin Sayer from the NFL Draft Punk Podcast. “Jalen Pitre – he’s a dish.”

So there you have it. 10 players at each position, in order. Some very closely ranked and whose landing spot might well depend on scheme or what it is a team is looking to add to their offense or defense.