Lazar: Elite Athletes in 2022 NFL Draft Sets Up Perfectly for Speed-Needy Patriots Defense

There are times when position groups in the draft are overhyped, but Saturday night’s workout for defensive line and linebackers wasn’t one of those times. 

Speaking to both league personnel and media, the buzz was off the charts to see the front seven defenders take the field at Lucas Oil Stadium at the NFL Combine. 

Starting with Georgia’s 341-pound DT Jordan Davis’s 4.78-second 40-yard dash and ending with a new age at linebacker, the defensive line and linebackers put on an absolute show.

Whether it’s at the top of the draft or waiting for the value picks, the Patriots find themselves in a great draft to pounce on a group that will undoubtedly make their defense faster. 

According to linebackers coach Jerod Mayo, adding speed and playmakers on defense is a priority for New England this offseason, and the 2022 draft class has impact defenders in droves. 

Although the Pats’ needs at corner could trump adding difference-makers at linebacker and defensive line, luckily, there’s depth to this class.

Along with Davis, here are 13 players who stood out from a Patriots perspective during Saturday night’s workout:

1. Georgia DT Jordan Davis Has a Historic Combine Workout, No Longer a Pats Possibility?

For those who think the combine is nothing more than the underwear Olympics and an over-hyped event, nothing makes draft twitter come together more than a big dude running fast. 

Georgia defensive tackle Jordan Davis ran an official 4.78-second 40-yard dash at 341 pounds, landing in the 96th percentile for defensive linemen, and that’s not even weight adjusted. According to relative athletic score, Davis has the second-highest RAS of any player since 1989. It’s Calvin Johnson, then Jordan Davis. In the history of the event. If you had concerns about Davis’s range or explosiveness to rush the passer effectively, then he put those to bed with one 40. Now, the question is will Davis make it to the Patriots in the first round? It’s unlikely. 

2. Utah LB Devin Lloyd’s Testing Numbers Not as Freaky As Expected

Talking to scouts heading into the combine, almost everyone unanimously thought Utah linebacker Devin Lloyd would solidify his stock as a top 15 pick. Lloyd is a rangy linebacker with tremendous pass-rush upside. He goes sideline-to-sideline and makes explosive plays with eye-popping striking power on his tackles. Plus, he looks like a bonafide pass rusher from on the edge or interior blitzes. As a result, he is receiving Micah Parsons-lite comparisons. But the workout wasn’t what we expected. Lloyd clocked in with an official 4.66-second 40-yard dash at 237 pounds, which is average nowadays. Some will trust the tape with Lloyd, but his pedestrian numbers are the surprise of the combine so far. Will it hurt his draft stock enough for him to fall to 21? We’ll see in April. His testing numbers were still comparable to Fred Warner and Darius Leonard. They just weren’t freaky. 

3. Georgia EDGE Trevon Walker a Tape/Traits vs. Production Prospect

Walker is rising up boards as a potential top 10 pick. He is a freak, measuring at 6-5 and 272 pounds with over 35-inch arms. Then, he ran a 4.51-second 40-yard dash (98th percentile) and a 6.89-second three-cone. It’s a stupid athletic profile, and Walker translates on tape as a versatile chess piece. He can set the edge, drop into coverage, and rush from multiple alignments. But here’s the catch: Walker only had 9.5 career sacks and 13 tackles for loss. Some NFL teams will ask why he didn’t produce more with those traits? Was it his usage? The fact that other studs on the Georgia defense were in his way? Not many prospects lacking production are drafted high, regardless of their athletic traits. The recent comp is Rashan Gary to Green Bay with the 12th overall pick. Although chances are slim, Walker’s evaluation will have opinions on both sides of the argument. 

4. UConn DT Travis Jones Next Man Up at Nose Tackle for Patriots, Runs 4.9 40-Yard Dash

Now that Davis solidified himself as a top 20 selection, the next best option for the Patriots to select an interior run-stuffing force is Connecticut’s, Travis Jones. If Davis weren’t a cyborg, we’d be talking more about Jones’s combine. After dominating the Senior Bowl, Jones came in at 326 pounds with good arm length (34 inches), then had a relative athletic score in the 96th percentile. 

On tape, Jones’s ability to occupy blocks and lockout with excellent hand power is evident, and he added 25 quarterback pressures on top of his run-stuffing skills. Adding a terrific workout at the combine with his big week in Mobile, Jones could sneak into the backend of the first round. 

5. Georgia DL Devonte Wyatt Doesn’t Let Jordan Davis Steal All the Thunder

Although Davis was the headliner, he wasn’t the only Bulldog defender turning heads. Wyatt set the high mark for defensive linemen with a 4.77-second 40-yard dash and smoothly went through on-field drills. Wyatt’s film is very reminiscent of Christian Barmore’s tape at Alabama, which is both good and bad. The good is that he’s an explosive lateral mover, displaying the fluidity and bend of a much smaller player. His first step and bend allow him to threaten interior linemen’s edges while slipping into gaps to get into the backfield. However, he might be redundant to Barmore, who also fits best as a penetrating three-technique. What’s the plan to pair Barmore and Wyatt together on the D-Line? On the one hand, it’s hard to argue against grabbing Wyatt’s talent and figuring out positions later. But he’s not exactly a complementary piece next to Barmore. 

6. Can’t Forget About Florida State EDGE Jermaine Johnson

Unless it’s a versatile player like Trevon Walker, I’m not high on the Patriots taking an edge rusher with their top pick since they have several players at the position under contract. But Johnson’s length and playing strength make him a great fit. He’s a cerebral edge-setter with the upper-body power to set the edge or collapse the pocket. There’s no finesse in Johnson’s game. He’s a strong player who converts speed to power and holds his ground. If they’re looking for a strong-side edge defender to let Judon scream off the backside, Johnson fits. The FSU product also impressed at the Senior Bowl. 

7. Georgia LB Quay Walker is Still That Dude in Second Round

Although we love Wyoming’s Chad Muma as well, there’s so much to like about Walker’s athletic profile and tape. Walker has tremendous length (6-4, 33-inch arms) and tied for the fourth-fastest 40-yard dash time among linebackers at 241 pounds (4.52s). If you want an aggressive playing style blended with elite coverage traits who moves well in space, Walker is your guy. His closing burst is ridiculous, and his length both in zone and man alters passing lanes. 

8. Wyoming LB Chad Muma Checks Boxes as Day Two Target

There’s a case that Muma’s tape is the cleanest out of any off-ball linebacker in this class. He smoothly moves laterally gap to gap, paces out running backs, can drop in coverage, and is a vacuum cleaner at the second level. It turns out the Wyoming linebacker is a pretty good athlete, too, testing with a relative athletic score of 9.62 out of ten. Muma is in play for the Patriots in the second round (54th overall). 

9. Wisconsin LB Leo Chenal Fits the Mold as Modern-Day Pats Linebacker

When you put together Chenal’s measurables and testing, he’s probably the best combination of old-school thumper and new-age athlete. At 250 pounds, Chenal clocked a 4.53-second 40-yard dash, and you can see that on tape when he’s moving downhill. Chenal plays with a tenacious attitude, loves contact, and was a force as an interior blitz. He’s their type but also moves better than the Ja’Whaun Bentley’s of the NFL. The one issue you see with Chenal is some hip tightness, which came up again during on-field drills. Chenal doesn’t change directions as well as you’d like, leading to some coverage limitations, but he’s a heat-seeking missile. 

10. Montana State LB Troy Andersen Building Day Two Resume

My podcast co-host Alex Barth has been on Andersen for a while. Recently, I got my hands on practice tape from the Senior Bowl, and Andersen’s run defense from off the line stood out. He understands his fits, has good range, and now we know he has 4.42-second speed and excellent explosiveness scores (128-inch broad jump, 94th percentile). Andersen is also 6-3, 243 pounds, so there’s some size to take on lead blockers. I need to watch some Montana State tape.

11. Senior Bowl MVP DL Perrion Winfrey Runs 4.86/1,68, Interesting Day Two Pats Target

Our Patriots ‘ senses start tingling whenever a prospect wins Senior Bowl MVP. We know they love drafting prospects who showed out in Mobile, and Winfrey also tested remarkably well at the combine (4.89s 40-yard dash, 94th percentile). The Oklahoma product is another penetrating three-technique who may be redundant to Barmore, but he’s projected to go 30-40 picks later than Wyatt. Plus, he was a versatile player at Oklahoma, lining up from nose tackle in pass-rush packages to over the offensive tackle. If the Pats want another playmaker on the D-Line, Winfrey is an intriguing day-two option from a program they have a history with in Norman. We’d put Alabama’s Phidarian Mathis in the same category. Similar player as Wyatt but a projected day two guy.  

12. Penn State LB Brandon Smith Fits the Mold at 250 Pounds, Top Combine Tester

We’ve discussed Bill Belichick’s weird history with Penn State prospects with Nittany Lions wide receiver Jahan Dotson. Since Belichick arrived in New England, the Pats have only selected one player in the draft from Penn State (Rich Ohrenberger, 2009). With that said, Smith is a 250-pound linebacker that was an elite tester at the combine, with one of the top relative athletic scores in this class (9.99 out of ten). His take-on technique and processing from off the ball need seasoning, but it would be fun to see what Jerod Mayo could do with him, given the athletic upside. His closing burst and range in coverage flashes in film study. 

13. Minnesota EDGE Boye Mafe a Sleeper For the Patriots in the Top 50

Mafe is a late riser for tape grinders, but his athletic testing wasn’t surprising. You can see how well he moves when he drops off the edge in coverage as a very effective zone-dropper or over wheel routes from the backfield. He’s also an effective power rusher who will use speed-to-power to dent the edge and push-pull moves to beat blockers. Although he’s not a first-rounder in my eyes, Mafe is a trade-down candidate and a fantastic athlete (ten out of ten RAS).