College football is less than two weeks from seeing its first official games of the 2021 season, which means the final 2022 NFL Draft projections of the summer are coming in before the actual play on the field helps the real order take shape for next spring.
Jack Borowsky of Sports Illustrated’s Draft Bible put together a mock draft on Monday and it will probably catch the attention of many, especially Oklahoma fans, for the hierarchy he features at the top with the quarterback position.
At the No. 1 overall spot is Nevada quarterback Carson Strong - not Sooners signal-caller Spencer Rattler like many have anointed.
Rattler doesn’t come off the board all the way until the No. 9 spot to the New York Giants, albeit as the second quarterback selected. These are the only two QBs taken in Borowsky’s mock draft.
Obviously, there is a lot to unpack here as this is a stark contrast from what we have seen from other mock drafts that largely have Rattler as the first player off the board with North Carolina quarterback Sam Howell closely in pursuit. Strong has been someone with a very positive trend and obviously that is what Borowsky sees continuing throughout the season into next April’s draft.
There is one other Sooner who also finds himself in this mock draft with defensive lineman Isaiah Thomas going No. 31 to the Kansas City Chiefs. Between Thomas, Perrion Winfrey and Nik Bonitto, Oklahoma looks to have a few potential first-rounders along their defensive front.
This is just one mock draft of many still nearly eight months before the selections are actually made, but it is still fun to look ahead and see the differing opinions. Here, Rattler is QB2 and just hanging in as a top-10 pick.
Where he will actually land, time will have to tell.
More must-reads: