This new section highlights which players have improved or worsened their 2022 NFL Draft stock as the draft approaches.
By Charlie Campbell.
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2022 NFL Draft Stock Up
Matt Corral, QB, Ole Miss While Ole Miss has had an easy schedule, Corral has done what he is supposed to do and dominate. Last Saturday versus Tulane, Corral completed 23-of-31 passes for 335 yards and three touchdown passes. He also rumbled for 68 yards on the ground and notched four rushing touchdowns.
On the year, Corral has completed 69 percent of his passes for 997 yards, nine touchdowns and zero interceptions. He also has five rushing touchdowns. Corral has shown his dual-threat ability with a strong accurate arm and dangerous running ability. Spencer Rattler has been underwhelming, so it looks like Corral is taking over as the top quarterback prospect for the 2022 NFL Draft.
Jermaine Johnson, DE, Florida State While Florida State fell to 0-3, Johnson continued his tremendous production, collecting 10 tackles and .5 sacks against Wake Forest. In Week 2, Johnson dominated Jacksonville State to the tune of 11 tackles, 2.5 sacks and one pass batted. Johnson put together an impressive 2021 debut for the Seminoles with seven tackles and 1.5 sacks against Notre Dame. He made big plays in run defense and the pass rush.
Johnson has 28 tackles, 4.5 sacks and a pass batted after only three games this season. On top of his production, Johnson is big, strong and quick, plus has a great motor. He has 2021 off to a great start.
Josh Ross, LB, Michigan The Wolverines’ defense has been superb to open the 2021 season, and Ross has been one of their top contributors at the second level. He has 23 tackles this season, and has flown around the field and made a lot of clutch tackles. Over 2020, he had 53 tackles, a sack and an interception.
The 6-foot-2, 225-pounder looks like a potential Will linebacker in a 4-3 scheme and possesses the speed and athleticism to be a three-down starter. Ross is a prospect to watch as a riser this season.
Zach Charbonnet, RB, UCLA Charbonnet has gotten his season off to an excellent start, ripping off yards in large chunks for the Bruins. The 6-foot-1, 220-pounder has a strong build and a burst to accelerate into the secondary. This season, Charbonnet has averaged 10.5 yards per carry for 242 yards and six touchdowns. He has two catches for 49 yards as well. Some team sources noted Charbonnet and teammate Brittain Brown have impressed them and are improving their draft grades.
Brittain Brown, RB, UCLA The 6-foot-1, 205-pound Brown has run well for UCLA in 2021, forming a tough tandem with Zach Charbonnet. Brown is averaging 5.1 yards per carry this season on his way to 197 yards and two touchdowns. He ran well to help the Bruins upset LSU, and the senior is improving his draft grade, according to team sources.
Adam Anderson, OLB, Georgia While many in the national media have yet to catch on, Anderson is viewed as a lethal pass rusher with major upside. Last week, I spoke with two NFL directors who have Anderson as a first-rounder, and one of them, a director of college scouting from one of the best drafting teams in the NFL, thinks Anderson will go as a top-10 or top-15 pick in the 2022 NFL Draft. Even though he is a rotational and situational player, Anderson was very impressive against Clemson to open the season. He has six sacks over his last six games, which is phenomenal production for a player who has limited opportunities to rush the quarterback. Anderson could become a hot prospect in the months to come.
Darian Kinnard, OT, Kentucky Kinnard received a favorable grade from NFL advance scouts after an impressive 2020 season. He has played well overall thus far this season as well and looks improved over 2020, which already was a good year for him. Kinnard has been making an impact in 2021, opening holes in the ground game and doing a good job in pass protection. He has displayed nice vision and the ability to adjust to blitzes off the edge, peeling off to hit combo blocks and give his quarterback time to get the ball out.
Kinnard is a huge right tackle who has real power at the point of attack. He is physical and gets nasty with defenders, pushing them around in the ground game and imposing his will on defensive ends. While Kinnard does not look like a smooth mover via the eyeball test, he is more athletic than one would think and has some quickness with agility for such a large right tackle. Kinnard fires out to the second level and is pretty quick at pulling.
It looks like Kinnard has dropped some weight and is in better shape than he was in 2020. Kinnard could use additional development with his technique, but he has talent and could be a starting right tackle or right guard in the NFL. I would not surprise this analyst if Kinnard ends up being a second-round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft.
Kaiir Elam, CB, Florida Elam is a potential early-round pick, and he was saw a dangerous set of Alabama receivers over the weekend. In the first half, Elam was excellent. He had tight coverage on Jamison Williams and broke up a pass downfield. Shortly later, Elam had John Metchie blanketed to force a third-down incompletion, but the officials blew the play by calling Elam for holding when replays showed that Metchie was trying to push off Elam. It should have been offensive pass interference. Elam lateradded another third-down pass break up to finally get the Gators’ defense to force a punt. In the second quarter, Elam was running with Metchie on a deep route and got a hand in late to force another incompletion. Elam finished the evening with two tackles and three passes broken up.
Elam definitely helped his draft stock against the Crimson Tide. He was excellent taking on their future NFL receivers. Elam ran the route to prevent separation, used his size to get in good position and showed good timing to break up passes.
2022 NFL Draft Stock Down
Justyn Ross, WR, Clemson It has been wonderful to see Ross make a successful return to the field after the spinal issue that caused him to miss the 2020 season. Ross has not, however, looked like the same big-play threat he was in his freshman and sophomore seasons. Ross does not look as explosive and fast. He has yet to produce a big game yet this season – Georgia (4-26), South Carolina State (3-52-1) and Georgia Tech (7-61). Ross only has 14 catches for 139 yards and a touchdown so far this year.
D.J. Ivey, CB, Miami Ivey entered the season as a potential second-day pick, but he has really struggled. Team sources say they think Ivey looks more like a third-day prospect now. They have concerns about his ability to run with pro receivers, which was reinforced against Alabama in the season opener. Ivey is sliding and needs to turn things around quickly to end up a candidate for Day 2 of the 2021 NFL Draft.
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