National Football League

2022 NFL Draft Grades: Chiefs use extra picks to nab top AFC West class

Updated May. 3, 2022 4:37 p.m. ET

By Rob Rang
FOX Sports NFL Draft Analyst

Grading a draft immediately after it concludes is like giving your compliments to the chef before the meal has been served. Sure, the food might sound good (or bad) based on the description on the menu, but the true evaluation won't come until after the product has been tested.

It will be at least three years before we can truly assess how the 32 teams fared in the 2022 NFL Draft. But what is readily apparent is the different approaches that were taken, from going for the best available talent to focusing on team needs to gambling on character concerns and long-term potential.

This week, I'm taking a closer look at each team’s rookie class, including a few of the undrafted free-agent signings that I believe could surprise.

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Let's take a look at the AFC West.

Kansas City Chiefs
Grade: A-

It is a lot easier to win on draft day when a club has extra premium selections, like what the Chiefs acquired by trading Tyreek Hill. Further, it should be just as obvious that replacing a talent such as Hill is virtually impossible with a rookie. As such, general manager Brett Veach and coach Andy Reid deserve a lot of credit for shifting to fill Kansas City’s actual biggest need — cornerback — rather than trying to nab a deep threat in the first round.

Former Washington cornerback Trent McDuffie was almost universally viewed as the No. 3 cornerback in a class that boasted two blue-chip talents in Derek Stingley Jr. and Ahmad "Sauce" Gardner, who, as expected, were among the first picks off the board. McDuffie lacks their length and gaudy interception totals, but his tape was crystal clear, showing not only the fluidity, acceleration and awareness required in coverage but also the instincts and physicality for run support. McDuffie is a plug-and-play cornerback for a club that needed one after losing Charvarius Ward to San Francisco in free agency.

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The Chiefs then circled back to nab another stud in Purdue edge rusher George Karlaftis. Like McDuffie, Karlaftis might lack the eye-popping athletic profile of players selected earlier at his position, but he possesses terrific instincts and the proven production against quality competition to project as an early contributor.

I am just as high on Kansas City’s Day 2 picks. Western Michigan’s Skyy Moore is a very different (but still highly productive) replacement for Hill, and Cincinnati's Bryan Cook is a heady, physical safety who also projects as an early contributor. Wisconsin linebacker Leo Chenal could push Nick Bolton and/or Willie Gay for starting duty at inside linebacker.

On Saturday, the Chiefs followed last year’s Day 3 steal of Trey Smith with another brawler in Kentucky’s Darian Kinnard. And don’t be surprised when another late Day 3 selection, Washington State DB Jaylen Watson, outperforms his draft selection.

If Kansas City’s draft haul weren't enough, Veach and his scouts secured one of the better classes of undrafted free agents. No one can blame former Clemson receiver Justyn Ross for signing with the Chiefs given Patrick Mahomes’ brilliance. Iowa State outside linebacker Mike Rose is a playmaker who should have been drafted, as should have Mississippi running back Jerrion Ealy. Athletic and tough, Kent State quarterback Dustin Crum could give the Chiefs a fun change of pace and developmental prospect behind Mahomes.

Denver Broncos
Grade: B-

The Broncos traded their first- and second-round selections in 2022 and 2023 for superstar Russell Wilson, which must be taken into account when assessing Denver’s picks. A Pro Bowler in nine of his 10 NFL seasons, Wilson is among the league’s true difference-makers, and frankly, Denver could have traded its entire draft class and still earned plenty of positive grades. But that said, the rookies in Denver’s 2022 draft class also are intriguing.

The Broncos used the 64th overall selection to nab speedy, slippery edge rusher Nik Bonitto, who is a better, more productive player than his below-average size would suggest. The 6-foot-3, 240-pound Bonitto is lightning-quick off the edge — critical given the quarterback talent in the AFC West — but he was available this late because he lacks the mass to consistently hold up in run support. He's still a potential star, albeit in a specialized role.

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The same could be said for Denver’s second pick, former UCLA tight end Greg Dulcich, who possesses soft hands as well as silky speed and body control to attack down the seam. At least on paper, he appears to be a quality replacement for Noah Fant, who was traded to Seattle as part of the haul Denver gave up to acquire Wilson.

Dulcich is not particularly stout at the point of attack, and he might find that the 5-foot-10 Wilson has struggled to consistently make use of tight ends dating to his college days. If Dulcich was a somewhat curious selection for the Broncos, so too was cornerback Damarri Mathis at No. 115 overall. This isn’t to suggest that the former Pitt DB is a bad player. In fact, he is one of my favorite cornerbacks in this class, and again, the arms race in the AFC West dictates that clubs load up on defensive backs. But if there is one position at which the Broncos already felt loaded, it was at cornerback, especially with Patrick Surtain II proving worthy of his No. 9 overall selection a year ago.

Further, after evaluating fourth-rounder Eyioma Uwazurike in person against a seemingly overmatched crop of offensive linemen at the East-West Shrine Bowl, I was left wanting more. At 6-foot-6 and 316 pounds, with vines for arms (35 1/8"), the Iowa State edge rusher certainly is imposing. His production as a senior (42 tackles, including 12 for loss and nine sacks) was encouraging, but he wasn’t the dominator in Las Vegas that his frame and statistics suggested. I’m eager to see if he can continue his development, which is what the Broncos will need from several of their Day 3 picks if this class is to help Wilson and new head coach Nathaniel Hackett in 2022.

Washington offensive lineman Luke Wattenberg might wind up as Denver’s biggest surprise of its Day 3 picks. Unlike the aforementioned Uwazurike, Wattenberg turned heads with his reliability and versatility at the East-West Shrine Bowl. His ability to play up and down the line of scrimmage will serve him and the Broncos well.

The Broncos nabbed some intriguing prospects following the draft, including Alabama edge rusher Christopher Allen, Hawaii cornerback Cortez Davis and Eastern Washington dual-threat quarterback Eric Barriere, who is something of a Wilson clone.

Los Angeles Chargers
Grade: B-

Since landing a superstar in quarterback Justin Herbert, the Chargers have since smartly dedicated themselves to protecting him, nabbing Rashawn Slater in the first round a year ago and following that with another plug-and-play candidate in Zion Johnson (Boston College) with their top pick in 2022.

Johnson’s journey from a zero-start recruit who initially played at Davidson to banking on himself in a transfer to Boston College and emerging as a first-round pick is precisely the trajectory and mentality the Chargers prioritize on draft day. Plenty of blockers possess size and strength. Those who enjoy long-term success in the NFL, however, are just as strong in their mental abilities, which is why Johnson was so commonly labeled one of this year’s "sure things."

Johnson’s toughness and accountability on and off the field make him an ideal building block for the unit tasked with protecting Herbert. And the Chargers didn’t stop there, adding one of this year’s most underrated linemen in Georgia’s Jamaree Salyer much later. Salyer, who played left tackle for the national champion Bulldogs, projects best inside due to his squatty frame but has plenty of experience outside, offering the sort of positional flexibility the Chargers have only flashed in the past up front.

Recognizing the quality of passing attacks throughout the division, general manager Tom Telesco also made the secondary a priority. I like the range and playmaking ability offered by free safety JT Woods, who was overshadowed at times by his teammates at Baylor. Still, Woods recorded six interceptions this past season and showed a knack for creating turnovers in his previous two years as a starter as well, recovering three fumbles in 2019 and tying for the team lead with three more interceptions in the pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign.

Besides Herbert, the Chargers have a star in the backfield in Austin Ekeler, but adding a bigger, burlier back to play with him was an obvious priority. Los Angeles plucked a falling star in Isaiah Spiller (Texas A&M) in the fourth round and followed that with a toolsy and versatile defensive lineman in UCLA’s Otito Ogbonnia a little later in the frame.

The Chargers added even more juice to their class in undrafted free agency, signing one of the largest crops in the league. The team’s most intriguing prospects were skill-position prospects such as Illinois quarterback Brandon Peters, West Virginia running back Leddie Brown and Oregon State wideout Trevon Bradford.

Las Vegas Raiders
Grade: C

The Raiders were left with just a six-man class after reuniting Derek Carr with his Fresno State teammate Davante Adams, but that didn’t keep the passionate fans in Las Vegas from celebrating throughout the draft. The splashy addition of Adams, a five-time Pro Bowler, allowed the Raiders to focus their early attention elsewhere.

While former Memphis interior offensive lineman Dylan Parham might lack a recognizable name, his pro-ready game will make new general manager Dave Ziegler and head coach Josh McDaniels look smart in the long run. Parham’s initial quickness and lateral agility jump off the tape, allowing him to project either at guard or center. Las Vegas underwent significant transitions at both spots a year ago, trading Pro Bowlers Rodney Hudson and Gabe Jackson.

The Raiders’ pick of Georgia RB Zamir White (and later UCLA runner Brittain Brown) might have caught some off guard, at least until news broke that the club was not going to pick up the fifth-year option on former first-round runner Josh Jacobs, along with fellow 2019 first-round picks Clelin Ferrell and Johnathan Abram. That news only reinforces the fickle nature of the NFL and its draft, with far too many early picks failing to live up to expectations. Ziegler and McDaniels have no ties to the Raiders’ past top picks, obviously, and can still re-sign any or all of these players should they pop this season, as their prior history suggests is very possible.

Rather than draft potential replacements at edge rusher or safety, the Raiders instead focused on defensive tackles in the middle rounds, nabbing two imposing brawlers in LSU’s Neil Farrell and Tennessee’s Matthew Butler, with Ohio State offensive tackle Thayer Munford a late fifth-round pick. Frankly, none projects as a future starter for Las Vegas, but all possess the girth and physicality to help reset the culture.

Befitting the city in which they play, the Raiders largely rolled the dice on this draft with a gutsy bet on Adams. That made for a less-than-exciting haul on draft day, one they boosted in undrafted free agency with the signing of at least a dozen prospects. Among them are another talented defensive lineman in Notre Dame’s Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa, one of my favorite small-school cornerbacks in Missouri Western’s Sam Webb and hard-hitting USC safety Isaiah Pola-Mao.

One of the most recognized names in the industry, Rob Rang has been covering the NFL Draft for more than 20 years, with work at FOX, Sports Illustrated, CBSSports.com, USA Today, Yahoo, NFL.com and NFLDraftScout.com, among others.