2022 NFL Draft prospects: the five best defensive backs
AS’ Gustavo García takes a look at the outstanding defensive back prospects available to NFL clubs, as the league prepares for the 2022 Draft in Las Vegas.
Great quarterbacks have made the NFL a league in which passing offences dominate. In response, defences need to arm themselves with better and better defensive backs. In the 2022 NFL Draft, which is to be held in Las Vegas from 28 to 30 April, there are several outstanding prospects.
Kyle Hamilton
One of the best defensive backs in the 2022 Draft is the safety Kyle Hamilton. Thanks to his athletic prowess (4.59 seconds in the 40-yard dash and a 38-inch vertical jump), the Notre Dame product is highly versatile. During his time with the Fighting Irish, he played not only as a safety, but also as a cornerback and as a slot cornerback. In his three seasons with Notre Dame, Hamilton registered 138 tackles, 16 defended passes and eight interceptions.
Derek Stingley Jr.
Despite not taking part in the NFL scouting combine because of a foot problem, the LSU product has proclaimed himself the best cornerback in this year’s Draft. Stingley Jr. is one of the most exciting prospects around at secondary, but injuries limited his college participation to 10 games across the 2020 and 2021 seasons. He registered 35 tackles and five passes defended.
Ahmad ‘Sauce’ Gardner
Gardner played for the Cincinnati Bearcats for three years and in 2021 was the AAC’s Defensive Player of the Year. He was also chosen as an All-American, after a campaign in which he amassed 40 tackles, four passes defended, three interceptions and three sacks. According to his university’s website, ‘Sauce’, as he is also known, didn’t allow a single touchdown in more than 1,000 defensive plays.
Trent McDuffie
Although McDuffie isn’t the ideal size for an NFL cornerback - he is only 5′11″ tall - he makes up for that with his talent and athletic capacity. In four seasons with the Washington Huskies, the 21-year-old started 27 games and picked up 94 tackles, eight passes defended and one sack.
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Kaiir Elam
Elam’s situation is the opposite of McDuffie’s: he is absolutely big enough for a cornerback, but hasn’t yet developed the skill set he needs to prevent wide receivers from burning past him on the deeper routes. One of his advantages is that he’s the son of former NFL player Abram Elam and the nephew of one-time first-round pick Matt Elam. In three years with the Florida Gators, he has managed 20 passes defended and five interceptions.