One of the more interesting and instructive things to do when you’re evaluating draft prospects in any class is to try and drill down to the traits that make them most comparable to this or that current or former NFL player. It’s not always a like-as-like comparison; what you’re really trying to do is to estimate how this prospect could be best utilized at the next level, given the current skill set and potential for improvement.
When Touchdown Wire’s Doug Farrar and Mark Schofield put together their lists of the top 2022 NFL draft prospects at every position, with detailed scouting reports on well over 120 players, NFL comparisons were part of the mission — again, to give a more clear picture of how these prospects may transition to the NFL, and which NFL teams might favor them the most.
This year, Mark did quarterbacks, receivers, tight ends, interior defensive linemen, linebackers, and cornerbacks.
Doug took care of running backs, offensive tackles, interior offensive linemen, edge defenders, and safeties.
Sometimes, regardless of the position, it doesn’t take long for a comparison to come through — you watch some tape, and it’s clear. Other times, you want to get into advanced metrics, testing percentiles, and even more tape. Over time, instructive comparisons can be gleaned, and it’s one more piece of the puzzle.
2022 NFL draft: Touchdown Wire’s scouting reports for all the top prospects
Here are the NFL comparisons for Touchdown Wire’s top 50 prospects in the 2022 class, with amazing graphics for each prospect and player by the great Coley Cleary.
