Welcome to the Friday edition of the Pick Six newsletter!
If I've learned one thing in my life, it's that if you put an event in Las Vegas, there's a 100% chance it's going to be absolutely crazy and the 2022 NFL Draft was no exception. I hope someone gave the draft a breathalyzer before it went home last night, because it was drunk.
The first round basically turned out how a trip to Vegas usually goes: Things start off quietly and then, before you know it, you're passed out in a gutter covered in tequila. Although there wasn't much action with the first 10 picks, the draft went totally off the rails after that with nine trades over the final 22 picks of the first round.
If you're wondering whether that's a record, we'll be letting you know later on in the newsletter. We'll also be letting you know what the biggest surprises were in the first round, plus we'll be giving you a Day 2 mock draft that will include both the second and third rounds.
If you're going to be out and about over the next two days, but you still want to keep tabs on who's being picked, you can do that by clicking here and going to our draft tracker. If you plan on watching the draft tonight, it starts at 7 p.m. ET and will be televised by ABC, ESPN, and NFL Network (If you want to know how to watch the final four rounds on Saturday, be sure to click here).
As always, here's your weekly reminder to tell all your friends to sign up for the newsletter. All you have to do is click here and then share the link. Alright, let's get to the rundown.
1. Today's show: NFL Draft winners and losers for Round 1
If this entire newsletter is a jumbled mess today, it's because I stayed up until 3 a.m. last night recording a draft recap podcast with Will Brinson, Chris Trapasso and Josh Edwards. During the pod, we touched on everything you need to know about the first round of the NFL Draft and let me just say, it's probably for the best that you listen.
We rehashed the entire first round and if you're wondering how long it takes to do that, I can tell you that today's episode is not a short one. As a matter of fact, I think it clocked in at 90 minutes, which is kind of ironic, because I also think that's how much sleep I got last night.
Here's a list of some of the winners and losers that we came up with after the first round:
Winners
Teams in the Big Apple. The Giants and Jets are usually two teams we're all making fun of after the draft, but not this year, and that's because they both nailed their picks. Not only did the Jets land Sauce Gardner and Garrett Wilson, but they also traded back into the first round to get Jermaine Johnson (Johnson was viewed by many to be a possible top-10 pick). As for the Giants, they had two highly touted players -- Ikem Ekwonu and Kayvon Thibodeaux -- fall right in their lap. In past years, the Giants probably would have kicked those guys out of their lap and taken a running back or something instead, but this year, the Giants actually drafted intelligently.
Ravens. When you look around the AFC North, the Ravens easily had the best first round of any team in the division. The Steelers drafted a player (Kenny Pickett) who might not take a single snap this year, the Bengals selected a player (Daxton Hill) who almost certainly won't be a starter in 2022 and the Browns didn't even have a pick. As for the Ravens, they hit two home runs by getting the top safety (Kyle Hamilton) and the top center (Todd Linderbaum) in the draft.
Lions. After taking Aidan hutchinson with the second overall pick, the Lions pulled off one of the most surprising trades of the first round when they jumped up from 32nd overall to 12th overall to draft Alabama receiver Jameson Williams. Basically, the Lions landed one player on each side of the ball and they could both turn out to be stars, which is good news for the Lions, because they don't have a lot of stars.
Losers
Aaron Rodgers. In what seems to have become an annual occurrence at the draft, the Packers needed a wide receiver, but they decided not to take one. This year, the fact that Green Bay didn't get a wide receiver was somewhat understandable. By the time the Packers were on the clock at the 22nd overall pick, there had been six receivers taken, so there weren't a lot options. In an interview on The Pat McAfree Show during the draft, Rodgers didn't sound too upset about how things played out. However, he still doesn't have anyone to throw the ball to and that's something Green Bay will need to fix today and if they don't fix that today, Rodgers might be throwing the ball to himself this season.
Malik Willis. Two weeks ago, it was looking like the Liberty quarterback might go in the top 10, but that definitely didn't happen on Thursday night. Not only did Willis get left out of the top 10, he went through the ENTIRE FIRST ROUND without being selected.
Saints. I'm not going to say the Saints have no idea what they're doing, but it seems like they have no idea what they're doing. They paid big to add a second first-round pick this year in a trade with the Eagles and then they paid big again to trade up from 16th overall to 11th overall in the first round. They ended up landing Chris Olave and Trevor Penning, which isn't bad, but it actually is when you consider what they ultimately gave up to land those two picks. ESPN's Mike Clay has a good breakdown of what the Saints traded away and you can check that out by clicking here.
If you want our full list of winners and losers, then be sure to click here so you can listen to today's podcast. You can also watch today's episode on YouTube by clicking here.
2. Four biggest surprises of Round 1
If you don't like surprises, then you probably hated the first-round of the NFL Draft because there were a ton of surprises. No one loves a good surprise more than CBSSports.com's Tyler Sullivan, which is why we put him in charge of writing about the biggest surprises from Round 1.
With that in mind, here's our list of the biggest surprises:
- Only one QB drafted. "In recent years, the NFL Draft has centered around the quarterback position. However, this year was entirely different as just one signal-caller (Kenny Pickett, Steelers) was taken in the opening round, which marks just the second time in the past 20 years that this has occurred (2013)."
- Rare defensive run to start the draft. "Five defensive players -- Travon Walker, Aidan Hutchinson, Derek Stingley Jr., Ahmad Gardner, and Kayvon Thibodeaux -- were taken to begin this year's draft. That's the first time in 31 years that the draft started with five straight defensive picks. Back in 1991, six defensive players were taken in a row to start the draft."
- Lions trade up 20 spots for Jameson Williams. "The Detroit Lions, who were fresh off taking Aidan Hutchinson with the No. 2 pick, decided to leap up 20 spots from the No. 32 overall selection to take Williams. What was even more interesting about this seismic trade-up was that it was with their NFC North rival, the Minnesota Vikings. Detroit sent picks No. 32, No. 34, and No. 66 in exchange for No. 12 and No. 46. That seems to be a solid price for Detroit and somewhat of a head-scratching move by Minnesota to help them land a talent like Williams."
- Patriots make a strange pick. "There's always going to be a team that reaches for a player in the draft, but the Patriots may have extended a little too far for UT-Chattanooga's Cole Strange. While Strange was expected to hear his name called at some point this weekend, the consensus on his draft position was somewhere late in the second round or early in the third."
Note: The A.J. Brown and Marquise Brown trades aren't on this list because they're on our next list, which is a list of the biggest trades from the first round.
To check out Sullivan's full list of surprises, be sure to click here.
3. NFL Draft goes trade crazy: A.J. Brown and Marquis Brown both get dealt
After the first 10 picks of the draft went down on Thursday, it looked like it was going to be a boring night in Las Vegas, but as we all know, there's no such things as a boring night in Las Vegas, which might explain why things got so crazy.
Starting with the 11th pick in the draft, there ended up being a total of nine trades in the first round and although some of them were small -- I'm not sure the Bills-Ravens deal even counts as a trade -- there were also some monstrous ones like the Eagles pulling off a deal for A.J. Brown.
Let's take a look at the three biggest trades from the first round:
A.J. Brown traded to Eagles
Eagles get: A.J. Brown
Titans get: 18th overall, third round (101st overall)
Eagles Takeaway: I don't hate this trade for either team. On the Eagles' end, they needed to do something at receiver and that's because they were downright abysmal in 2021. Last season, the Eagles receivers totaled just 149 receptions, which was the second-fewest of any receiving group in the NFL. By adding Brown, the Eagles have an instant No. 1 receiver who should make Jalen Hurts better.
Titans takeaway: Brown ended up getting a four-year, $100 million from Philly and I get why the Titans didn't want to pay that. Tennessee has an offense that revolves around Derek Henry, which is one reason why they likely didn't want to pay Brown anywhere near $25 million per year. The Titans used the 18th overall pick on a receiver (Treylon Burks) and if Burks can replace just 80% of what Brown did, the deal will look good for Tennessee and that's mostly because Burks comes at about one-tenth the price of Brown (Burks' four-year rookie deal will pay out a total of $14.3 million plus it comes with a fifth-year option).
Marquise Brown traded to Cardinals
Cardinals get: Marquise Brown and 100th overall pick
Ravens get: 23rd overall
Cardinals Takeaway: Once again, I like this trade for both teams. I like this trade for the Cardinals because it reunites Brown and Kyler Murray. Murray and Brown are familiar with each other after spending two seasons together in college at Oklahoma. Brown's best season with Murray came in 2018 when he caught 75 passes for 1,318 yards and 10 touchdowns (Murray won the Heisman that year). We've seen what former college teammates can do at the pro level (See: Joe Burrow and Ja'Marr Chase), and if Brown and Murray still have any chemistry, Hollywood could become a huge weapon for Arizona's offense.
Ravens takeaway: As for the Ravens, they took the 23rd overall pick they acquired and traded down to 25th overall to get Tyler Linderbaum. So in the end, they traded away Brown and the 100th overall pick to land Linderbaum and the 130th overall pick. The Ravens were in dire need of help at center so the move made a lot of sense for them.
Lions move up 20 spots
Lions get: 12th overall and 46th overall
Vikings get: 32, 34 and 66
Lions takeaway: Of all the trades that only involved picks, this felt like the steal of the draft. The Lions moved up TWENTY SPOTS and all they had to do was drop back 12 spots in the second round (34 to 46) and give up a third-rounder. Detroit ended up using the 12th overall pick on Jameson Williams, who you could easily argue was the best receiver in the draft (His stock only dropped because he tore his ACL in January).
Vikings takeaway: I actually like Minnesota's pick at 32 (Lewis Cine), but I feel like they got crushed in the trade. Not only did the Lions get the better end of the deal, but the Vikings made things harder on themselves because they got robbed by a team in their division.
One trade that didn't happen: Deebo Samuel to the Jets. According to NFL.com, the Jets offered to send the 10th overall pick to San Francisco for Samuel, but the 49ers turned them down. It's hard to imagine the 49ers getting a better offer than that in a future trade for Samuel, so that could be a decision they eventually regret.
For a look at all nine trades that went down on Thursday, be sure to click here.
4. Best available players heading into Day 2
Heading into Day 2 of the NFL Draft, there are plenty of top players still available. Out of the top 32 players who got a first-round grade in our prospect rankings, seven of them are still on the board, which means that several teams could come away with a steal or two in the second or third round.
With that in mind, here's a look at the the top-10 players who are still available. The number next to their name represents their overall ranking in this year's class (For example, Nakobe Dean is at the top of the list and we had him as the 14th best player). If you see your favorite team announce any of the names below, that's most likely a good thing.
1. Nakobe Dean, LB, Georgia (No. 14 overall)
2. Andrew Booth Jr., CB, Clemson (No. 16 overall)
3. Bernhard Raimann, OT, Central Michigan (No. 21 overall)
4. Malik Willis, QB, Liberty (No. 23 overall)
5. Boye Mafe, EDGE, Minnesota (No. 24 overall)
6. Roger McCreary, CB, Auburn (No. 25 overall)
7. George Pickens, WR, Georgia (No. 32 overall)
8. Matt Corral, QB, Ole Miss (No. 34 overall)
9. Jalen Pitre, S, Baylor (No. 37 overall)
10. Daniel Faalele, OT, Minnesota (No. 38 overall)
11. Kyler Gordon, CB, Washington (No. 39 overall)
12. Logan Hall, DT, Houston (No. 40 overall)
13. Arnold Ebiketie, EDGE, Penn State (No. 41 overall)
14. Jaquan Brisker, S, Penn State (No. 42 overall)
15. David Ojabo, EDGE, Michigan (No. 44 overall)
For our full list of the 50 best available players, be sure to click here.
5. NFL Draft Day 2 mock: Two receivers go in top 10
If you thought the end of the first round meant there would be no more mock drafts, I have some bad news for you: We have another mock draft for you to read.
After the first round ended last night, Chris Trapasso put on a pot of coffee and then stayed up through the night putting together his mock draft for the second round.
With that in mind, let's check out the top 10 picks from his mock:
- 1. (33rd overall) Buccaneers LB Nakobe Dean (Georgia)
- 2. (34th overall) Vikings: CB Roger McCreary (Auburn)
- 3. (35th overall) Titans: OL Bernhard Raimann (Central Michigan)
- 4. (36th overall) Giants: CB Andrew Booth Jr. (Clemson)
- 5. (37th overall) Texans: DL Boye Mafe (Minnesota)
- 6. (38th overall) Jets: S Jaquan Brisker (Penn State)
- 7. (39th overall) Bears: WR Skyy Moore (Western Michigan)
- 8. (40th overall) Seahawks: QB Malik Willis (Liberty)
- 9. (41st overall) Seahawks: DL Logan Hall (Houston)
- 10. (42nd overall) Colts: WR George Pickens (Colts)
Trapasso actually put together a multi-round mock that also covers the third round and if you want to see how it all plays out, be sure to click here.
6. NFL Draft makes history: Crazy facts from the first round
There was so much history made during the first round of the NFL Draft that we're going to have use an entire section here to tell you about it.
Here's a look at a few historical draft nuggets:
- NFL teams get trade happy in first round. The nine trades that went down on Thursday night were the most we've seen in a first-round since 2004. The 2004 draft started off with a trade when the Chargers sent Eli Manning to the Giants after selecting him with the No. 1 overall pick, and then things only got crazier from there.
- Ugly year for quarterbacks. This draft marks just the second time in 20 years that we only saw one quarterback taken in the first-round (The other one came in 2013). Kenny Pickett was selected at 20th overall, which is the latest in the draft that the first QB has been taken since 1997 when the 49ers selected Jim Druckenmiller at 26th overall.
- Defensive players dominate the top of the draft. The first five picks in the draft were all defensive players, which marks just the second time that's ever happened. The only other instance came in 1991 when the top-six players were all from the defensive side of the ball.
- Georgia's defense takes over first round. UGA had 5 defensive players drafted in the first round with Travon Walker (first overall), Jordan Davis (13th), Quay Walker (22nd), Devonte Wyatt (28th) and Lewis Cine (32nd) all getting selected. The five defensive players is the most by a single school in NFL Draft history.
- Packers infatuated with UGA defenders. Of the five Georgia players who got drafted, two of them -- Quay Walker and Devonte Wyatt -- went to the Packers, marking the first-time in the common draft era that two defensive players from the same school got drafted in the first-round by the same team (The common draft era started in 1967). Also, the Packers have now gone 20 straight drafts without taking a wide receiver.
- Cornerbacks steal the show. With Derek Stingley (Texans) and Sauce Gardner (Jets) both going in the top five, that marks the first time in 25 years that two corners have gone off the board in the first five picks. The last time it happened came in 1997 when Shawn Springs (third) and Bryant Westbrook (fifth) were both selected.
- Record run on wide receiver. There were a total of six receivers taken in the first round and the twist here is that all six were taken in the top 20, marking the first time that's ever happened in the common draft era. The six receivers was also tied for the second most ever taken in the first round of one draft.
- Not a great draft for skill players. Although plenty of receivers were taken, not a single running back or tight end got drafted, marking the first time in draft history that those positions got shut out of the first round in the same year.
- Small school party. Two non-FBS players were taken in the first round -- Trevor Penning (Northern Iowa) and Cole Strange (Chattanooga) -- which is rare occurrence. The last time it happened came in 2008 when Joe Flacco (Delaware) and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie (Tennessee State) were both selected
Hopefully you can use these nine facts to impress your friends this weekend.
