There isn’t a lot of patience in the NFL. Due to the salary cap, teams need players to produce immediately when they are young and cheap. Here are the top five rookies who need to have big seasons in 2022:
5. Christian Watson, WR, Green Bay Packers
College: North Dakota State
Drafted: No. 34 overall
There’s no replacing Davante Adams. According to Pro Football Focus, Adams has been the most valuable wide receiver in the league over the past two seasons if you go by Wins Above Replacement (WAR). With the salary-motivated trade of Adams to the Las Vegas Raiders and the free-agent departure of Marquez Valdes-Scantling to the Kansas City Chiefs, there’s little returning depth for the Packers. That’s why they drafted three wide receivers, led by Christian Watson. General manager Brian Gutekunst said of the 6-foot-5, 207-pounder, “He’s a big, fast, physical receiver. We think his best football is ahead of him.”
Second-round picks usually don’t face this amount of pressure, but the Packers need Watson to develop quickly. This team is built to win now. Aaron Rodgers is coming off back-to-back MVP seasons but is 38 years old. For Green Bay to be anywhere close to being as good as last year, Watson must make an immediate impact. He appears to be physically ready. Veteran wideout Randall Cobb said Watson “has the total package.”
4. Sauce Gardner, CB, New York Jets
College: Cincinnati
Drafted: No. 4 overall
The Jets were 4-13 last season and probably will be bad again. For them, progress will be measured by how quickly their three first-round picks grow, and if last year’s top pick Zach Wilson improves. The most heralded of those three picks is Sauce Gardner. No matter where Gardner wound up, the hype would follow. He didn’t allow a touchdown in his entire three-year college career. Criticize the level of competition in the AAC all you want. That’s an impressive statistic. He was the best player on the best Cincinnati team we’ve ever season.
Gardner joins a franchise that is desperate for signs of hope. They haven’t made the playoffs in over a decade. The last time they were relevant, their biggest star was a cornerback: Darrelle Revis. Like it or not, Gardner will be compared to the future Hall of Famer. Jets fans won’t mind growing pains, but they’ll expect fast progress given Gardner’s dominance in college.
3. Treylon Burks, WR, Tennessee Titans
College: Arkansas
Drafted: No. 18 overall
Treylon Burks was already a polarizing prospect coming into the draft. He was productive in the rugged SEC and has good size (6-2, 225 pounds). But some teams were bothered by his disappointing performance in the combine. His time in the 40-yard dash was only 4.55, and he didn’t display the explosiveness that he showed on the field. Of course, combine results don’t always show up on gameday. Burks could wind up being the best wide receiver from the 2022 draft. However, he’s in a tough spot early.
Like Watson, he’s expected to replace a Pro Bowler. The Titans traded A. J. Brown to the Philadelphia Eagles in a salary move. Physically, Burks is built similarly to Brown (6-1, 225), who starred as a rookie in 2019. Burks declined to compare himself to Brown but described himself as “big, fast, physical and fearless.” Burks will be leaned on early because the Titans don’t have a returning player who had 500 receiving yards.
2. Cole Strange, G, New England Patriots
College: Chattanooga
Drafted: No. 29 overall
Blame Bill Belichick. There usually aren’t a ton of early expectations on offensive linemen, unless they’re left tackles that have to protect the quarterback’s blindside. Guards are fairly anonymous, and fans only pay attention to them when they screw up. However, when the Patriots selected Cole Strange in the first round, that shocked everyone, including Sean McVay. Belichick is the greatest coach of the Super Bowl era. However, this was yet another questionable front-office decision by him. The Patriots went on a record free-agent spending spree last year in part to cover up his mistakes.
Pro Football Focus called New England’s selection of the FCS lineman “the biggest reach of Round 1.” Even Strange’s own family didn’t believe he was a first-round pick until Belichick got on the phone. Strange won’t have the luxury of easing into his job. He’s expected to fill the void left by Shaq Mason, who was traded to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. If Strange fails, he’ll just be another one of Belichick’s recent misses.
1. Travon Walker, OLB, Jacksonville Jaguars
College: Georgia
Drafted: No. 1 overall
For the first time, possibly since 2013, there wasn’t a consensus on the top overall pick. Usually, that spot is reserved for a quarterback. But because it was such a weak quarterback class, and no overwhelming physical specimen like Myles Garrett, the No. 1 overall selection was kind of a crapshoot. This wasn’t like 2021 when everybody knew that the Jaguars were going to select Trevor Lawrence, who was considered the best quarterback prospect since Andrew Luck (2012). Travon Walker was a great talent on one of the best defenses in college football history. He helped the Bulldogs win a national championship, the program’s first since 1980. But there are questions about Walker, who was never an all-conference player in the SEC.
ESPN’s Mel Kiper isn’t a fan, citing Walker’s lack of production (9.5 sacks in three seasons). Compare that to the No. 2 overall pick Michigan’s Aidan Hutchinson, who had 14 sacks last year. Kiper said, “I don’t see one-on-one domination.”
It’s up to Walker to prove a lot of people wrong because if Hutchinson has a more productive career, he’ll never hear the end of it.