2022 Road to the Draft – Part 1
January 20, 2021
By Noonefromtampa
Welcome to the 2022 edition of Road to the Draft. The season is over for the soon to be renamed Washington Football Team, so the thoughts of the fans and the front office turn to free agency and the draft. This weekly column will focus of the draft and the players mocked to WFT in various mock drafts published on the Internet.
Needs
Of course, at this point in the offseason, we know that Washington has twenty-five free agents pending including Brandon Scherff, J.D. McKissic, Cam Sims, Bobby McCain and Cornelius Lucas. What we do not yet know what positions will be addressed in free agency and which WFT free agent that will be re-signed. Draft needs probably include quarterback, offensive line and linebacker.
The biggest question position is quarterback. There has been no indication that Ryan Fitzpatrick will be re-signed and as of yet it’s not clear which other veteran quarterbacks will be available in free agency or via trade. Taylor Heinicke is under contract for next season but Kyle Allen is a restricted free agent.
Early Data
So far, forty-five mock drafts have been published since the end of the regular NFL season and last year we ended up tracking 288 different mocks. WFT will have the 11th overall pick in the first round. The position mock picked by descending frequency is:
| Position | Picked Count | Picked % |
| QB | 30 | 66.67% |
| IOL | 4 | 8.89% |
| WR | 4 | 8.89% |
| S | 3 | 6.67% |
| CB | 2 | 4.44% |
| OT | 1 | 2.22% |
| LB | 1 | 2.22% |
| Grand Total | 45 | 100.00% |
The specific players mock picked to WFT at the 11th pick are in descending frequency:
| Player | Position | School | Picked Count | Picked % |
| Matt Corral | QB | Mississippi | 10 | 22.22% |
| Kenny Pickett | QB | Pittsburgh | 8 | 17.78% |
| Malik Willis | QB | Liberty | 6 | 13.33% |
| Sam Howell | QB | North Carolina | 4 | 8.89% |
| Kyle Hamilton | S | Notre Dame | 3 | 6.67% |
| Charles Cross | IOL | Mississippi State | 2 | 4.44% |
| Tyler Linderbaum | IOL | Iowa | 2 | 4.44% |
| Garrett Wilson | WR | Ohio State | 2 | 4.44% |
| Desmond Ridder | QB | Cincinnati | 2 | 4.44% |
| Andrew Booth Jr. | CB | Clemson | 1 | 2.22% |
| Jameson Williams | WR | Alabama | 1 | 2.22% |
| Nakobe Dean | LB | Georgia | 1 | 2.22% |
| Ahmad Gardner | CB | Cincinnati | 1 | 2.22% |
| Drake London | WR | USC | 1 | 2.22% |
| Ikem Ekwonu | OT | NC State | 1 | 2.22% |
The starting trend of the mock draft season is that Washington is going to take a quarterback with its first pick in the draft. The picks are split mainly across the top four leading quarterback candidates in the draft with Matt Corral getting the nod as most frequently selected.
Like last year, this column will be publish weekly in the run up to the NFL Draft which will be held April 28-30 in Paradise, Nevada.
Source: nflmockdraftdatabase.com