The 2022 NFL Scouting Combine is set to kick off this week at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. It’s one of the best weeks of the NFL draft process because of how much it impacts the landscape of the first round and beyond. Players who are routinely mocked in the top-32 of 2022 NFL mock drafts will fall out of the first-round mix while prospects who’ve been pegged as day-two guys will suddenly make that jump into day one.
Before we get there, however, it’s worth taking a look at the latest 2022 NFL mock draft from USA Today. It’s one that continues the trending storyline of Florida State edge rusher Jermaine Johnson II’s ascent into the top-10 picks and has a surprise pick for the Denver Broncos at No. 9 overall.
Here are our takeaways from USA Today’s mock draft.
Jermaine Johnson off the board at No. 7 overall
USA Today’s Luke Easterling sends Johnson to the New York Giants at the seventh overall pick in a move that is a bit rich for my blood… right now. Johnson has a chance to exit the NFL Scouting Combine as one of the big winners, as he did following his performance at the 2022 Senior Bowl. If he runs, jumps, and lifts as impressively as he practiced in Mobile, Alabama, then yeah… he’s going to be a top-10 pick.
This is part of what makes the 2022 NFL Draft so unique. There’s as much of a chance that Johnson will be a top-10 pick as there is of him falling into the 20s. The early portion of round one remains extremely unsettled, which is why this year’s scouting combine is even more important than it usually is.
