NFL Draft 2022 recruiting rewind: How every first round draft pick was rated as a high school football prospect

Six of the first-round picks were rated as 3-star prospects coming out of high school - and two were completely unrated

The first round of the 2022 NFL Draft wrapped up Thursday night with 32 of the best college football players in the country officially joining the NFL.

But not all of the 32 players were highly recruited out of high school. One example: Sauce Gardner, the No. 4 overall pick in the draft, was a 3-star prospect and ranked around the 150th best cornerback in the country by the major recruiting sites.

SBLive's Andrew Nemec took a closer look at how every first-round pick was rated in high school. Here's the breakdown, with star ratings coming from 247Sports:

• 5-star prospects - 10

• 4-star prospects - 11

• 3-star prospects - 6

• 2-star prospects - 3

• Unrated prospects - 2

Here is Nemec's pick-by-pick breakdown on all 32 first-round selections and how they were rated as high school prospects:

1. Jacksonville Jaguars: Travon Walker, DE, Upson-Lee High School (Georgia)

• Walker was a 5-star prospect out of high school.
• More: Read Travon Walker's recruiting rewind

2. Detroit Lions: Aidan Hutchinson, DE, Divine Child High School (Michigan)

• Hutchison was a 4-star recruit and the No. 1 prospect in Michigan.
• More: Read Aidan Hutchison's recruiting rewind

3. Houston Texans: Derek Stingley Jr., CB, Dunham High School (Louisiana)

• Stingley Jr. was a 5-star prospect and the nation's No. 1 cornerback.
• More: Read Derek Stingley Jr.'s recruiting rewind

4. New York Jets: Sauce Gardner, CB, Martin Luther King High School (Michigan)

• Gardner was a 3-star prospect and ranked the 144th best cornerback in the country by 247Sports.
• More: Read Sauce Gardner's recruiting rewind

5. New York Giants: Kayvon Thibodeaux, DE, Oaks Christian (California)

• Thibodeaux was a 5-star recruit and nation's No. 6 overall prospect.
• More: Read Kayvon Thibodeaux's recruiting rewind

6. Carolina Panthers: Ickey Ekwonu, OT, Providence Day High School (North Carolina)

• Ekwonu was a 3-star prospect and rated the No. 33 offensive guard in the country.
• More: Read Ickey Ekwonu's recruiting rewind

7. New York Giants: Evan Neal, OT, IMG Academy (Florida)

• Neal was a 5-star prospect and a top-5 offensive tackle in the country.
• More: Read Evan Neal's recruiting rewind

8. Atlanta Falcons: Drake London, WR, Moorpark (California)

• London was a 4-star prospect and the No. 32 WR in the country.
• More: Read Drake London's recruiting rewind

9. Seattle Seahawks: Charles Cross, OT, Laurel High School (Mississippi)

• Cross was a 5-star prospect and rated the No. 2 offensive tackle in the nation.
• More: Read Charles Cross' recruiting rewind

10. New York Jets: Garrett Wilson, WR, Lake Travis High School (Texas)

• Wilson was a 5-star recruit and the No. 5 prospect in Texas.
• More: Read Garrett Wilson's recruiting rewind

11. New Orleans Saints (via Washington): Chris Olave, WR, Mission Hills High School (California)

• Olave was a 4-star prospect and the No. 34 WR in the nation.
• More: Read Chris Olave's recruiting rewind

12. Detroit Lions (via Minnesota): Jameson Williams, WR, Cardinal Ritter College Prep (Missouri)

• Williams was a 4-star prospect and the No. 18 WR in the nation.
• More: Read Jameson Williams' recruiting rewind

13. Philadelphia Eagles (via Houston): Jordan Davis, DT, Mallard Creek High School (North Carolina)

• Davis was a 3-star prospect and the No. 33 defensive tackle in the nation.
• More: Read Jordan Davis' recruiting rewind

14. Baltimore Ravens: Kyle Hamilton, S, Marist (Georgia)

• Hamilton was a 5-star prospect and the No. 1 safety in the nation.
• More: Read Kyle Hamilton's recruiting rewind

15. Houston Texans (via Philadelphia): Kenyon Green, G, Atascocita High School (Texas)

• Green was a 4-star prospect and the No. 5 offensive tackle in the nation.
• More: Read Kenyon Green's recruiting rewind

16. Washington Commanders (from New Orleans): Jahan Dotson, WR, Nazareth Area High School (Pennsylvania)

• Dotson was a 3-star prospect and the No. 76 WR in the nation.
• More: Read Jahan Dotson's recruiting rewind

17. Los Angeles Chargers: Zion Johnson, OG, Riverdale Baptist (Maryland)

• Johnson was not rated by any of the major recruiting sites and had no FBS offers.
• More: Read Zion Johnson's recruiting rewind

18. Tennessee Titans (via Philadelphia): Treylon Burks, WR, Warren High School (Arkansas)

• Burks was a 4-star recruit and the No. 1 prospect in Arkansas.
• More: Read Treylon Burks' recruiting rewind

19. New Orleans Saints: Trevor Penning, OT, Newman Catholic High School (Iowa)

• Penning was not rated by any of the major recruiting sites and had one offer to Northern Iowa.
• More: Read Trevor Penning's recruiting rewind

20. Pittsburgh Steelers: Kenny Pickett, QB, Ocean Township High School (New Jersey)

• Pickett was a 3-star prospect and the No. 10 pro-style QB in the country.
• More: Read Kenny Pickett's recruiting rewind

21. Kansas City Chiefs (via New England): Trent McDuffie, CB, St. John Bosco (California)

• McDuffie was a 4-star prospect and the No. 7 cornerback in the country.
• More: Read Trent McDuffie's recruiting rewind

22. Green Bay: Quay Walker, LB, Crisp County High School (Georgia)

• Walker was a 5-star prospect and the No. 3 OLB in the country.
• More: Read Quay Walker's recruiting rewind

23. Buffalo Bills (via Baltimore): Kaiir Elam, CB, Benjamin High School (Florida)

• Elam was a 4-star prospect and the No. 10 CB in the country.
• More: Read Kaiir Elam's recruiting rewind

24. Dallas Cowboys: Tyler Smith, OT, North Crowley High School (Texas)

• Smith was a 3-star recruit and the No. 308 prospect in Texas.
• More: Read Tyler Smith's recruiting rewind

25. Baltimore Ravens (via Buffalo): Tyler Linderbaum, Solon High School (Iowa)

• Linderbaum was a 4-star recruit and the No. 18 defensive tackli in the nation.
• More: Read Tyler Linderbaum's recruiting rewind

26. New York Jets (via Tennessee): Jermaine Johnson II, DE, Eden Prairie High School (Minnesota)

• Johnson II was a 2-star recruit coming out of high school, but developed into a 4-star prospect coming out of junior college.
• More: Read Jermaine Johnson II's recruiting rewind

27. Jacksonville (via Tampa Bay): Devin Lloyd, LB, Otay Ranch High School (California)

• Lloyd was a 2-star recruit and the No. 192 prospect in California.
• More: Read Devin Lloyd's recruiting rewind

28. Green Bay Packers: Devonte Wyatt, DT, Towers High School (Georgia)

• Wyatt was a 4-star recruit and the No. 3 defensive tackle in the nation.
• More: Read Devonte Wyatt's recruiting rewind

29. New England Patriots (via Kansas City): Cole Strange, G, Farragut High School (Tennessee)

• Strange was a 2-star recruit and the No. 149 defensive end in the country.
• More: Read Cole Strange's recruiting rewind

30. Kansas City Chiefs: George Karlaftis, DE, West Lafayette High School (Indiana)

• Karlaftis was a 5-star recruit and the No. 3 defensive end in the country.
• More: Read George Karlaftis' recruiting rewind

31. Cincinnati Bengals: Daxton Hill, S, Booker T. Washington High School (Oklahoma)

• Hill was a 5-star recruit and the No. 2 safety in the nation.
• More: Read Daxton Hill's recruiting rewind

32. Minnesota Vikings (via Detroit): Lewis Cine, S, Trinity Christian (Texas)

• Cine was a 4-star recruit and the No. 7 safety in the nation.
• More: Read Lewis Cine's recruiting rewind

(Photo by Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports)