2022 NFL Draft Day 2: Who are the best players available?

Round 1 is done, and it came with drama, surprise picks (you don’t see a Chattanooga guy in the first round to the Patriots every day), and some big names left on the board for Day 2. Before the second and third rounds kick off tonight at 7 p.m. EST, we’re looking at some of the best players left on the board and where they might be a good fit.

This QB class was never going to send a full cadre in the first round, but Pitt’s Kenny Pickett was the only one who went, leaving Willis and his peers from Cincinnati and Ole Miss up for grabs tonight. Willis has been touted as a Michael Vick-like player in the lead-up to the draft (if that’s remotely possible), but there were higher position priorities to be filled.

Where will he go: Willis should head to the Seahawks to fill a Russell Wilson-sized hole, or perhaps the Falcons to pair up with newly drafted WR Drake London.

It’s been said a million times before — RBs are a dime a dozen, get hurt easily and have very short NFL careers, and subsequently they rarely go in the first round. But Walker is a special player — more than two-thirds of his yards were after contact in his 2021 season, and to understand how talented he is, one simply had to watch in dismay as their favorite Big Ten team’s secondary somehow failed to catch him as he shot down the field.

Where will he go: Walker will likely fall to the Bills, where he’ll add a new weapon to their run game. Other options would be the Bucs, who have most of their major positions filled, or the Washington Commanders.

In a class filled with insanely talented WRs, it’s not terribly surprising that a team hasn’t wagered on an injured Pickens yet, despite his excellent record on the field. A knee surgery kept him off the field for much of Georgia’s 2021 championship run, but his size and late stage of recovery should send him off to a team that needs to fill that position in the second round.

Where he’ll go: The Bears have two second-round picks and a desperate need for receiver depth — and if they don’t nab Pickens, there’s a chance that the regional rival Packers will.

Like Pickens, Metchie is a risk in that he’s coming off an ACL tear. He’s anything but a risk in that he was an Alabama wide receiver in a corps that included Jaylen Waddle and Devonta Smith — and while Bama churns ’em out in every position, Tide WRs have had a lot of recent success in the pros. If his rehab reports are coming back positive, he’s a great addition to any offense in the league.

Where he’ll go: The Chiefs may want to fill the loss of Tyreek Hill with Metchie if they’re willing to be patient with him. While the Lions already grabbed a star Bama WR from this class in Jameson Williams, but the Bears might also be open to pairing Metchie up with Justin Fields.

Booth is widely expected to be one of the first guys snatched off the board as tonight’s rounds begin. His raw talent and athleticism stood out during his time with the Tigers. Booth falling to the second round marks the first time in three years that Clemson hasn’t produced a first-round draft pick.

Where he’ll go: The Vikings and the Giants are my top two teams to draft him in the first couple of picks of the second round. Initially projected to go to the Bills, Buffalo opted for a Florida CB over Booth.

Ebiketie’s position was filled with top-five projections this year, so it’s not a huge shock that the former Temple Owl has fallen to the second round with his weakness against the run, but he’ll be snatched up relatively early.

Ebiketie could be a replacement for Khalil Mack with the Bears, or could add yet another weapon to the Ravens’ already-stacked defense, if he falls that far.

The fact that Dean fell out of the first round means that some team is going to get the steal of a lifetime. A key piece on one of the best defenses that college football has ever seen, the linebacker won the Dick Butkus award in both high school and college. Though somewhat small in size (6-foot, 225 pounds) for the position, he has more than proven himself on the Bulldogs’ defense — this feels like a case of the front office overthinking his measurables without keeping in mind the energy and talent he unquestionably brought to a championship-winning team that just sent five defensive players to the league in the first round.

Where he’ll go: I honestly don’t even know where to project Dean at this point. If he’s not in the first few picks of the second round, it will be a shock — but I’ll say he’s going to either the Giants or the Jets, who have been doing a remarkable job of finding talent and giving their fans some hope this weekend.

Another unfortunate injury — this one, an Achilles tear at the linebacker’s Michigan pro day. This recovery time might look a little longer due to its recency and severity, but Ojabo’s impact on Michigan’s defense this year cannot be overstated. He put up 11 sacks and 24 solo tackles in 2021 alone, and he’ll be a key piece in someone’s defense, but probably not until later in the 2022-23 season.

Where he’ll go: Ojabo may keep falling down the board — all the way to the Packers, perhaps? Or even further to the Bengals? He’s an investment right now that won’t be paying dividends immediately, which could make a lot of earlier second-round teams gun-shy.

Come on now, you couldn’t think I’d leave Punt God off the list. Having fallen from the first round, he won’t get to hold the title for the highest-drafted punter of all time, but his talents really shouldn’t be underestimated: He set an NCAA record with a 51.2 yards-per-punt average. A brave team might pick him in the third round tonight — although the Patriots already took a bit of a jump with Chattanooga guard Cole Strange.

Where he’ll go: It’s more likely that Araiza will fall to Saturday, but nevertheless, he’s a top prospect for special teams heading into tonight’s decisions.