It was a long weekend, but the 2022 NFL Draft is officially in the books. Of course, it’ll be years until we know the true winners and losers of the draft. But it’s still important to make some first impressions about how each team performed during the draft. While this is open to debate, let’s check out some of the early winners and losers from the 2022 NFL Draft.
Winner: Jets
The Jets shocked everyone with a string of good decisions during the draft. It helps that they ended up with three picks in the first round, but they made good use of them. Ahmad Gardner looks like a can’t-miss cornerback. Garrett Wilson was waiting for them at no. 10 despite not being the first wide receiver chosen.
Finally, Jermaine Johnson is an absolute steal at no. 26 overall. With Gardner and Wilson, the Jets got arguably the best cornerback and wide receiver available. They also got arguably the best running back available in Breece Hall.
Loser: Cowboys
Dallas hasn’t had a great offseason and things got even worse during the draft. Their first two picks were both questionable choices, as each was a stretch. Even if there hadn’t been a huge demand on wide receivers in the first round, the Cowboys waited too long to get one, taking South Alabama’s Jalen Tolbert in the third round.
Even some of their late-round picks were questionable choices, as the Cowboys didn’t do much to improve their roster during the draft.
Winner: Eagles
Part of what made Philadelphia such a winner was trading for A.J. Brown. He was easily the best acquisition on draft night. That helps to solve the team’s needs at wide receiver. The Eagles also grabbed Jordan Davis and Nakobe Dean, two stars from the Georgia defense. In fact, Dean in the third round is a huge steal.
They also shored up the center position in the second round with Cameron Jurgen, who is a safe bet to anchor their offensive line for a long time.
Loser: Chargers
In theory, the Chargers did a good job of addressing their need on the offensive line early. But Zion Johnson going 17th overall is a stretch. They also failed to draft a bonafide offensive tackle or address their needs in the front seven.
While they added depth to their secondary and grabbed a promising running back in Isaiah Spiller, the Chargers didn’t do enough to fix their weaknesses during the draft.
Winner: Giants
With 11 total picks, including five in the first 81 selections, the G-Men had a huge edge over most other teams. But much like the Jets, the Giants made the most of them. They turned their two top-10 picks into a high upside pass rusher in Kayvon Thibodeaux and a can’t-miss offensive tackle in Evan Neal.
They did a nice job of doubling down on the offensive line with Joshua Ezeudu in the third round and grabbed shifty wide receiver Wan’Dale Robinson in the second round. Even on Day 3, the Giants found good value with their picks on both sides of the ball.
Loser: Dolphins
In Miami’s defense, they only had four selections during the draft. But they also didn’t do much with those picks, failing to address nearly all of the needs they had ahead of the draft. They got one player who should be an immediate contributor in third-rounder Channing Tindall out of Georgia.
But their other picks were questionable at best, especially taking quarterback Skylar Thompson in the third round when they had limited picks. How is a potential third-string quarterback supposed to help them next season?