2022 NFL Draft: The top prospect from every SEC school
The 2022 NFL Draft starts Thursday night (8 p.m., ABC), and as has become a yearly tradition, the first round stands to be an infomercial for the SEC.
Around a dozen SEC prospects could get selected in the first round, with Georgia’s Travon Walker among the likely candidates to go No. 1 overall. Elsewhere, top offensive linemen like Evan Neal of Alabama, Charles Cross out of Mississippi State and Kenyon Green of Texas A&M are all potential Day 1 picks, and as many as eight SEC programs could get represented on stage in the first round.
But whether your school has a Day 1 pick or a sleeper that will get selected sometime Saturday, here’s a look at the top 2022 draftable prospect from each SEC program.
Alabama – OT Evan Neal
The Crimson Tide’s left tackle is a surefire Top 10 pick, with a chance to go as high as No. 2 overall to the Detroit Lions. At 6-7, 337 pounds, Neal comfortably carries his massive frame and offers positional versatility after playing guard, right tackle and left tackle at Alabama.
He was a five-star recruit and consensus All-American as a junior, projecting as a future anchor and Pro Bowl left tackle in the pros.
Arkansas – WR Treylon Burks
Treylon Burks set a school-record at Arkansas in 2021 with six 100-yard receiving games, finishing his junior year with 1,104 yards and 11 touchdowns. He’s a thick, fluid athlete who reminds some of former South Carolina star Deebo Samuel.
While he doesn’t have Samuel’s straight-line speed, Burks is a bull with the football in his hands. The 6-3, 225-pound receiver offers after-the-catch skills that the other projected 1st-Round wideouts do not possess, breaking tackles with regularity last season. He led the SEC with 22 receptions over 20 yards.
Auburn – CB Roger McCreary
A development success story, Roger McCreary got better and better each season with the Auburn Tigers. As a sophomore, he led the team with 12 pass deflections and as a senior, he became a first-team All-American with 16 pass deflections (the most in the SEC) and two picks.
He’s undersized at just 5-11, 191 with sub-30 inch arms, but his ball-skills and playmaking tenacity will be too much for some teams to overlook. The former 3-star should get selected sometime in the 2nd Round.
Florida – CB Kaiir Elam
The Gators’ defense was bad in 2021, but that did little to hurt Kaiir Elam’s draft stock. At 6-1 and nearly 200 pounds, the former blue-chip recruit was awesome as a freshman and had two more solid seasons in Gainesville, earning first-team All-SEC honors in 2020.
Elam is physical, press-man corner who ran a sub-4.4 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine. He could hear his named called at the end of the first round, but at worst, will be an early Day 2 pick.
Georgia – DL Travon Walker
The Georgia Bulldogs stand to have as many as eight players drafted within the Top 75-100 picks this weekend, but no player — on any team in America — has skyrocketed up draft boards like Travon Walker. The NFL drafts on traits over production, and UGA’s versatile lineman is among the toolsiest athletes at the position the league has seen in years.
Walker was a dominant run-stuffer in Kirby Smart’s 3-4 scheme, but he flashed pass rush potential and an ability to play multiple positions. Both his combine and pro day numbers were so freaky that Walker went from a fringe 1st Round pick to possibly being the No. 1 overall selection in the draft.
Kentucky – OL Darian Kinnard
The headliner of Kentucky’s ‘Big Blue Wall,’ Darian Kinnard earned the Jacobs Blocking Trophy last season as the SEC’s “top blocker.” He was a three-year starter for the Wildcats, with 37 straight games at right tackle. Kinnard was a consistent mauler for Kentucky, earning consensus All-American honors as a senior.
Although he only played tackle in college, scouts see the 6-5, 328-pound lineman as a potential dominant interior guard at the next level. Kinnard is ranked among the Top 50 prospects in the draft and is very likely to hear his name called on Day 2.
LSU – CB Derek Stingley Jr.
If Derek Stingley Jr. were allowed to enter the draft after his freshman season with the LSU Tigers he would’ve been a Top 3 pick. Blessed with top-tier coverage and ball skills, Stingley Jr. was an All-American in 2019, recording six interceptions and 21 pass deflections for the national champions.
But concerns over durability (just 10 games played the last two season), saw the corner’s stock dip some this offseason. Perhaps some jumped the gun there.
Stingley wowed scouts with his athleticism at his recent pro day (4.4-second 40-yard dash, 38.5-inch vertical jump) and should still be a Top 10 pick this weekend.
Mississippi State – OT Charles Cross
Perhaps the best pure pass blocking offensive tackle in the draft, Charles Cross is another former five-star recruit who lived up to his billing and stands to get drafted somewhere inside the Top 10 overall selections.
The 6-4, 311-pound lineman redshirted in 2019 and then was a two-year starter for the Mississippi State Bulldogs, earning All-SEC honors in 2021.
Missouri – Tyler Badie
After serving as the Missouri Tigers’ No. 2 tailback for three seasons in Columbia, Tyler Badie shined as the workhorse ‘back in 2021 and burst onto the draft scene. The 5-8, 198-pound playmaker finished second nationally among all tailbacks in all-purpose yards (161.6) last fall.
As the featured ‘back in Eli Drinkwitz’s offense, Badie had 1,604 rushing yards with 14 touchdowns. He also caught 54 balls for 330 yards and four scores. Although running back is a devalued position in the NFL, Badie offers positional versatility as a receiver and return threat. He won’t go selected on the first two days, but some team is getting a nice weapon on Day 3 in the 5th Round.
Ole Miss – QB Matt Corral
The Ole Miss Rebels’ quarterback is a true gunslinger, with the quickest release among all the draftable QBs in 2022. Matt Corral was a three-year starter at Ole Miss, and for the last two seasons, was the only quarterback in the nation with at least 3,300 passing yards and 500 rushing yards.
In Lane Kiffin’s friendly system, Corral was a RPO-wizard. He’s tough, competitive and a true dual-threat playmaker. Corral cut down on his turnovers in 2021, throwing just four picks and leading the Rebels to their first 10-win regular season in school history.
There are some size (just 6-0, 215 pounds) and durability concerns (he plays with a bit of reckless abandon as a runner), but many scouts believe the California native is the most ready-now quarterback in the draft. Corral is a fringe 1st Round pick who won’t make it late on Day 2 if he happens to last that long.
South Carolina – DL Kingsley Enagbare
The South Carolina Gamecocks’ top defensive lineman is kind of like an inverse Travon Walker: More production, less tools. Kingsley Enagbare had 10.5 sacks the last two seasons, mostly playing the ‘BUCK’ position in South Carolina’s defense. He was a solid run defender, too.
At 6-4, 271, Enagbare is likely a traditional 4-3 lineman that could slide inside on some passing downs in various NASCAR packages. Most projections have him getting selected sometime on Day 2, either late 2nd or early 3rd Round.
Tennessee – DL Matthew Butler
Matthew Butler is a super-senior success story, going back to school for an extra year and dramatically improving his stock from projected to go undrafted to a potential 4th or 5th Round pick. The 6-3, 298-pound lineman played all across the line for the Vols, but he was at his best as a rugged 3-technique.
Early in his career, Butler was more of a bruiser than he was a pass rusher, but he offered some upside there in 2021 with five sacks and 8.5 tackles for loss. Butler was a team captain for the Vols and was credited with strong leadership that helped transition UT out of the Jeremy Pruitt mess and into the Josh Heupel era.
Texas A&M – OL Kenyon Green
If this list were made before last season, Texas A&M Aggies defensive lineman Demarvin Leal would’ve been the easy answer here. But a so-so year saw Leal slide down draft boards. Conversely, Texas A&M offensive lineman Kenyon Green had an excellent 2021 season and is another likely 1st Round pick.
An All-American guard as a sophomore, Green played everywhere for the Aggies last fall, becoming the only lineman in the country to log at least 80 snaps at four different positions. While he served as the Aggies’ primary left tackle as a junior, the 6-4, 335-pound All-American projects as a guard in the NFL.
Vanderbilt – CB Allan George
The Commodores do not project to have a single player drafted from their 2022 team. The best prospect in the draft with Vanderbilt ties is offensive tackle Devin Cochran, who started 32 games for the ‘Dores from 2017-2019, sat out the COVID-shortened 2020 season and then transferred to Georgia Tech in 2021 where he became a honorable mention All-ACC player.
Allan George is the most likely prospect to ink a free agent contract. The 5-11, 191-pound corner is a great athlete, running a 4.48 40-yard dash and jumping a 40.5 in the vertical. He has long arms, too. But a lack of production (just two career INTs in four seasons) and a deep DB class means George will likely go undrafted.