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College Football

2022 NFL Draft: 5 SEC players who should go in Round 1 but will fall

Adam Spencer

By Adam Spencer

Published:

When the 2022 NFL Draft begins Thursday night in Las Vegas, there will be plenty of SEC players who hear their names called by commissioner Roger Goodell.

Perhaps a dozen (or more) SEC standouts will be Round 1 picks this year, but there are some guys who still aren’t getting enough buzz ahead of Thursday’s kickoff.

We’ll hear some names that leave us scratching our heads, all while some talented guys who performed at the highest level in the SEC have to wait until Friday to come off the board.

So, who are the guys most in danger of slipping to Round 2? Here are my 5 picks:

1. George Pickens, WR, Georgia

Pickens is getting some buzz as a potential late first-round pick, but plenty of mock drafts still have him falling to Round 2. He is considered to be behind guys like Drake London (USC), Jameson Williams (Alabama), Chris Olave (Ohio State), Garrett Wilson (Ohio State) and Treylon Burks (Arkansas). Some mocks even have him behind guys like Jahan Dotson (Penn State), Christian Watson (North Dakota State) and Skyy Moore (Western Michigan).

If you’re an NFL team considering drafting Watson or Moore ahead of Pickens, stop it. Pickens wasn’t healthy in 2021 after suffering a torn ACL. And yes, he was inconsistent at times in 2020, but when he’s at his best, he’s an elite WR1.

There are some vague mentions of “red flags” surrounding Pickens when you read pre-draft coverage of him, but if teams can’t (or won’t) come out with any specifics, it’s hard to put too much stock in that.

On the other hand, Pickens’ tape speaks for itself:

That’s first-round talent if I’ve ever seen it. Pass on him in Round 1 at your own risk.

2. Darian Kinnard, OL, Kentucky

Kinnard was a huge part of a Kentucky offensive line that was a finalist for the Joe Moore Award in 2021. He has experience at both tackle positions, though he likely translates to a right tackle at the NFL level.

The knock on him is his agility and his ability to get to the second level. But, at the point of attack, there weren’t many tackles better than Kinnard in the FBS ranks last year.

Pro Football Focus thinks very highly of Kinnard and his ability to succeed as both a run and pass blocker:

I’m not saying he should go ahead of athletic beasts like Evan Neal, Charles Cross and Ikem Ekwonu, but he should be getting more late first-round attention than he currently is.

3. Quay Walker, LB, Georgia

Nakobe Dean gets a lot of love, and rightfully so, for what he accomplished on Georgia’s defense in 2021. But Walker was a great linebacker, too, even if he wasn’t as great in pass coverage as Dean.

But let’s discuss what “wasn’t as great in pass coverage as Dean” actually means. Because Walker was still pretty dang good:

He, like Georgia’s other linebackers, was a true sideline-to-sideline threat. He has the kind of speed you need in your linebacking corps at the pro level:

https://twitter.com/falconfiend2/status/1519081132326899713

Will he be a superstar in the NFL? Perhaps not. But, he has all the makings of a guy who racks up 80 tackles a year for the next 10 years. That’s worth a late first-round pick to me.

4. Christian Harris, LB, Alabama

Christian Harris did it all for the Tide defense in 2021 – 2nd on the team in tackles for loss (11.5), 4th in sacks (5.5), 5th in tackles (80) and 1st in forced fumbles (2).

He did that at Alabama. The school with 2 guys who could go No. 1 overall in 2023 (QB Bryce Young and edge Will Anderson Jr.). Yeah … Harris is a star.

He has great first-read instincts, is solid when it comes to run defense and doesn’t lose a step defending the pass:

I like guys who stand out on great teams. Harris fits that bill 100%. He’s worth a first-round pick for a team like the Patriots or Packers that need some help at the linebacker position.

5. Roger McCreary, CB, Auburn

Cornerbacks rarely go in the top 3 of the NFL Draft. There are just too many of them to have that sort of prestige. At this point in football, quarterbacks, pass rushers and left tackles are about the only positions that ever get taken No. 1 overall.

But corners are still highly valuable in today’s pro game. Like wide receivers, even if they don’t go No. 1 overall, there will still be half a dozen or so corners taken in Round 1. McCreary should be one of them.

He had an SEC high 14 pass breakups in 2021. That’s the best measure of a corner’s job. Yes, he only had 2 interceptions, but he also returned 1 of them for a touchdown:

Pro Football Focus is also very high on McCreary’s potential:

Patrick Surtain II was an instant impact player for the Broncos in 2021. Can McCreary be a similar type of player in 2022? I definitely think so. I’d take him with either the No. 29 or No. 30 overall pick if I were the GM of the Kansas City Chiefs.

Adam Spencer

Adam is a daily fantasy sports (DFS) and sports betting expert. A 2012 graduate of the University of Missouri, Adam now covers all 16 SEC football teams. He is the director of DFS, evergreen and newsletter content across all Saturday Football brands.

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