The first round of the 2022 NFL Draft is less than three days away, and there's still no consensus on which prospect will be chosen first overall, or how many quarterbacks will hear their names called by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell on Thursday night in Las Vegas. What draft analysts can agree upon, however, is that there won't be five signal-callers taken in the first 15 picks, like in 2021.
Still, the question remains: of the top quarterbacks in this current draft class, how many will be first-round picks? And how many quarterback-needy teams will roll the dice on these passers -- Pittsburgh leader Kenny Pickett, Liberty sensation Malik Willis, and Mississippi star Matt Corral headline the group -- with league projections so wide-ranging? At the moment, RiseNDraft analyst Ryan Roberts believes at least three quarterbacks will be first-rounders.
"I still think it's three to four -- I really do. The quarterback position in the NFL, those teams tend to panic. Every single year, even in the bad QB classes, we still had Jake Locker going No. 8, still had Christian Ponder going No. 12, and still had EJ Manuel going No. 15," Roberts told After Hours with Amy Lawrence on Tuesday. "I think Malik Willis is a shoo-in to go top 10-15, Pickett is going to go top-20... The number might end up being four, but at least three.
"In the top of the draft, the first one that makes the most sense is Carolina at No. 6... Willis is going to go early, then we're talking Atlanta at No. 8, possibly. Seattle at No. 9, another possibility... I think there's still plenty of opportunity for teams to draft a quarterback. I'm always buying into the fact that the QB position is so important, teams panic... I'm still on board at three to four."
The entire 2022 NFL Draft conversation between Roberts and Lawrence can be accessed in the audio player above.
You can follow After Hours With Amy Lawrence on Twitter @ALawRadio and @AfterHoursCBS, and Tom Hanslin @TomHanslin.
