2022 NFL Draft: D’Eriq King has the potential to be a first round pick

D’Eriq King has had a long and productive career in college football. Can King take his game to a new level and rise in the 2022 NFL Draft?

D’Eriq King is entering year six of his collegiate career at the University of Miami and it will undoubtedly be his biggest season. While King has produced an incredible college career at Houston and Miami, can he find a way to make a jump into the conversation for being a first-round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft?

King has shown the ability to put up incredible stats. In 2018 at Houston, King posted 2,982 passing yards, 674 rushing yards, 50 total TDs, and 6 interceptions. King only played four games in 2019 but he showed 2018 was not a fluke by backing it up in 2020 in his first year with Miami posting 2,686 passing yards, 538 rushing yards, 27 total TDs, and 5 interceptions.

Collegiate statistics are only a fraction of what the NFL looks at for prospects and King has shown some concerns making the jump to the next level

There are two big areas of improvement King needs to make strides in to see his NFL stock rise. The first in his deep ball accuracy. While King has a career 64.1 completion percentage, it has been evident that he does miss the deep ball. Gocoogs.com posted a spray chart of King’s 2020 season and while it was only four games, you consistently notice overthrown balls or incompletions over the top of the defense.

King’s next biggest concern goes along with his last problem and that is arm strength. Ian Cummings of the profootballnetwork.com writes:

"He has limited elasticity and can’t consistently adjust his angles and manipulate trajectory. This impedes his ability to generate velocity off-platform or hit closing windows off-script."

While King has things to improve on, he does have some terrific traits as a prospect.

Joe Marino of The Draft Network highlights King’s athletism, saying he’s a:

"Terrific athlete with exceptional quickness. Feet are springy and he’s dynamic as a runner. Makes defensive ends look silly trying to contain him and he’s slippery in space. Destroys pursuit angles and has good vision in the open field."

Marino also describes King’s ability to extend a play as “dangerous.” Ian Cummings also praises King for his pass progressions saying:

"The Miami QB has shown to work through progressions quickly. Additionally, he flashes anticipation on in-breaking routes. King has the awareness to identify open windows while on the run, and he occasionally uses his eyes to lead defenders astray."

D’Eriq King clearly has NFL potential. While his size is not great as he is listed at 5’11”. It seems like height is not an issue in the NFL anymore if you can make the plays. King has shown an ability to extend and make plays happen with his incredible athleticism and mobility outside the pocket.

If King can show clear improvements in his weaknesses, don’t be surprised if you hear his name called day one of the 2022 NFL Draft.