2022 Road to the Draft – Part 10
March 23, 2022
By Noonefromtampa
The impact from the trade for Carson Wentz was felt this past week with the releases of Deshazor Everett, Ereck Flowers ($10M) and Matt Ioannidis ($7M) to free up cap space. Landon Collins was released with a June 1st designation which will free up another $11.88M in June. The Commanders also re-signed Bobby McCain, J.D. McKissic and Cam Sims to new deals. Flowers was replaced by signing Andrew Norwell for about half the cost.
Of course, it wouldn’t be a Washington offseason without some drama. The Buffalo Bills are unhappy because they thought McKissic had agreed to sign with them after the legal tampering period. The Commanders were able to convince him to sign with them instead. Also, Ioannidis’ agent was upset because the Commanders assured him during the Combine that he would not be released, but he was released at the end of the tampering period.
Freshness Rating
47.2% of the mock data for this week is one week old or newer and 52.8% is two weeks or older. As the initial frenzy of free agent signings dies down, I expect another surge of updates and the bubble of older mocks to shrink down.
| Row Labels | Age % |
| New | 17.98% |
| 1 Week Old | 29.21% |
| 2 Weeks Old | 8.99% |
| 3+ Weeks Old | 43.82% |
| Grand Total | 100.00% |
Position Distribution
The number of mocks is up 11 this week to 178 overall, up over 6.6% from last week. As expected in the post-trade for Wentz environment, mockers projecting a quarterback as the first pick for the Commanders shrunk again this week by over 11%. The big winner was the wide receiver position, followed by defensive backs and offensive linemen.
| Position | Picked Count | Picked % | Last Week % | % Change |
| QB | 106 | 59.55% | 70.66% | -11.11% |
| WR | 34 | 19.10% | 13.17% | 5.93% |
| CB | 15 | 8.43% | 6.59% | 1.84% |
| IOL | 8 | 4.49% | 2.99% | 1.50% |
| OT | 6 | 3.37% | 2.40% | 0.98% |
| LB | 4 | 2.25% | 1.80% | 0.45% |
| S | 4 | 2.25% | 1.20% | 1.05% |
| TE | 1 | 0.56% | 0.60% | -0.04% |
| Edge | 0 | 0.00% | 0.60% | -0.60% |
| RB | 0 | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.00% |
| DT | 0 | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.00% |
| Grand Total | 178 | 100% |
The players mock picked to Washington at the 11th pick are in descending frequency:
| Player | Position | School | Picked Count | Picked % |
| Kenny Pickett | QB | Pittsburgh | 34 | 19.10% |
| Malik Willis | QB | Liberty | 30 | 16.85% |
| Matt Corral | QB | Mississippi | 20 | 11.24% |
| Sam Howell | QB | North Carolina | 16 | 8.99% |
| Drake London | WR | USC | 12 | 6.74% |
| Garrett Wilson | WR | Ohio State | 10 | 5.62% |
| Derek Stingley Jr | CB | LSU | 8 | 4.49% |
| Treylon Burks | WR | Arkansas | 6 | 3.37% |
| Ahmad Gardner | CB | Cincinnati | 5 | 2.81% |
| Chris Olave | WR | Ohio State | 5 | 2.81% |
| Desmond Ridder | QB | Cincinnati | 4 | 2.25% |
| Tyler Linderbaum | IOL | Iowa | 4 | 2.25% |
| Charles Cross | OT | Mississippi State | 3 | 1.69% |
| Devin Lloyd | LB | Utah | 3 | 1.69% |
| Kyle Hamilton | S | Notre Dame | 3 | 1.69% |
| Kenyon Green | IOL | Texas A&M | 2 | 1.12% |
| Trevor Penning | OT | Northern Iowa | 2 | 1.12% |
| Zion Johnson | IOL | Boston College | 2 | 1.12% |
| Russell Wilson | QB | SEA | 1 | 0.56% |
| Trey McBride | TE | Colorado State | 1 | 0.56% |
| Trent McDuffie | CB | Washington | 1 | 0.56% |
| Nakobe Dean | LB | Georgia | 1 | 0.56% |
| Ikem Ekwonu | OT | NC State | 1 | 0.56% |
| David Carr | QB | NFL – LVR | 1 | 0.56% |
| Daxton Hill | S | Michigan | 1 | 0.56% |
| Andrew Booth Jr. | CB | Clemson | 1 | 0.56% |
| Jameson Williams | WR | Alabama | 1 | 0.56% |
| Grand Total | 178 | 100.00% |
Quarterbacks still hold the top four positions in the player rankings but wide receivers, cornerback and safeties are climbing the board. I spent some time watching highlights and game footage of Drake London, Garret Wilson, Treylon Burks and Chris Olave. My quick take on these four are:
- London looks like and runs like a tight end; his size is readily apparent and he used it to make many contested catches. I’m not sure he will be able to create separation at the next level
- Wilson and Olave have speed and will not be caught from behind. Wilson is probably the more complete receiver right now in terms of release technique and route running.
Trades
The new trade this week is a revision to a previous trade and it is still not very realistic. I don’t see a scenario where Washington trades up for a quarterback after trading for Wentz.
| Days Old | Notes | Trade Direction | Trade Position | Trade Team | Player |
| 6 | Atlanta receives pick 11, 42, 2023 3rd rounder, Washington receives picks 8 and 2023 7th rounder. | Up | 8 | ATL | Malik Willis |
| 8 | Commanders receive Saints 1st, 2nd, and 5th round picks | Down | 18 | NO | Zion Johnson |
| 9 | Pittsburgh Steelers receive pick 11. Washington Commanders receive picks 20, 52, 2023 third-round pick | Down | 20 | PIT | Chris Olave |
| 12 | Washington Commanders receive picks 18, 49, and 100. New Orleans Saints receive pick 11 | Down | 18 | NO | Sam Howell |
| 19 | WSH (pick 5 overall) NYG (pick 11, pic 42, 2023 1st) | Up | 5 | NYG | Malik Willis |
| 20 | Washington Commanders send picks 11 and 42 to the Carolina Panthers for picks 6 and 144 | Up | 6 | CAR | Kenny Pickett |
| 26 | Washington Commanders send 2022 1st round pick, 2023 1st round pick, 2022 2nd round pick for QB Russell Wilson | Player | N/A | SEA | Russell Wilson |
| 31 | Washington sends picks 11, 42 to Carolina for pick 6 | Up | 6 | CAR | Malik Willis |
| 28 | Washington sends pick 11 to Las Vegas for David Carr | Player | N/A | LVR | David Carr |
Time until NFL Draft on April 28-30: 5 weeks
Sources: nflmockdraftdatabase.com