The outset of the 2022 NFL Draft in Las Vegas had a definite defensive flavor.
The first five players selected Thursday night play on the defensive side of the ball, beginning with the Jacksonville Jaguars using the No. 1 overall pick on Georgia edge rusher Travon Walker.
There wasn’t an offensive skill player chosen until the Atlanta Falcons selected Southern California wide receiver Drake London with the eighth overall pick.
The Jaguars kicked off the festivities for the second straight season and were sold on Walker, who had six sacks last season while helping Georgia win the national championship. He had 9.5 sacks in 36 career games over three seasons.
Walker started all 15 games last season after not previously making a single start.
Walker, who was clocked in 4.51 seconds over 40 yards, is the first Georgia player to go No. 1 overall since the Detroit Lions selected quarterback Matthew Stafford in 2009.
Jacksonville chose quarterback Trevor Lawrence from Clemson to start the 2021 draft.
The Detroit Lions tabbed defensive end Aidan Hutchinson with the second pick. The Heisman Trophy runner-up was pleased to stay in the area after being a star at Michigan.
“I’m happy I get to go back to Detroit, go back to Motor City, hopefully win some ballgames and get back to winning,” Hutchinson told NFL Network. “I’m fired up.”
Hutchinson set a school record with 14 sacks last season while earning Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year honors.
The Houston Texans used the third overall pick on LSU cornerback Derek Stingley Jr., who played in just 10 games over the past two seasons.
Stingley was limited to three games in 2021 due to a foot injury, but NFL teams never forgot the talents he displayed while being a consensus All-American in 2019. He recorded six interceptions in 15 games that season and helped the Tigers win the national championship.
The New York Jets also tabbed a cornerback at No. 4 with Cincinnati starter Ahmad “Sauce” Gardner.
The player who had nine career interceptions in 37 games (28 starts) with the Bearcats showed off a new SAUCE necklace.
“The Jets fans know, man. They know about the sauce. You can’t have too much sauce,” Gardner said. “So I added a new addition — extra sauce. This new pendant is the extra sauce.”
The New York Giants used the fifth overall pick on edge rusher Kayvon Thibodeaux of Oregon.
Thibodeaux had 35.5 tackles for loss — including 19 sacks — in 32 games (21 starts) over three seasons for the Ducks.
“Just to be part of the family and an organization like this is ridiculous,” Thibodeaux said of joining the Giants.
The Carolina Panthers ended the splurge on defensive players when they tabbed North Carolina State offensive tackle Ikem Ekwonu with the No. 6 pick.
Ekwonu started 31 games at NC State — 27 at left tackle, four at left guard — and grew up in Charlotte, so he was ecstatic to be chosen by the Panthers.
“This is a dream come true. This feels so surreal,” Ekwonu said. “To grow up being a Carolina Panthers fan and now I’m going to be in that building is really just crazy to me.”
The Giants were on the board again at No. 7 and they followed the Panthers’ lead by selecting offensive tackle Evan Neal of Alabama.
Neal started all 40 games at Alabama and brings versatility as he started 15 games at left tackle, 13 at left guard and 12 at right tackle. He was a consensus All-American left tackle in 2021.
Atlanta grabbed London at No. 8, the highest the club has selected a wide receiver since tabbing Julio Jones sixth overall in 2011.
London made 160 catches for 2,153 yards and 15 touchdowns in 27 games at USC. He had 88 receptions in just eight games last season and was Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Year despite sustaining a season-ending ankle injury.
The Seattle Seahawks chose offensive tackle Charles Cross of Mississippi State with the ninth pick. Cross started 22 games at left tackle over the last two seasons and earned first-team All-SEC honors.
The Jets used their second pick of the round — 10th overall — on Ohio State receiver Garrett Wilson, who caught 70 passes for 1,058 yards and 12 touchdowns last season.
–Field Level Media
