The first round of the 2022 NFL draft is officially in the books (see my 32 grades here). In a continuation of the active trade market we’ve seen throughout the offseason, there were nine first-round trades on Thursday.
While some first-round prospects may not live up to their draft pedigree, it should come as no surprise that first-rounders represent the largest percentage of players with contracts of at least $10 million per year (37%), per Over the Cap. If we combine Round 2 (26%) and Round 3 (14.9%), however, no day has a higher percentage of such players than those drafted on Day 2.
In other words, plenty of talented players are available on the draft’s second day (I’ve ranked the top 230 of them here). And in a draft class where there isn’t as much elite talent at the top, Day 2 might be the sweet spot of this draft. Some Day 2 steals from recent drafts include Jonathan Taylor, last year’s rushing champion, and Cooper Kupp, the 2021 NFL Offensive Player of the Year and Super Bowl MVP.
