The second half of the 2021 NFL season is underway, which means it’s 2022 NFL mock draft season for many fan bases.
We’re officially into the second half of the 2021 NFL season with Week 10 action in the books and Week 11 action on the way.
Which teams are already looking ahead to the 2022 NFL Draft? Some have been looking ahead for longer than others, but the NFL actually remains quite competitive with all but nine teams at four wins or better at this point.
Teams are making the rounds at college campuses to visit some of the top talent in the country in person before the scouting process moves to Mobile and Indianapolis for the Senior Bowl and Scouting Combine in just a couple of months.
Quarterbacks on the decline in latest 2022 NFL Mock Draft?
Despite many teams in need of quarterbacks (as usual), this year’s class is not as top-heavy at the QB position as we saw a season ago. With that being said, are analysts and maybe even teams too low on some of these college prospects as they were with Mac Jones, who has been arguably the best rookie QB of them all in 2021?
Let’s take a look at a brand-new first-round mock draft projection, starting with a pick that might start getting boring soon…
1st pick – Detroit Lions: Kayvon Thibodeaux, EDGE, Oregon
Why is the selection of Kayvon Thibodeaux to the Detroit Lions a “boring” one? Well, until further notice, it seems like this is the “Trevor Lawrence to the Jaguars” pick of the 2022 NFL Draft — a foregone conclusion unless proven otherwise.
Thibodeaux is not a quarterback, but the Detroit Lions can’t just reach for a quarterback. They still have Jared Goff under contract as a placeholder, and they should be in no rush to get a young QB in the mix until they feel better about the roster as a whole.
There might be some chances later in this draft to take shots on other quarterback prospects as the Lions have an additional first-round selection (from the Rams) and obviously the first pick of round two.
Thibodeaux has the potential to be a special type of difference-maker off the edge at the next level and he would be a smart selection here for Detroit.