Ranking the 32 NFL General Managers after the 2022 NFL Draft
Across the NFL, General Managers are trying to build their best possible team. Let’s rank the 32 General Managers after the 2022 NFL Draft.
The responsibility that comes with being a General Manager in the NFL is massive. The NFL is perhaps the most popular and successful entity in all of human history, so it’s understandable why being a GM in the NFL can be such a tough job.
As fans know, the league has both elite General Managers who have been able to build Super Bowl-caliber teams, and below-average General Managers, who have struggled to put a consistent product on the field.
In almost all cases, these 32 men are getting the final say in roster decisions. These decisions can make or break a tenure.
There are typically a few General Manager openings each year in the NFL. Head coaching openings are more frequent, as GMs seem to get a bigger leash and have usually hired said head coaches.
Ranking the 32 GMs is no easy task. There are so many who deserve to be at the top of the list. Some of these men are rather new to the job, while others have been in the GM seat for years and years.
NFL GMs are also tasked with solving the most difficult problem in sports today–finding a franchise quarterback. Teams without a top signal-caller are often left in no man’s land, trying to claw their way to relevance, only to be held back by average or below-average quarterback play.
So, let’s rank the 32 General Managers in the NFL.
Ranking the 32 NFL General Managers — 32-29
32. Ryan Poles, Chicago Bears
This is Poles’ first season as the GM of the Chicago Bears, and he’s being tasked with seeing if Justin Fields is legit, and trying to put a competitive team around him.
This is clearly a multi-year project, but Poles’ first season has been a bit of a letdown. His free agency additions included signing mostly backup-caliber guys, followed by a draft where he over-drafted a soon-to-be 25-year-old receiver and didn’t draft any offensive linemen until his final picks.
Ryan Poles will surely get better at his job, but this first season for him has been rough.
31. Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, Minnesota Vikings
Kwesi Adofo-Mensah is an uber-smart analytics guy who is in his first year as the GM of the Vikings.
He’s inherited an interesting situation, mostly because of Kirk Cousins. It’s clear that the Vikings haven’t been super successful with Cousins, but they also haven’t not been successful because of him.
Adofo-Mensah had a solid free agency period and respectable draft, and the Vikings appear to be in a better place than they were last offseason.
30. Joe Schoen, New York Giants
The understudy of Brandon Beane, Joe Schoen is tasked with bringing the New York Football Giants back to relevancy.
His first offseason has been rather solid, shoring up the offensive line, signing a nice insurance policy for Daniel Jones, hiring Brian Daboll, and getting insane value in the draft with Kayvon Thibodeaux and Evan Neal.
Schoen absolutely wreaks of Brandon Beane-lite, and I think Schoen will be much higher on this list next year.
29. Dave Ziegler, Las Vegas Raiders
Ziegler is a former Patriots executive who is in his first year as the Raiders’ General Manager.
The Raiders have been very active in free agency, re-signing Derek Carr, signing Chandler Jones to boost their pass rush, and swinging a trade for Davante Adams, reuniting Carr with his former college teammate.
They’ve also added Josh McDaniels as head coach.
Of all the first-year General Managers, Ziegler has had the most success thus far.