21. Carolina Panthers: Jaxson Kirkland, OT, Washington
The Carolina Panthers have invested so much in the defensive side of the ball early in the Matt Rhule era, it’s hard to imagine this pick being anything but offense.
Their entire 2020 NFL Draft class was defensive players.
They used their top pick in 2021 on South Carolina cornerback Jaycee Horn.
They have traded draft capital for cornerbacks CJ Henderson and Stephon Gillmore.
Carolina has to do some investing in Sam Darnold, and one way they can do that is going after Washington offensive tackle Jaxson Kirkland, who has had a great season other than his run-in with Aidan Hutchinson.
22. New York Giants: Kaiir Elam, CB, Florida
The New York Giants used their first-round pick earlier in this 2022 NFL mock draft on Michigan EDGE player Aidan Hutchinson.
Here, they get someone who can capitalize on his pass rush by picking off some errant throws in Kaiir Elam.
When healthy, Elam is a CB1 type of prospect with his outstanding length at the outside corner position. He’s got five interceptions in 23 college games along with 18 pass breakups.
His length and outstanding ball skills give him a chance to go much higher than this, but the Giants certainly wouldn’t be complaining if this was their first-round haul.