PK’s 2022 Mock Draft

I have decided to take a crack at mocking the NFL Draft that starts up Thursday, April 28th. I am no draft expert, but I love reading mocks and the different possibilities that are out there, so I thought I would try it. Since our show covers the Bills, I will focus the majority of my time discussing my predictions for the Bills, but what happens in the 24 picks before them very well could determine what they do at pick #25 if they keep their pick. But we all know Brandon Beane never does what we expect him to do and that is why we love him.

The Bills do not have any major holes in their team. Their pattern has historically been filling holes prior to the draft then going in so they can take the highest available guy on the board. As you may have heard us say on the April 18th show, my top 5 needs for this team are CB, WR, IOL, LB, and S. The Corner Back spot opposite Tre White has Dane Jackson and that is about it for guys who have played bigger roles. Levi Wallace held onto that spot a lot longer than undrafted FAs usually do but his spot has not been filled yet. Cole Beasley and Emmanuel Sanders are no longer on this team. They brought in Jamison Crowder to replace Beasley’s role but have yet to replace the Sanders role yet. If camp opened today the depth behind Diggs and Davis is Isaiah Hodgins and Jake Kumerow. Not ideal if one of them goes down with an injury. That is why I think the Bills will be going into Thursday night looking to take either a WR or a CB.

Let us start with WR. There are 3 top guys here. Jameson Williams, Garrett Wilson, and Drake London. From everything I have read and seen in other mocks, those 3 guys will not be available to the Bills at 25. Then come the next batch in Treyvon Burks, Jahan Dotson, Chris Olave, and Christian Watson. Any of those 4 I believe could be available to the Bills where they are sitting currently. The other aspect you must watch for are the teams in the 15-24 range that were WR hungry. The Saints, Eagles, Patriots, Packers, Cardinals and even the Cowboys could all take one and I would not be shocked. I think you can wait on WR in this draft into the 2nd or 3rd round and get a very solid guy that can take a little extra time to develop behind Davis and Diggs.

Now the CB position. There are 2 top guys the Bills will not be able to get by sitting at 25. Both Ahmad “Sauce” Gardner and Derek Stingley will be long gone. The next tier has Trent McDuffie, Andrew Booth, and Kaiir Elam. This is the group of guys I would do further research on. The Bills have not invested in the CB2 role in Sean McDermott’s time with the Bills. The reason for that could be because Tre always locks down the opponents best WR. Your 2 safeties in Micah Hyde and Jordan Poyer have help coverage on that side of the ball. Taron Johnson has the Slot WR on notice but imagine the levels this defense could go to if you had another shutdown corner. Where is that QB going to be able to throw the ball? All signs to me are pointing at CB being the position the Bills will take in the first round of the draft.

With that being said, and like I mentioned prior, what happens ahead of the Bills will matter to determine what is even there for the Bills to choose from. For my first mock I did not factor in any trades even though I know there will be some made draft night. I am guessing at minimum we will see 3 teams move up. But for this exercise, I just made my picks as the draft currently stands today. So, without further ado, here is my first-round mock of the NFL draft.

1.        Jacksonville Jaguars – Travon Walker, DE, Georgia

2.       Detroit Lions – Aidan Hutchinson, DE, Michigan

3.       Houston Texans – Evan Neal, OT, Alabama

4.       New York Jets – Ahmad “Sauce” Gardner, CB, Cincinnati

5.       New York Giants – Kayvon Thiodeaux, Edge, Oregon

6.       Carolina Panthers – Jermaine Johnson II, DE, Florida State

7.       New York Giants – Charles Cross, OT, Mississippi State

8.       Atlanta Falcons – Garrett Wilson – WR, Ohio State

9.       Seattle Seahawks – Ickey Ekwonu, OT, N.C. State

10.   New York Jets – Drake London, WR, USC

11.   Washington Commanders – Derek Stingley Jr., CB, LSU

12.   Minnesota Vikings – George Karlaftis, Edge, Purdue

13.   Houston Texans – Trent McDuffie, CB, Washington

14.   Baltimore Ravens – Devin Lloyd, LB, Utah

15.   Philadelphia Eagles – Kyle Hamilton, S, Notre Dame

16.   New Orleans Saints – Malik Willis, QB, Liberty

17.   Los Angles Chargers – Devonte Wyatt, DT, Georgia

18.   Philadelphia Eagles – Jameson Williams, WR, Alabama

19.   New Orleans Saints – Trevor Penning, OT, Northern Iowa

20.   Pittsburgh Steelers – Kenny Pickett, QB, Pittsburgh

21.   New England Patriots – Treylon Burks, WR, Arkansas

22.   Green Bay Packers – Chris Olave, WR, Ohio State

23.   Arizona Cardinals – Nakobe Dean, LB, Georgia

24.   Dallas Cowboys – Kenyon Green, G, Texas A&M

25.   Buffalo Bills – Andrew Booth, CB, Clemson

26.   Tennessee Titans – Jahan Dotson, WR, Penn State

27.   Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Jordan Davis, DT, Georgia

28.   Green Bay Packers – Bernhard Raimann, OT, Central Michigan

29.   Kansas City Chiefs – Travis Jones, DT, Connecticut

30.   Kansas City Chiefs – Christian Watson, WR, North Dakota State

31.   Cincinnati Bengals – Kaiir Elam, CB, Florida

32.   Detroit Lions – Kyler Gordon, CB, Washington

I went Andrew Booth Jr, CB out of Clemson with the 25th pick in the draft. With how the draft was going with Burks and Olave off the board, that pretty much ruled out WR for me in the first round which I was okay with as the talent for that position is deep in this class. Having that CB run of 2 in 3 picks at 11 and 13 was a bit nerve wracking but I knew that QBs were still going to have to go along with some LBs. Booth provides that highly valued CB which the Bills have not drafted since Tre White in 2017. Booth has great feet for the position but did have a rougher year last year when he became the full-time starter. He allowed 29 receptions on 47 targets for 326 and 2. My hope is that this scares off some teams and he falls to 25 where the Bills will be waiting to snag him.

With that, I will conclude my first ever mock draft for our show. I am aiming to get around 35% right. Draft night is always a fun time to be a football fan. It is the start of new players’ careers that they have been working towards their entire life. I know the official start to the new league year has already happened with FA, but to me the draft is what gets me ready for the new season. I will be giving a little cheer for every QB, DE, DT, or OT taken between picks 1-24. Those are not positions the Bills will be targeting which means the players the Bills will want will keep sliding closer and closer to pick 25.