2022 NFL Draft: Three Defensive Backs Stand Alone
Have you taken notice of the salary explosion this off-season?
Specifically at wide receiver.
Davante Adams and Tyreek Hill combined to ink new contracts with guaranteed money that exceeds $135 million.
That type of guaranteed money is unheard by NFL standards.
A talented list of young receivers like D.K. Metcalf and A.J. Brown to name a few are anxiously waiting for the armored Brinks truck to dump off a boatload of cash at their doorstep. When owners are willing to relinquish that type of dough, it indicates these guys are going to be the focal point of their teams’ offensive philosophies – Feed them the ball!
While defensive coordinators are going to do their very best to make them starve.
This year’s NFL Draft offers up three unique talents to help neutralize such offensive talents and make them go hungry.
Cincinnati’s Sauce Gardner, LSU’s Derek Stingley Jr., and Washington’s Trent McDuffie are considered the best three defensive backs in the class.
The defensive secondary has never been asked to be more equipped than they are today to take on these ultra-gifted wideouts that now come in droves. The landscape of the National Football League possesses teams with unlimited offensive firepower.
Corners are the disruptive force to interfere (no pun intended) with what offenses love to do most – Pass the football.
In the last two years at least two defensive backs have been drafted inside the top-ten and I feel confident that two of three players in this article will be under the same jurisdiction. All three should be locks to come off the board with in the top fifteen.
Top 5 Defensive Backs
6’3 200
4.41 40-yard dash
School Production in the Secondary (Last 5 Years)
· 2021 | Round 5 | Darrick Forrest
· 2021 | Round 7 | James Wiggins
· 2017 | Round 6 | Michael Tyson
Luke Fickell took over head coaching duties in 2017 and the results have been nothing short of amazing. In 2021, he helped lead the Bearcats to a perfect regular season record, and Cincinnati was selected as
the No. 4 seed in the College Football Playoff, making them the first non-Power 5 conference to qualify for the opportunity to compete for the championship.
Fickell and his staff have begun to establish Cincinnati as a newcomer for NFL prospects. Last year four Bearcats heard their names called during the NFL Draft. That is more than prestigious schools rich in NFL Draft tradition like UCLA (three) and Florida State (three).
Under Fickell’s tenure three of the eight players drafted out of Cincinnati have played defensive back.
It brings us to Gardner.
This is Fickell’s finest prospect thus far.
Considered by many to be the best defensive back in this draft Gardner is the dictionary description of what teams crave for an ideal defensive back prospect.
Long, fast, and physical.
He did not allow a single touchdown reception in this collegiate career and often was recognized as the best defensive backs many teams faced all season. He wins at the top of the route and simply takes guys out of the equation.
It’s hard not to cheer for Gardner to flourish at the next level. The last defensive back taken in round one that wasn’t from a Power 5 conference was Mike Hughes out of Central Florida in 2018. Over that time 20 defensive backs including Hughes were drafted on day one.
Gardner is a rare talent and his draft projections are equally so.
6’1 195
4.37 40-yard dash
School Production in the Secondary (Last 5 Years)
· 2021 | Round 6 | JaCoby Stevens
· 2021 | Round 7 | Kory Vincent
· 2020 | Round 2 | Grant Delpit
· 2020 | Round 2 | Kristian Fulton
· 2019 | Round 2 | Greedy Williams
· 2018 | Round 2 | Donte Jackson
· 2017 | Round 1 | Jamal Adams
· 2017 | Round 1 | Tre’Davious White
The Tigers specialize in developing NFL ready defensive backs.
Sauce Gardner dominated the AAC and was named the conferences DPOY this past season.
Stingley Jr. didn’t receive accolades on par with Gardner but however he did practice day and day out against the like’s former college teammates Ja’Marr Chase, Justin Jefferson, and Terrance Marshall when they played together at LSU.
The opponents in the SEC are endless. Seven receivers have been taken in round one since Stingley began playing at LSU. Add in NFL pedigree, since his grandad Darryl Stingley was a first-round pick by the New England Patriots in 1973 and his resume begins to shine.
His Pro Day was nothing short of sensational.
Every NFL team that left Baton Rouge that afternoon knew Stingley he was now in the mix of being a top-ten prospect. Too many positive intangibles to ignore, especially when this position is so desperately needed in the NFL.
Stingley Jr. is going to make his money mirroring receivers and eliminating big plays down field. However, his presence and demeanor in the ground game I think goes way unnoticed.
Watch one play against Central Michigan last season.
A running back coming out to the flat is blown up by Stingley. Sitting off the line of scrimmage he reads the quarterback. His instincts take over. He closes in so quickly due to his 4.3 speed the back has zero opportunity to get up field. Stingley pops him and jolts the ball loose.
The Tigers scoop up the fumble and the defense scores from Stingley’s big play.
That play reveals his speed, fearless approach to attacking the ball and awareness of where the football is going.
Everyone agrees that if the 2019 Derek Stingley emerges throughout his NFL career, then Canton will be calling to welcome him to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
He is that good when he’s at his best.
5’11 195
4.41 40-yard dash
School Production in the Secondary (Last 5 Years)
· 2021 | Round 3 | Elijah Molden
· 2021 | Round 5 | Keith Taylor
· 2019 | Round 2 | Byron Murphy
· 2019 | Round 2 | Taylor Rapp
· 2017 | Round 2 | Kevin King
· 2017 | Round 2 | Budda Baker
· 2017 | Round 2 | Sidney Jones
Washington is the LSU of the Pac-12.
One could argue the best program in the nation at recruiting and developing secondary players as good as any in college football. Throw in Desmond Trufant (2013) and Marcus Peters (2015) only adds more admiration to the Huskies program.
McDuffie’s gradual growth and ability from his freshman to sophomore seasons exploded in year three. Named the team’s Most Outstanding Defensive Player at annual postseason banquet left him poised to enter the 2022 NFL Draft as a junior.
This off-season he has worked himself into the top-tier of defensive backs.
On January 11th only three to the top NFL Draft sites had McDuffie going in round one. Among those three the highest projection was 20th overall.
McDuffie now appears to a surefire first round selection and teammate Kyler Gordon is on the fence as a late day one prospect or early day two draft pick at the very worst scenario.
What I love about McDuffie is his scrappy nature and aggressive play. His tenacious style and energy oozes into everything else he does on the field. Coverage or making tackles he busts his butt to get it done.
McDuffie’s draft day measurables don’t equal up to that of Gardner and Stingley. Hence his third overall grade at the position but do not discount the idea that he outlasts both with a longer more productive career.
There you have it.
A quick overview of the top three defensive backs in the 2022 draft class. Plenty to love about all three prospects as they make their way towards the NFL. Each possess all the talent in the world.
Will that talent translate into All-Pro careers?
Only time will tell who makes these receivers starve the most.