One of the most exciting parts of recently joining Pewter Report has been the opportunity to learn from the scouting processes of both Scott Reynolds and Jon Ledyard. In fact, the vigorous debate the two of them lead the rest of the staff on inspired me to create my first comprehensive scouting file for the 2022 NFL draft class. Of course, with those scouting reports comes the inevitable “Big Board.”

My Process

As with any evaluation it is important to provide context and process. It wouldn’t be much fun to just publish a list of names without the reasoning of how I came to that order. So, before we get to the board itself, here is a rundown of my grading process. Considering my mentors, it shouldn’t surprise you that my model will look similar to Jon Ledyard’s. Therefore, if you hate my big board structure, I encourage you to blame Jon.

BLUE — Blue Chip Prospects — I am very confident these players can step into an NFL starting lineup and be an immediate contributor.

PINK — First-Round Grades — These players should be able to be immediate contributors to an NFL roster, if not as a starter, as someone who can log significant snaps in year one.

GREEN — Second-Round Grades — Players with several NFL-caliber traits that should translate, but they will need some development to be successful at the next level.

ORANGE — Third-Round Grades — Prospects that have a few of NFL-caliber traits, but they lack consistency in leveraging those traits or techniques. 

OLIVE — Fourth-Round Grades — Prospects that have one to two really good traits that you hope continue to develop at the next level. You will also find a few players with publicly reported medical concerns.

RED — Fifth-Round Grades — Players that can be productive special teamers who may contribute a few snaps per game at the NFL level.

PEACH — Sixth-Round Grades — Players that have okay traits that most likely won’t translate to the NFL level.

PURPLE — Seventh-Round Grades — Productive college players that lack traits that I think will translate to the next level.

As with most big boards these ratings are done in a vacuum based on the players abilities at their position. It does not account for positional value, which can significantly change where players are drafted. For instance, a quarterback with a second-round grade could very well be drafted before a “blue chip” center. Additionally, my board will not include 32 players with each round grade.

With ALL of that said, let’s dive into my big board so you can let me know where I went right, and more likely all the places I went wrong!

2022 NFL Draft First-Round Grades

1 OG Zion Johnson

2 CB Derek Stingley, Jr

3 OT Charles Cross

4 EDGE Kayvon Thibodeaux

5 WR Treylon Burks

6 C Tyler Linderbaum

7 OT Ikem Ekwonu

8 CB Ahmad “Sauce” Gardner

9 OT Evan Neal

10 LB Devin Lloyd

11 WR Garrett Wilson

12 RB Breece Hall

13 S Kyle Hamilton

14 WR Chris Olave

15 DT Devonte Wyatt

16 S Dax Hill

17 CB Kyler Gordon

18 EDGE Jermaine Johnson

19 EDGE Aidan Hutchinson

20 DT Jordan Davis

21 WR George Pickens

I fully admit that 21 first-round grades is a high number. That is especially true in this year’s draft class, where consensus holds there are not many “blue chip” prospects. However, I will argue that teams are increasingly scheming toward player’s strengths. This allows those players to be immediate positive difference-makers moreso than in the past. A few quick notes on some of these:

• Zion Johnson at No. 1 may surprise some. My rationale is that he is the cleanest prospect in the class. More than any other player, I see Johnson being able to step onto any roster and immediately be a top-tier player at his position.
• Charles Cross as my top tackle is due to him having the best pass protection tape of the top three guys.
• George Pickens being included may surprise some. However, he is one of the few “X” receivers in this class and he has already recovered from his ACL tear. His tape is incredible, and he can win in a variety of ways.

2022 NFL Draft Second-Round Grades

22 EDGE Travon Walker

23 CB Andrew Booth Jr

24 EDGE Boye Mafe

25 QB Kenny Pickett

26 RB Tyler Allgeier

27 TE Trey McBride

28 S Lewis Cine

29 EDGE David Ojabo

30 CB Kaiir Elam

31 LB Quay Walker

32 WR Jameson Williams

33 CB Trent McDuffie

34 CB Zyon McCollum

35 LB Nakobe Dean

36 OT Trevor Penning

37 DT Logan Hall

38 DT Travis Jones

39 EDGE Drake Jackson

40 S Jalen Pitre

41 WR Drake London

42 S Jaquan Brisker

43 EDGE George Karlaftis

44 RB Kenneth Walker

45 C Cam Jurgens

46 QB Matt Corral

47 QB Sam Howell

48 QB Desmond Ridder

49 EDGE Arnold Ebiketie

50 QB Malik Willis

51 OT Tyler Smith

Here is where you will see most of the top quarterbacks in the class on my board. They are part of the 29 players that have a second-round grade for me. Two potential surprises on this list are Trey McBride and Tyler Smith. I included McBride here due to the fact that the transition for tight ends from college to NFL has consistently shown to be one of the most difficult with most players not becoming strong contributors until a year two or later. As for Smith, while his tape isn’t as strong as that of Penning, I am banking on his younger age to account for a stronger development curve.

2022 NFL Draft Third-Round Grades

52 CB Cam Taylor-Britt

53 C Cole Strange

54 WR Alec Pierce

55 C Zach Tom

56 CB Tariq Woolen

57 EDGE Kingsley Enangbare

58 EDGE Nik Bonitto

59 RB Kyren Williams

60 OG Jamaree Salyer

61 RB Dameon Pierce

62 RB Isaiah Spiller

63 LB Leo Chenal

64 TE Jeremy Ruckert

65 OG Marcus McKethan

66 S Bryan Cook

67 OG Justin Shaffer

68 CB Coby Bryant

69 EDGE Myjai Sanders

70 OG Kenyon Green

71 TE Cade Otton

72 WR Christian Watson

73 S Nick Cross

74 WR Jalen Tolbert

75 RB Jerome Ford

76 EDGE Sam Williams

77 S JT Woods

78 OG Sean Rhyan

79 EDGE DeAngelo Malone

80 RB James Cook

81 WR Skyy Moore

82 EDGE Josh Paschal

83 OT Bernhard Raimann

84 CB Roger McCreary

85 OT Daniel Faalele

Marcus McKethan is the biggest change from consensus in this round for my board. I loved his tape and traits and I am willing to go out on a limb that he will be a good NFL starter sooner rather than later.

2022 NFL Draft Fourth-Round Grades

86 WR Tyquan Thornton

87 C Dohnovan West

88 WR Jahan Dotson

89 TE Jelani Woods

90 RB ZaQuandre White

91 WR Calvin Austin

92 DT Matthew Butler

93 CB Marcus Jones

94 OG Ed Ingram

95 RB Pierre Strong Jr

96 OG Joshua Ezeudu

97 WR John Metchie

98 S Dane Belton

99 DT Kalia Davis

100 OG Darian Kinnard

101 QB Bailey Zappe

102 C Dylan Parham

103 LB Troy Andersen

104 DT Perrion Winfrey

105 EDGE Cameron Thomas

106 DT Phidarian Mathis

107 DT DeMarvin Leal

108 S Kerby Joseph

109 OG Luke Goedke

110 QB Skylar Thompson

111 OG Marquis Hayes

112 OG Lecitus Smith

113 S Percy Butler

114 C Luke Fortner

115 S Alontae Taylor

116 OG Chasen Hines

117 RB Jerrion Ealy

118 RB Brian Robinson Jr

119 S Tycen Anderson

120 TE Isaiah Likely

2022 NFL Draft Fifth-Round Grades

121 QB Carson Strong

122 TE Charlie Kolar

123 RB Zonovan Knight

124 CB Josh Jobe

125 TE Chigoziem Okonkwo

126 WR Bo Melton

127 TE Cole Turner

128 LB Kyron Johnson

129 OG Andrew Stueber

130 RB Tyler Badie

131 TE Greg Dulcich

132 RB D’vonte Price

133 CB Mario Goodrich

134 TE James Mitchell

135 QB Brock Purdy

136 TE Austin Allen

137 WR David Bell

138 DT Otito Ogbonnia

139 CB Martin Emerson

140 RB Sincere McCormick

141 S Yusuf Corker

142 DT John Ridgeway

143 WR Khalil Shakir

144 CB Akayleb Evans

145 DT Neil Farrell Jr

146 OG Thayer Munford

147 OG Josh Rivas

148 QB EJ Perry

149 WR Romeo Doubs

150 TE Austin Stogner

151 CB Cordale Flott

2022 NFL Draft Sixth-Round Grades

152 TE Jake Ferguson

153 S Smoke Monday

154 EDGE Tyreke Smith

155 RB TJ Pledger

156 CB Mykael Wright

157 EDGE Zachary Carter

158 WR Josh Johnson

159 OG Blaise Andries

160 S Marquese Bell

161 S Verone McKinley

162 QB Dustin Crum

163 S Brad Hawkins

164 OG Logan Bruss

165 OG Cordell Volson

166 WR Jaivon Heiligh

167 C Alec Lindstrom

168 CB Jermaine Waller

169 WR Wan’Dale Robinson

2022 NFL Draft Seventh-Round Grades

170 S Leon O’Neal, Jr

171 RB Rachaad White

172 TE Derrick Deese, Jr.

173 TE Lucas Krull

174 QB Jack Coan

175 EDGE Isaiah Thomas

176 RB Max Borghi

177 WR Kyle Phillips

178 WR Kevin Austin Jr

179 C Ben Brown

180 RB Hassan Haskins

181 TE Teagan Quitoriano

182 TE Chase Allen

183 RB Zamir White

184 LB Aaron Hansford

185 WR Reggie Roberson

186 DT Eric Johnson

187 WR Justyn Ross

188 OG Jason Poe

189 DT Chris Hinton

190 OG William Dunkle