Each week as we lead up to the 2022 NFL Draft I wanted to provide as much coverage of the 9 Huskers that will be transitioning from college to the NFL. It may be mock drafts, rankings, or various other articles and features. Here is a look at all the news and notes for the Huskers in the NFL Draft.
Rankings
One of the top names in the NFL Draft community, Mel Kiper released his latest Big Board. Within the article Kiper also listed his top 10 players at each position. Three Huskers made the list.
Cam Jurgens, 4th rated center
Cam Taylor-Britt, 9th rated cornerback
JoJo Domann, 7th rated safety
In addition to Kiper’s rankings, Pro Football Focus also released their Top 150 NFL Draft Prospects. Only two Huskers made the 150. JoJo Domann came in at 84, while Cam Taylor-Britt was the 111th rated prospect.
Over at Windy City Gridiron Jacob Infante released his Top 100 2022 NFL Draft Prospects and Samori Toure was ranked 100th.
Mock Drafts
In a Dallas Cowboys only mock draft at Blogging the Boys, JoJo Domann was mocked by Brian Martin as the Cowboys 3rd round pick.
With Leighton Vander Esch most likely moving on in free agency, and a decision to be made on Keanu Neal, the Cowboys could suddenly find themselves pretty thin at the linebacker position. Other than Micah Parsons and maybe Jabril Cox, depending on how he rebounds from his season-ending injury, the cupboard is pretty bare behind them. With a player like JoJo Domann, the lack of depth becomes much less of a concern. Domann, a former safety turned linebacker, is arguably the best coverage LB in the entire 2022 draft class. He can cover tight ends or running backs with the fluidity of a safety in space.
All Star Games
The first event in the NFL Draft Season is the All Star Games. The Senior Bowl, Shrine Game, NFLPA Collegiate Bowl, College Gridiron Showcase, Hula Bowl and Tropical Bowl are all games and had Huskers at each game. In order of importance it starts with the Senior Bowl with the Shrine Game being the second best. However each game gives the prospects their chance to impress NFL teams.
Hula Bowl
The sole participant from Nebraska in the Hula Bowl was Ben Stille. Looking to impress scouts and get a camp invite Stille had a strong week and capped it off with some impressive plays in the game. Stille caught the eye of Sports Illustrated who had this to say.
Nebraska DT BEN STILLE (6037/296/0938/3248/7878) showed up in a big way making several plays and proving his worth as a run-stuffer. The wide-bodied Stille is aggressive and physical at the point of attack, in addition to being a fundamentally sound player.
Stille even got interviewed during the game.
Tropical Bowl
The Tropical Bowl is in its first year and didn’t get as much coverage. However Deontai Williams did make a big impression with a massive hit during Tropical Bowl
College Gridiron Showcase
The College Gridiron Showcase kicked off this week. Below is how Daniels weighed in. I’ll have more coverage of Daniels’ performance next week.
NFLPA Collegiate Bowl
Probably the third best All Star Game gets Austin Allen who is coming off a historic season. I’m a little surprised we didn’t see Allen get a Shrine Game invite, but players do get late invites and if Allen does well this week we could potentially see that. Allen will be coached by former Super Bowl coach Jeff Fisher while former NFL tight end Brandon Manumaleuna will be his position coach.
Allen measured in at 6’8, 259lbs, 9 ½” hands, 82” wingspan
Allen also had one heck of a catch during practice.
Senior Bowl
The Senior Bowl is a couple of weeks away but teams were announced and both JoJo Doman and Cam Taylor-Britt will once again be teammates on the American Team which is coached by the Detroit Lions staff. The great thing for both of these players is that the Lions two biggest needs are linebacker and safety. It’s noted that the Senior Bowl is listing Taylor-Britt as a safety.
Interviews
Articles
Dane Brugler of The Athletic highlights players who have the most to gain at the Senior Bowl. One of those players was JoJo Domann. Here is what he said.
A former safety, Domann played a hybrid nickel linebacker role for the Huskers and has the hip movements and instincts to play in space. He lacks length and gets out of control at times, but his reactive quickness helps him drive and challenge throws. Around Thanksgiving, I had an NFL director of scouting tell me this: “Wait ’til you see JoJo cover at the Senior Bowl. Kid competes his ass off. If he shines like I think, he’s not getting out of the third round.”
JoJo Domann was the focus of the Packers Wire’s Future Packers Series
Samori Toure was the focus of the Packers Wire’s Future Packers Series
The Draft Network highlighted Samori Toure as a player to watch at the Shrine Game
Tweets
Non Husker Draft
As I know that most Huskers fans are also fans of NFL teams. Each week I’ll highlight a specific player that your team may end up taking, maybe a mock draft or something else. This week my focus is on North Carolina State LT Ikem Ekwonu who is coached by former Husker John Garrison. Ekwonu seems to be a lock Top 10 pick and has been mocked to the Jaguars, Jets, Giants amongst other teams
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