With the NFL Draft in the books, we always think we’ve learned a few things each year and then that trend seems to stop. Last year it was about undersized offensive linemen and linebackers out of high school and smallish cornerbacks. Here are this year’s lessons.
MORE NFL DRAFT: Biggest winners of the weekend | Five storylines
CLASS OF 2021 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Position | Team | State
CLASS OF 2022: Top 100
1. DON'T MESS WITH TEXAS
The state of Texas was down in talent for a long time when it comes to high school prospects with the ability to impact the college football landscape. Well, those days ended a few years back and the NFL Draft showed it. Texas had more selections than any other state and it wasn’t that close as the Lone Star State had 34 players picked. The next closest? California with 23. That's a huge gap, and players like Jeffrey Okudah and CeeDee Lamb led the way. Texas is back!
2. BIG CORNERS MATTER
OK, forget all of the "size doesn’t matter" talk about cornerbacks. It matters. Jeffrey Okudah, C.J. Henderson, AJ Terrell, Damon Arnette and others went high in the draft and have good size at the position. The bottom line? If corners are good and big, they are more coveted than the corners that are good and small.
3. GEORGIA MAKES IT THE BIG FOUR
Georgia produced one fewer draft pick than Florida and only two fewer than California. And the state of Florida has the IMG edge. Georgia has proven over the last few years that it is one of the four big states in producing college and NFL talent.
4. SHORT RUNNING BACKS ARE IN DEMAND
This may just be a one-off, but when you see players like Clyde Edwards-Helaire, D’Andre Swift and J.K. Dobbins go off the board quickly, you know that making people miss is still at a premium in the NFL. These guys also run with natural leverage and balance and they can all catch the ball out of the backfield. They are great targets despite being small.
5. MASSIVE LINEMEN ARE IMPORTANT, TOO
Remember last year when players like Chris Lindstrom, Andre Dillard and Tytus Howard were all first-rounders after being the size of tight ends in high school? That changed this year as massive offensive linemen like Mekhi Becton, Jedrick Wills, Tristan Wirfs and Andrew Thomas were all taken. Even Cesar Ruiz, a center, was a load in high school. So much for the theory that undersized high school linemen should be the next four- and five-stars.
