Top 10 early steals from the 2022 NFL Draft class; Round 1 punchline Cole Strange is a Year 1 stud

The NFL Draft is the critical component in the team-building process. General managers, scouts and coaches are hoping to plug holes with top prospects, but the best teams also find key contributors in the mid-to-late rounds.

During my scouting days, I would grade prospects based on how much they could theoretically contribute to the team in the first few years. While everyone expects a first-round pick to make an immediate impact as a starter or top reserve, the prospects selected in the second and third rounds are generally viewed as solid backups with potential to develop into starters down the road.

Players taken in Rounds 4 through 7 are viewed as developmental prospects who will hopefully provide initial returns as quality backups or special team standouts. They are rarely seen as Day 1 contributors, unless a character concern or medical issue forced scouts to deduct points from the final draft grade.

When I was working for the Carolina Panthers back in the aughts, I got a first-hand look at Steve Smith’s rise from third-round return specialist to first-team All-Pro wide receiver. The diminutive pass catcher, who’s now my colleague at NFL Media, exceeded all expectations by becoming a true alpha WR1. Shoot, he was the last guy to win the receiving triple crown before Cooper Kupp accomplished the feat last season.

Although it is rare for a team to uncover a hidden gem as staggeringly productive as Smith beyond Round 1, the league is full of players who outperform their draft status. And though we’re only six weeks into the first regular season for the Class of 2022, this group has plenty of non-first-rounders making their presence felt right off the bat. Time will tell if these rookies are able to sustain their hot starts and develop into legitimate superstars, but they’ve certainly made a great first impression.

Given some time to study the film and chat with a few scouts about this rookie class, I’d like to reveal my top 10 early draft steals.

Cole Strange is getting the last laugh

Looks like the joke is on everyone who made a mockery of Cole Strange‘s selection in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft. The 29th overall pick has not only played solid football for New England as a Day 1 starter, but he has helped solidify an offensive line that has performed like an elite unit, according to PFF, which had the Patriots ranked as the NFL’s third-best offensive line through Week 6.

Roger Goodell announcing Strange’s name on the opening night of this past April’s draft was a surprise to everyone, draft analysts and fans alike. But the lampooning of the pick went to a whole other level when Twitter got its hands on the live reaction from Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay and general manager Les Snead, with McVay laughingly telling the assembled media, “And we wasted our time watching him, thinking he’d be at (pick No.) 104 maybe.”

In McVay’s defense, he said his reaction was “misunderstood.” And apparently, the coach called Bill Belichick and Strange himself to explain that he was a big fan of the pick and the player. But the mockery was off and running, undoubtedly fueled by the player’s surname and small-school background.

As a 6-foot-5, 307-pound offensive guard out of Tennessee-Chattanooga, Strange impressed evaluators with his ability to hold his own at the 2022 Reese’s Senior Bowl. Although the Southern Conference standout did not wow scouts with his physical dimensions or explosiveness, he was a rock-solid blocker at the point of attack with a technically sound game that made him tough to defeat at the line of scrimmage.

That said, offensive guard is not deemed a marquee position in the team-building process, and OG prospects aren’t exactly headline-grabbing names during all the pre-draft mock madness. This helps explain why the Patriots’ decision to expend a first-round pick on a small-school guard drew confusion from observers around the social media world. Based on traditional roster construction, offensive tackles are the most valuable position on the offensive line, and some scouts believe quality offensive guards can always be found in Days 2 and 3 of the draft.

While all of that might have been true back in the day, the changing dynamics of interior line play make it essential to have a blue-chip guard on the line of scrimmage. Defensive coordinators are increasingly utilizing pass-rushing defensive tackles to disrupt the passing game by pressuring the quarterback from up the gut.

With a stout and sturdy offensive guard needed to neutralize interior rushers on passing downs while also moving defenders off the ball in the run game, the interior blocker is undervalued in the draft process. Credit Belichick for looking beyond the traditional team-building model to recognize the importance of solidifying the interior with a stationary quarterback under center in Mac Jones.

Given Jones’ lack of mobility, the Patriots needed to shore up the interior to ensure that he would be able to throw the ball from a clean pocket. According to PFF, Strange — who hasn’t committed a single penalty in Year 1 — has allowed eight total pressures in six games, with just two in the last three. By eliminating penetration in the middle of the line, the Patriots’ quarterbacks — most recently Bailey Zappe, who’s 2-0 as a starter while Jones recovers from an ankle injury — are able to throw from the center of the pocket without obstruction. Moreover, they are able to neutralize the penetration that forces immobile quarterbacks to flee the pocket into the hands of more athletic pass rushers on the outside.

The football world enjoyed a hearty belly laugh at the expense of Strange on draft day, but it looks like the Patriots and their first-round pick are getting the last laugh.