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Rivals Rankings Week: Roundtable on the 2022 rankings

Rivals Rankings Week has wrapped up, but there are still plenty of storylines to discuss as summer begins. Our analysts – Adam Friedman, Adam Gorney, Josh Helmholdt and Sam Spiegelman – sit down at the Rivals Roundtable and discuss.

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Here is the full Rivals Rankings Week schedule:

MONDAY: Five-Star Countdown

TUESDAY: Full Rivals250 revealed

WEDNESDAY: QB rankings | RB rankings | WR/TE rankings | OL rankings

THURSDAY: DL rankings | LB rankings | DB rankings | ATH rankings

FRIDAY: State rankings

SATURDAY: Analyst roundtable

MORE 2022 RANKINGS RELEASE: New four-stars outside the Rivals250 | Roundtable on offensive position rankings | Roundtable of defensive positions | Biggest movers in updated Rivals250 | Gorney's thoughts | Meet the new five-stars | Schools most repped in the new R250 | Who should be the top-ranked DT? | What to do with Travis Hunter? | Who should be the top-ranked CB? | How things stand with uncommitted five-stars | Podcast

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1. Which prospect do you think we ranked too high?

Tyre West
Tyre West (Rivals.com)

Friedman: I get the hype surrounding Rivals100 defensive end Cyrus Moss. He's an outstanding athlete that can play in space and cover a lot of ground and he's had a ton of success rushing the quarterback. I still have questions about how he'll handle better, stronger, and more aggressive offensive linemen at the next level.

Gorney: Tyre West is a very talented defensive lineman. I'm just not sure he's proven that he's a five-star prospect and a future first-round NFL Draft pick yet. A lot of West on film is him cleaning up plays instead of making them and I know he's had big showings against some competition but he's not as impressive physically or on the field as I've seen from other defensive tackles in this class. The defensive line is loaded across the board in the 2022 class and West will have to deliver to keep his ranking.

Helmholdt: I really expected more out of Las Vegas defensive end Cyrus Moss than what we saw at the Los Angeles Rivals Camp. It would seem the camp setting and one-on-ones would showcase his skill set well, but he had trouble excelling against a young group of offensive linemen.

Spiegelman: Tyre West is one of the better defensive tackles in the country and that's not the question; but does he belong to be No. 24 in the country? The interior defensive line crop for 2022 is certainly top-heavy with Travis Shaw, Walter Nolen and Bear Alexander all as five-stars and all inside the top-10 nationally. It's a drop-off going down to West at No. 24 and prospects such as Ty Simpson, Cade Klubnik, Will Campbell and Shemar Stewart might have stronger cases to jump the early Georgia pledge. That should get sorted out into the fall.

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2. Which prospect do you think we ranked too low?

Quency Wiggins
Quency Wiggins

Friedman: I already said my piece on defensive end Quency Wiggins in yesterday's roundtable. He could easily be my answer here but another one could be receiver Andre Greene Jr. He was a riser in this rankings update and he could still be a bit underrated. Greene didn't attend many camps this spring but what we did see really blew us away. He isn't battle tested but he has all the attributes that make me think he'd fit right in with the elite receivers in this class.

Gorney: Ty Simpson and Cade Klubnik could be better than some five-star quarterbacks right now and defensive linemen Shemar Stewart and Gabe Dindy could be better than some five-stars at that position but my pick is Xavier Nwankpa. He's so fast and physical, loves to play tough and his game translates to the college game and NFL so well. I'd be surprised if he's not in the five-star conversation over the next few rankings cycles.

Helmholdt: Florida offensive lineman Trent Ramsey jumped up to four-star status in this update, but I am not sure we placed him quite high enough. Seeing is believing, and after his performance at the Miami Rivals Camp it is evident Ramsey checks a lot of boxes. He has great size, good athleticism and technique, and is positionally versatile.

Spiegelman: Quency Wiggins may only be a year into football, but he's proving over and over that his ceiling is through the roof. The 6-foot-6, 265-pounder is a dual-sport athlete that was passionate about hoops and has since shifted his focus entirely to learning defensive end. He dominated in the Louisiana Class 3A state title game, shutting down Trey Holly and the Union Parish rushing attack, which finished fourth in the nation in rushing last year. Wiggins also impressed at RCS New Jersey and at both LSU and Alabama's camps. He can rush from multiple positions up front and makes it look seamless. The Tigers, Tide, Oregon, Ole Miss and Texas are all after Wiggins.

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3. Who didn’t make the Rivals250 that has a good shot to make it next time?

Tayven Jackson
Tayven Jackson (Rivals.com)

Friedman: There are plenty of names I could list here but three I'm excited to learn more about this summer are Jaren Kanak, Cedric Washington and Nick Cull. All three are listed as athletes but each have varying skill sets that could see them end up pretty highly rated at certain positions.

Gorney: Ohio State commit Kye Stokes moved up to a four-star ranking in the latest release and he still might be a little low. The Seffner (Fla.) Armwood standout has excellent athleticism and ball skills in the secondary and he can also flip over to offense and have a major impact there as well. His recruitment took off over the last few months and it's no surprise because Stokes has all the tools to be really special on the next level and beyond.

Helmholdt: Every time we see Tennessee quarterback commit Tayven Jackson he improves beyond our expectations. We did not get to see Jackson in the spring evaluation period, however, so his rating remains unchanged in this update. I am excited to see his development when we do see the four-star next, however, and if he continues to outpace expectations we are going to have to reset those expectations.

Spiegelman: Jadon Scarlett is one of the most athletic 3-techniques in the country, and at 6-foot-2 and 265 pounds, has shades of Aaron Donald in his game as a smaller-but athletic, explosive interior pass-rusher. Scarlett moves extremely well and brings a ton of quickness to the position. TCU, Missouri and Oklahoma are the main programs vying to add Scarlett to their defensive line group.

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