NFL Draft Top 5 Positional Rankings: Defensive Playmakers

Early 2022 NFL Draft Top Five Positional Rankings, taking a dive into cornerbacks, safeties, and off-ball linebackers.

It’s the third and final week of the KCSN NFL Draft Positional Ranking Series and to wrap it up we have the defensive playmakers. That’s right, we’re looking at off-ball linebackers, cornerbacks, and safeties in this edition to finish off the Early Top 5s at every position.

Top 5 Prospect Rankings

Off-Ball Linebacker | Need Tier: low

1. Nakobe Dean
   6’0” 225lbs, Georgia

2. Devin Lloyd
   6’3” 232lbs, Utah

3. Leo Chenal
   6’2” 260lbs, Wisconsin

   Matt Lane @ChiefinCarolina

   Leo Chenal, LB, Wis - Massive LB w/ big time burst - Dominant downhill player - Block deconstruction and evasion - Plus, plus blitzer - Athletic profile could translate to improved coverage

   Leo Chenal might be the single most unique prospect in this entire draft. He’s a 260lb off-ball linebacker in the year 2022. As one may expect, his coverage ability is limited to bullying tight ends at the line of scrimmage and patrolling static, shallow zones. The crazy thing is, his ability as a downhill player may just simply be enough to make up for those shortcomings.

   You will have to look really hard to find a better linebacker prospect in the last decade when strictly coming downhill to the ball. It doesn’t matter if there is a blocker in his way, he has to skip over a gap, or if his path is being squeezed out, Chenal is unstoppable in that regard. He’s an excellent run stopper and blitzer and has enough athleticism that the league may feel comfortable banking on improvement in his coverage spacing.

4. Brandon Smith
   6’3” 240lbs, Penn State

5. Darrian Beavers
   6’3” 242lbs, Cincinnati

Overall thoughts: There isn’t a Micah Parsons or Devin White type of linebacker talent in this class but that doesn’t mean it’s not good. This is the kind of class that during the CFB season people will say they love but when we get to the entire draft process I think it’ll start to lose some o it’s lust.

The athleticism and size combination that the NFL usually loves isn’t going to be as abundant as some other years which is going to give this group a bad rap but that shouldn’t be the end all be all. A lot of these linebackers can play and play well as long as they are inserted into the correct roles.

There are the obvious exceptions like Dean and Lloyd but almost everyone else will be scheme dependent to reach their ceiling. It’s both good and bad it’s likely not high on the Chiefs’ lists of needs right now. There are less home run picks to be had but the potential for a perfect scheme fit is going to be incredibly enticing to all 32 teams.

Cornerback| Need Tier: High

1. Derek Stingley Jr.
   6’1” 200lbs, LSU

2. Andrew Booth Jr.
   6’1” 195lbs, Iowa

3. Ahmad ‘Sauce’ Gardner
   6’2” 190lbs, Cincinnati

4. Trent McDuffie
   5’11” 195lbs, Washington

   
   The annual Washington Huskies cornerback; slightly undersized, feisty, high IQ, willing tackler, and just an average athlete.. Trent McDuffie fits every single one of those besides the “average athlete” part because he’s an exceptional athlete. A down year from the Washington program has put McDuffie - and teammate Kyler Gordon - on the backburner of NFL Draft talk but it’s time to bring them back to light.

   
   McDuffie has lightning quick feet and fantastic long speed allowing him to compete with any receiver in man coverage. His fluidity through his hips allows him to break with receivers or crash downhill on a ball carrier. His biggest weakness is a lack of overall length that could ultimately kick him into the slot but getting one of the league’s best slot corners as a worse case scenario sounds like a win.

5. Martin Emerson
   6’2” 200lbs, Mississippi State

Overall thoughts: The 2022 cornerback class may be one of the best positional groups in the entire class. There are a handful of first round worthy - even top ten worthy - prospects before the scheme-specific top 50 guys start sliding in.

Compared to some years’ past, the size at the position seems good and while we won’t know until the NFL Combine, the corners seem to have the requisite length. As you start digging deeper in the corner class, more slot corners start to emerge which is good for the NFL and the direction it is going.

The Chiefs should be looking to attack the cornerback position early in this draft class and trying to capitalize on the talent. If they can’t land one and have to continue the trend of piecing it together without top end talent, this isn’t the worst draft class to take a Day 2 and Day 3 flier on the corner position and see who pans out.

Safety | Need Tier: High

1. Kyle Hamilton
   6’4” 210lbs, Notre Dame

2. Daxton Hill
   6’ 190lbs, Michigan

3. Jalen Pitre
   6’ 198lbs, Baylor

   Matt Lane @ChiefinCarolina

   Jalen Pitre, S, BU - Length is excellent - Super physical in run game/blitzing - Nickel exprience - Fluidity to be sticky in man to man - Ball skills from zone and undercutting routes

   
   Jalen Pitre is an interesting study as he looks to project from the college level to the NFL. He went to Baylor as an undersized linebacker but transitioned to a safety under Dave Aranda. The thing is, he didn’t really play safety as much as he played the ‘Star’ role which saw him align in the slot the majority of the time.

   This led to an increased role vs the run and as a blitzer while dealing with a ton of man and underneath zone coverage. His long speed, agility, and explosive ability is on display in nearly every game. There room for development in his intermediate and deep zone coverage due to a lack of experience but the physical profile is there to excel. His versatility is going to make him highly coveted by the NFL.

4. Lewis Cine
   6’1” 200lbs, Georgia

5. Jaquan Brisker
   6’1” 210lbs, Penn State

Overall thoughts: Nearly every safety class in the NFL Draft almost plays out the same. There isn’t a true blue chip talent, the depth is often considered rather thin, but there are a handful of “my guy” types for every person that follows the draft. The reason for that is because it’s such a varied position that fills so many different roles. This class has the blue-chip talent in Kyle Hamilton but it’s the depth behind it that may be even more impressive.

Regardless of what kind of safety you are looking for, there is an experienced player that looks like a Top 100 type of pick. Whether you want a potential slot cover player like Daxton Hill or Jalen Pitre, a hard hitting run defender like Lewis Cine or Jaquan Brisker, or the rangy back center-fielder like Verone McKinley III. There are just names after names available for the position in this draft and a good chunk of players that can fill multiple roles for a defense.

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Next week, it’ll be time to turn the page to All Star Game previews. The East-West Shrine Game and practices will be starting on Friday while the Senior Bowl will be starting on Tuesday.