2022 NFL Draft notebook: Minnesota Vikings could surprise this year and more
By John Blair
- A day three pick who is already getting first-team reps is Los Angeles Rams tight end Jacob Harris. While the main reason Harris is getting these reps is that starting tight end Tyler Higbee is not taking part in minicamp he has still impressed the Rams coaching staff. What has been impressive with Harris is his outstanding athletic ability and large catch radius. It would not be a surprise if the Rams lined up Harris at several spots next season including splitting him out wide and playing him as an inline blocker. Harris easily could finish the 2021 season with 20 to 30 catches which is not bad for a day three developmental tight end.
- Perhaps no player has seen his stock drop more in the past season than quarterback Jamie Newman. Newman had an outstanding 2019 season where he threw for 2,868 yards and 32 touchdowns to go along with 574 rushing yards. After the 2019 season, Newman decided to transfer to Georgia but then decided to opt-out of the 2020 season to focus on the NFL Draft. This was not a wise choice as Newman ended up going undrafted in the 2021 NFL Draft. He was signed as a free agent after the draft by the Philadelphia Eagles but didn’t even last six weeks with the team before being cut. It will be interesting to see if Newman is eventually picked up by another team, or if his NFL career is already over.
- One quarterback that has looked good so far is New England’s Mac Jones. Going into the 2021 NFL Draft Jones was billed as a smart player with great accuracy and so far he has lived up to this billing. In both minicamp and OTAs, he has shown great placement on his passes and has thrown with good touch. He has also picked up the Patriots’ offense quickly despite having a bunch of information thrown his way. While Jones will likely be the backup at the start of the season it would not be a shocker if he became the Patriots starting quarterback by midseason.
- San Francisco 49ers running back Trey Sermon is showing why he was regarded as the most underrated running back in the 2021 NFL Draft. Along with seeing plenty of first-team reps in OTAs he has also done a good job of picking up the team offense. Sermon played in a similar scheme at Ohio State to what the 49ers run, and he has also spent plenty of time in the film room getting familiar with their offensive scheme. While Kyle Shanahan likes to split the carries between multiple backs it is easy to see Sermon being the 49ers leading ball carrier by the end of the season.
- It should come as no surprise that Kansas City Chiefs’ tight end Noah Gray has impressed both Travis Kelce and Andy Reid with how well he has looked in the passing game. This was an area Gray excelled in at college having led all ACC tight ends in receptions in 2019 with 51 catches. The true test with Gray will come in training camp when he is in pads and is asked to block, which is something he struggled with in college.