According to The Huddle Report, Brendan Donahue is ranked as the most accurate NFL mock drafter over the past five years and in this column he brings his extensive college football predictive insight to you weekly.
As someone who does mock drafts every year, we always have our eye on draft-eligible NCAAF players and how their performance on the field could positively or negatively impact their draft stock in the upcoming draft. We will be tracking players on a weekly basis throughout the season to see who is rising or falling on draft boards.
What college players are rising on the draft board for 2022?
Nakobe Dean, LB, Georgia
You can probably make a case for the entire Georgia defense after a dominating performance in a Week 1 win over Clemson where the only touchdown in the game was scored by the Georgia defense on a pick-six.
However, I want to highlight Dean who had two sacks on only five pass rush attempts and flashed his explosiveness while also being disruptive in the run game as well. Dean, who was the No. 1 rated linebacker coming out of high school, may have improved his draft stock more than anyone else after Week 1 and put himself into the conversation to be selected in the first round of the 2022 draft.
Chris Olave, WR, Ohio St.
Coming into the season, Olave was in a group of maybe five or six wide receivers who were all in the mix to be the first wide receiver selected in the 2022 NFL Draft. Olave moved himself to the top of the list after posting four catches, 117 yards, and two touchdowns — 29.3 yards per catch, including an incredible 76 yards after the catch.
In a game where Ohio State’s freshman quarterback, CJ Stroud, struggled with some accuracy issues in the first half, coach Ryan Day designed some easier throws for Stroud in the second half to get the ball to his playmakers and that allowed Olave to do the heavy lifting for his quarterback and solidify the win for the Buckeyes.
Aidan Hutchinson, Edge, Michigan
After an injury-shortened 2020, Hutchinson returned to the field in a big way in Week 1 posting the highest grade from PFF for all defensive linemen with a 93.0. He was always considered great against the run, earning an 88.8 grade on just 149 snaps in 2020, but Hutchinson also showed off his pass-rushing ability on Saturday.
He got to the quarterback once for a sack and added two quarterback hits with a forced fumble. If Hutchinson is able to stay healthy this season, he should hear his name called in the first round of the draft.
What college players are falling on the draft board for 2022?
Sam Howell, QB, North Carolina
Howell had one of the toughest games to start the season of any of the top quarterback prospects in the country and it showed on Friday night in Blacksburg. Granted his offensive line didn’t hold up against the Virginia Tech defense — Howell was sacked six times and under pressure on 12 of his 43 dropbacks — but Howell didn’t do himself any favors either with questionable decision making and inconsistent play all game.
Howell went just 17-32 with one touchdown and three interceptions, PFF gave him a grade of just 56.8 which was 120th out of 173 quarterbacks in Week 1, and he recorded a -0.28 EPA per play, which is the lowest of his career.
North Carolina did lose multiple players on offense to the draft in Javonte Williams, Michael Carter, Dyami Brown, and Dazz Newsome so Howell will have to get up to speed quickly with not only a new surrounding cast of skill players but also one that may not be as talented as last year. With so much competition to be the first quarterback selected in the 2022 draft, Howell cannot afford to have too many more games like this for the rest of the season if he wants to be that guy.
Rasheed Walker, OT, Penn St.
Walker, and really the entire Penn State offense, had a rough game on the road vs Wisconsin on Saturday. Quarterback Sean Clifford had only a 58.1% catchable ball rate on 33 attempts but some of that can be attributed to him being under pressure on 35.1% of those attempts.
Walker was a culprit in that as he allowed a sack and a hurry and earned just a 49.0 grade from PFF which was 295th out of 349 eligible offensive linemen in Week 1. Walker, who comes into the season as a borderline first-round pick will need to clean up his play if he expects to hear his name called on day one of the draft.
Breece Hall, RB, Iowa St.
Another team that underwhelmed in Week 1 was Iowa State and specifically running back Breece Hall, who is in competition with Isaiah Spiller of Texas A&M to be the first running back selected in the 2022 draft. Hall managed just 70 yards on 23 attempts for a 3.3 yards per carry average with a -0.159 EPA per attempt against Northern Iowa.
More concerning was that Hall had zero missed tackles and zero broken tackles since that is considered one of his biggest strengths. He had 120 broken tackles on 424 attempts in his first two seasons at Iowa State.
Recent history has shown us that it takes a special talent at running back to be selected in the first round of the NFL draft so Hall will have to do more this year than what he did in Week 1 to warrant being selected that high.
