2022 NFL Draft Notebook: Top draft picks of the past decade and more
By John Blair
- A third-round draft pick that should have a big year is Houston Texans wide receiver Nico Collins. Collins should at the bare minimum be the team’s third wide receiver behind Brandin Cooks and Randall Cobb, and it would not be a shock if he beat out Cobb for the number two spot. In terms of how he will be used in the passing game, look for him to become more of the team’s possession receiver as he is bigger than Cooks or Cobbs and was used in this role at Michigan.
- Another mid-round wide receiver who should put up strong numbers this year is Amon-Ra St. Brown. Brown was selected in the fourth round of the 2022 NFL Draft by the Detroit Lions and fills a big need for the team after they lost Kenny Golladay and Marvin Jones Jr. in free agency. Brown will likely enter the season as the slot receiver and will look to fill a role similar to what Cooper Kupp did for the Los Angeles Rams when Jared Goff was his quarterback.
- While Collins and Brown will put up strong numbers one wide receiver who might only see limited action is Tutu Atwell. Atwell was drafted in the second round by the Los Angeles Rams in the 2021 NFL Draft, but will likely enter the season as the team’s fourth receiver. Most of his touches will be limited to manufactured touches on plays like jet sweeps and screen passes. However, his playing time will increase if either DeSean Jackson or Cooper Kupp battle injuries this season like they have in the past.
- A training camp battle to watch this training camp is who will win the Denver Broncos starting center job. This is a battle between 2020 third-round pick Lloyd Cushenberry and 2021 third-round selection Quinn Meinerz. While Cushenberry has the advantage when it comes to experience, Meinerz is a much more physical player. It would not be a shock to see Cushenberry win the starting job coming out of training camp but see Meinerz take over in the middle of the season once he gets more comfortable with playing center.
- The New England Patriots placed three of their draft picks on the non-football injury last week. The players placed on this list include running back Rhamondre Stevenson, linebacker Cameron McGrone, and safety Joshuah Bledsoe. While these players can be activated at any time before the end of training camp, if they are still on the list at the start of the season they must miss at least six weeks of action.