2022 Draft Board: Edge Rushers

Go check out my 2022 Quarterback Draft Board article if you want to get more background information on how this all works. I’m just going to jump right into the top five and the board.

TOP FIVE

1) Aidan Hutchinson (Michigan)

Analysis: Before I jump into what I like about Hutchinson I want to rant for a second. The only knock I've really seen from analysts toward him is that he "only" had one year of very good production. But those same analysts have no problem ranking Travon Walker over him and Walker didn't have ANY seasons with very good production. Check yourselves. Anyways, Hutchinson was an animal this past season. He was a ton of fun to watch, and it's just a bonus that he hit on a 100% success rate factor.

2) Jermaine Johnson II (Florida State)

Analysis: He's a long athletic freak who I like more and more every time I watch a highlight of his. He made a great decision electing to transfer to Florida State where he was able to not only start, but terrorize his opponents consistently. If it wasn't for the factor that Hutchinson hit on, Johnson would be my #1.

3) Arnold Ebiketie (Penn State)

Analysis: Despite being 6'3", Ebiketie still has great length with his 34.13" arms (longer than every other guy I listed in my top five). He was a star at Temple before transferring to Penn State this past season and proving that he could still produce against a higher level of competition. Through this draft process he showed that he has solid speed and agility, but it's the explosiveness he demonstrated in his jumps (38" vert, 128" broad) that really helped bump him up a bit in my rankings.

4) Kayvon Thibodeaux (Oregon)

Analysis: Before the season ended I viewed Thibodeaux as another highly talented, over-valued player that barely produced. After digging into him for this project I found that view point to be slightly false. Though he didn't necessarily produce at the level you might expect from someone with his talent, he didn't do terrible. He tumbled down to fourth for me because, while I think he has a higher ceiling than Ebiketie, I also feel like it may take more to get that full potential out of him. Without having done one of those interviews that teams get to do, it's hard to determine how difficult of a task that will be.

5) George Karlaftis (Purdue)

Analysis: Amare Barno almost snagged this spot, but I gave Karlaftis the nod after comparing their college production. I was really impressed with his athleticism too. It's not on Barno's 4.36 forty level, but I thought it might actually be an issue for him and instead he outdid all my expectations. 4.71 forty was solid, and that 38" vert was impressive, but it's his short area quickness that pushed him over the top, especially his 3-Cone (6.78).

Sleeper: Sam Williams (Ole Miss)

Analysis: I love his athleticism and the prowess he offers in rushing the passer. He'll need to work on his run defense in order to stay on the field full-time, but he'll excel as a pass rush specialist to begin his career.

SURPRISINGLY LEFT OFF

George Karlaftis claimed the right to take over my #5 spot from an injured Ojabo. I still think Ojabo should go in the second round (or end of the first to a team that has the ability to take the luxury pick), but because of the injury I'd take any of these other five guys, plus Travon Walker first. Drake Jackson and Boye Mafe are the only other names that some may be surprised are missing, but all received lower grades than the guys above. You may also think Logan Hall and originally he was on this board with a 5th-7th round grade, but while reviewing the factors I found he fell into one that would remove him from my board, so I checked him at DT and it was an upgrade, but you'll see that in my article later today.

DRAFT BOARD

* = Player has a factor that has led to a 100% success rate (so far)

My Draft Board

REMOVED FROM DRAFT BOARD

For each position there are players who either had a red flag in their college production or athletic testing (or both) that led to them being removed from my draft board. These are referred to as negative factors and can lead to one of two labels: Depleted or Empty. In order for a player to receive a Depleted label, they had to have a negative factor that significantly decreased the chances of success in players who had that same factor from 2010-2019. In order for a player to receive an Empty label, they had to have a negative factor that led to zero successful players who had that same factor from 2010-2019. There were ten Edge Rushers removed from my board.

Dominique Robinson (Miami [OH]) - Depleted

Isaiah Thomas (Oklahoma) - Depleted

Jeffrey Gunter (Coastal Carolina) - Depleted

Jesse Luketa (Penn State) - Depleted

Kingsley Enagbare (South Carolina) - Depleted

Tre Williams (Arkansas) - Depleted

Tyreke Smith (Ohio State) - Depleted

Myjai Sanders (Cincinnati) - Empty

Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa (Notre Dame) - Empty

Tyree Johnson (Texas A&M) - Empty