2022 NFL Draft Quarterback Rankings: 1-10

The 2022 NFL Draft quarterback class has been considered pretty much wide-open since before the start of last season, and not much has changed -- there's still no consensus QB1 with just days to go until the event.

Here's a look into where each quarterback stands before the action officially begins on Thursday:

1. Carson Strong, Nevada.

Strong has had a bit of a rough go at it since starting out the 2021 season as some analysts' projected No. 1 overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft -- and that really doesn't have much of anything to do with his play at all, as strange as that may sound.

It didn't take long for a rumor (that's still yet to be substantiated) to evolve that Strong had what some where referring to as a "degenerative knee" that would affect his ability to play long-term. Strong has been cleared by a Los Angeles Rams doctor this offseason and played the end of the season, as well as the offseason showcases, without a knee brace and showed no signs of an injury bothering him.

The other knock on Strong is that he comes from the Air Raid system, which has a stigma surrounding it despite it arguably focuses more on quick decision-making, a fast release and overall accuracy because of how reliant it is on quarterback play.

Strong is a quick decision-maker, has one of the fastest levels of mental processing and has the best deep ball down the sidelines of any quarterback in the draft class. He could end up own the same type of trajectory as Mac Jones if he lands with a team that has a solid offensive line that allows pocket passers to thrive.

The NFL seems to be trending more toward high-level passers who are solid from the pocket first and foremost, but can evade pressure or carry the ball when called upon to do so. Strong is far from mobile but isn't a statue and showed at Nevada, the combine and pro day that he was capable of doing those things.

“In college, I didn’t do too much under center but this is primarily all under center so it’s all new for me,” Strong told me at the Senior Bowl. “All of these plays are new but moving forward I think I’m going to be able to go under center and have the ability to do more play-action and roll out. Whatever a team wants me to execute unless it’s read-option or power-read, I feel like I can do that. There’s definitely a learning curve but that’s why I’ve come here and what I’m focused on—to get better.”

2. Kenny Pickett, Pittsburgh.

There's hardly a question of which quarterback has the highest floor in this year's draft class. Pickett has shown the highest floor and some Joe Burrow-like tendencies -- something that could be extremely exciting if he is to capitalize off of those.

Pickett has the same type of mobility Burrow brings to the table and experienced the same type of meteoric rise in 2021. Hand size has become an issue that's surrounded Pickett, who played with gloves on his hands and struggled with one during bad weather at the Senior Bowl, so how he plays in the elements at the next level will be something to watch. 

Regardless, there's no ignoring the numbers Pickett put up that were a result of his own growth and progression and not his supporting cast or the scheme as he completed 67.2% of his passes for 4,319 yards with 42 touchdowns and seven interceptions in 2021.

“I’ve watched Joe (Burrow) a couple of times and he’s a heck of a player,” Pickett told me during the season. “If people are comparing me to him, I guess I’m on the right track. I’ve got to keep doing what I’m doing. He’s great in the pocket, he’s athletic and he makes plays outside... there are some similarities there.”

3. Matt Corral, Ole Miss.

No one could have run Lane Kiffin and Jeff Lebby's score-from-far offensive system better than Matt Corral did in 2021. The former Rebels signal-caller brings to the table a high level of arm strength and a proven ability to evade pressure and use his legs to make plays even while playing hurt in adverse situations. Kiffin praised Corral for his "video game-like accuracy" and his velocity, both aspects of his game that were on display last season.

There was a bit less talk of Corral between February and the beginning of April with a lot of focus on the quarterbacks who had been invited to offseason showcases like the Senior Bowl -- which it's more than reasonable to assume Corral would have been invited if he had met the eligibility criteria. Corral also chose not to throw at the 2022 NFL Scouting Combine, a decision that could have helped increase his draft stock a bit more if he had success throwing to receivers other than his own, but he also could have decided against it because of the Sugar Bowl injury.

Corral took a big step last season in release time and decision-making, finishing out the season with a 67.9% completion percentage, 3,349 passing yards, 20 touchdowns and five interceptions. It will be interesting to watch how well Corral transitions to the pro-style system at the next level, but he has a decent floor and traits that should be appealing to multiple teams.

4. Malik Willis, Liberty.

If Willis hits his ceiling, he'll quickly become one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL. Sounds like a QB1 here, right? Yeah, but let's discuss. Willis was among the most polarizing draft prospects during the season before putting on standout showings in the Reese’s Senior Bowl, the 2022 NFL Scouting Combine and his pro day. 

The former Liberty passer has caught a wealth of attention for his mobility and Houdini-like ability to evade pressure, but there have been warranted concerns about his ability to throw the ball well on a consistent basis. He lacked touch on certain throws that required them throughout the season and had three games with three interceptions against lesser secondaries. This offseason, though, Willis has appeared to make strides in these areas and is now expected to be the first or second quarterback to come off the board.

Willis finished out the year with a 61.1% completion percentage, 2,857 passing yards, 27 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. If he can maintain the progress he's shown as a passer throughout his NFL transition, he has the highest ceiling in this class and will quickly become one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL. It's just a question of if he does ultimately hit it or not.

“He’s uniquely talented,” quarterback coach Sean McEvoy said. “He’s got the strong arm, he can make plays from the pocket and I think you’re seeing that this week. He clearly has a different dimension of athleticism that nobody else can match, so that gives offense and play-callers the ability to use him in different ways. Any team that gets him is going to have a chance to expand their offense… When you look at what the offense was they ran in the last couple years at Liberty, they were a deep strike, play action, try to go down the field team. They didn’t do much at all in the screen game. You look at some other offenses that do a lot of quick stuff in the flat and make playmakers make plays. In reality, Malik was the playmaker at Liberty.”

5. Sam Howell, UNC.

Most analysts had either Spencer Rattler or Sam Howell as QB1 ahead of the 2021 season -- such is far from the case now. Following a season of up-and-down play, Howell is all over the projections. Some analysts have him as going as high as the late first round with some projecting he could still be available for the taking as late as the fourth round.

The narrative surrounding Howell has flipped between the 2020 and 2021 seasons. In 2020, there was the question of if the majority of Howell's success could be attributed to his supporting cast. In 2021, the UNC offensive line and supporting cast was so subpar that the question has been raised of if some of Howell's inconsistencies were entirely to blame on him or if they were a product of the players around him.

Howell brings a strong set of likeable traits to the next level, with one of the strongest arms in the class, a tough, gritty type of mobility and strong playmaking ability. There wasn't a huge emphasis on footwork while Howell was at UNC, so that will be one of the biggest things for him to overcome as he continues to learn NFL footwork. He finished the 2021 season with a 62.5% completion percentage, 3,056 passing yards, 24 touchdowns and nine interceptions.

“I just want to be more consistent. I’m not trying to change anything fundamentally. It’s just doing it consistently—have good fundamentals on every play,” Howell told me at the Senior Bowl. “There’s definitely a little bit of an adjustment from the footwork we did in college that’s going to be a little bit different in the NFL. So, it’s been just trying to get more comfortable with that. There’s a lot more timing throws in the NFL so I’m going to have to be a lot more consistent with my feet and that’s something I’ve been focusing on is NFL footwork.”

6. Desmond Ridder, Cincinnati.

The pre-draft process has gone well for Ridder, who put a lot of people on notice at the combine with his 4.25-second 40-yard dash time and has shown he may have some of the best foundational traits in the class.

Ridder didn't pop on the stat sheet at Cincinnati, something that seems to be more of a product of the way the Bearcats ran their offense than anything else, hardly ever making use of his athleticism. At times in 2021, Ridder did show issues with decision-making and overall accuracy, but has spent a lot of time working one his lower-body mechanics ahead of the draft, an area he's shown improvement in this offseason after finishing the season with a 64.9% completion percentage, 3,334 passing yards, 30 touchdowns and eight interceptions.

One thing to watch will be if a he goes into an offense that's more freewheeling and has more play-action to it, something that could showcase what he brings as an athlete.

“If we ran a no-huddle, up-tempo offense, I think people might see me (like Marcus Mariota),” Ridder told me earlier this offseason. “I’ve looked at Marcus Mariota ever since I was growing up watching him at Oregon and watching him win the Heisman and having an NFL career. It’s been fun seeing someone who kind of has body-type similarities to me have success.”

7. Bailey Zappe, WKU.

The development of Bailey Zappe may be the most intriguing in this quarterback class to watch. Zappe caught national attention this season, despite playing for a smaller program as he broke FBS records for most passing yards (5,967) and touchdowns (62) in a single season, also finishing the year with a 69.2%, something that's even more impressive when it’s taken into consideration he totaled 686 passing attempts.

Looking at offseason showcases, Zappe had a rough first day at the Senior Bowl but he quickly settled in and showed he could hang against higher-level competition. If he can continue to do that at the next level, he will undoubtedly end up being the most underrated quarterback in this class looking back on it.

In his time at WKU, Zappe received high praise for his football IQ and deep passes, through he's sometimes struggled with some of the shorter and intermediate throws -- that's something that did show during the first day of the Senior Bowl but was also something he seems to quickly clean up as the week progressed. He played in a variation of the Air Raid offense in his one season at WKU after playing in a more pure version of the Air Raid at Houston Baptist. The Hilltoppers' scheme, while it still didn't run the ball a lot, did have a run-game piece to it and required a more in-depth understanding of protections to operate.

“Where Bailey sets himself apart is that he’s so savvy," WKU Head Coach Tyson Helton told me during the season. "He’s not a runner, he’s not this exceptional athlete, but he’s so savvy and it’s the little nuanced things where he’s able to slide, shuffle step, and make the defensive end run around him and then he gets a touchdown. Nobody picks that up unless you’re the coach watching it, and in those situations, most quarterbacks are sacked.”

8. Jack Coan, Notre Dame.

Coan got pinned with the "game manager" label at Notre Dame, but that's not really a bad thing in his eyes. 

“I know the term ‘game manager’ has been thrown around but I view that as a positive and is some stuff I actually try to do," Coan told me earlier this offseason. "A game manager is someone who keeps his team in good situations and doesn’t turn the ball over… has a high completion percentage and just makes smart and efficient decisions. I have a chunk-to-check-down mentality on every play and if I like the look a defense is giving me, I’ll check it down and if the shot is there, I’ll take it. That’s how I play and I try to make the right decisions.”

Looking at this past season, Coan has shown he can push the ball downfield and has made big plays from time to time but rarely tries to make too much happen. From a mobility standpoint, he's limited but navigates the pocket well and can do enough with his legs to get himself out of a bad situation when a play falls apart. He finished the season completing 65.7% of his passes for 3,150 yards with 25 touchdowns and seven interceptions.

9. Brock Purdy, Iowa State.

Purdy received a lot of attention ahead of the 2020 season, though some issues with pocket awareness and decision-making saw that fizzle some. But the improvements Purdy made between that season and last year were evident both on the film and on the stat sheet as he finished out the season with a 71.7% completion percentage, 3,188 passing yards 19 touchdowns and eight interceptions.

The narrative that's developed around Purdy now is the notion that he can't consistently throw the deep ball -- and it's something that doesn't show up on tape a ton because of the way the Iowa State offense was run, tailored to standout rusher Breece Hall. But, looking back through the tape over his college career, there are several instances where Purdy accurately places deep strikes -- something he continued to show he could do at the combine and at his pro day. 

Accuracy is also something Purdy says he prides himself on, and that's a product of him having some of the best lower-body mechanics in the class. On film, you'll rarely see Purdy get "heel clicky" or do a lot of things off-platform.

“(The deep ball) is not on the tape as much,” Purdy told me of the knock on him this offseason. “Coaches want to see 11-on-11, pressure in your face, you’re not in rhythm – if you’re moved off your spot, can you still make that deep-ball throw? I think that’s what it’s going to come down to when I’m on a team, at practice, at camp, whatever it is. But I think it was good to showcase it like ‘oh hey, he can make that throw, let’s give him a shot in practice and let’s see if he can do it then, that’s what it’ll come down to but I did show it at the combine and at pro day.”

10. Dustin Crum, Kent State.

Crum is a quarterback who might be receiving more attention right now if he had simply played against higher-level competition because of the narrative that surrounds players who play in smaller conference. Named MAC Player of the Year this past season, Crum completed 64.1% of his passes for 3,238 passing yards with 20 touchdowns and six interceptions on 382 attempts. He also had the fourth-most big time throws across the nation in college football his final season (30), according to Pro Football Focus.

He's still considered more of a developmental prospect but should be appealing to teams who are looking to take a quarterback on the last day or as an undrafted free agent as a dual-threat who shows no fear inside and outside of the picker and whose arm strength is underrated, with good accuracy and a shifty sense of mobility. Most of the knocks on Crum have been because of his smaller frame at 6-foot-1 and 210 pounds, something that didn't seem to hinder him much at the college level.

“I’d say the biggest things are taking care of the football and then accuracy,” Crum told me ahead of the season. “Putting the ball in the right spots at the right times and not putting it in harm’s way. As far as what I want to work on, pocket presence, not being flushed out of the pocket too easily at times, and to be able to re-establish myself better after being moved off of my spot a little bit. Just continuing to do more work, being able to work off-script some more.”