The first round of the 2022 NFL draft has concluded and, as always, some teams fared much better than others. We saw frenzied trades, lots of wide receivers being taken, and a Bill Belichick pick for the ages. So without further ado, let’s dig into the winner and losers of night one of the NFL Draft.

Winner: New York Jets

The echoes of J-E-T-S could probably be heard all over New York City after a masterclass draft by the Jets. With their first pick, they were able to snag the #2 CB in the draft, Ahmad “Sauce” Gardner. Gardner, who did not allow a single TD in his college career, was followed up by Ohio State WR Garrett Wilson. Now that would be a solid first round for any NFL team but the Jets went above and beyond by trading back into the first round to grab Jermaine Johnson. The edge, who was projected by many to go top ten, had an insane Senior Bowl and collected 14 sacks at Florida State. 

Winner: Georgia Defense

Many college teams would consider four players from their team being taken in the NFL draft a rousing success. But how about four players from your front seven? That’s right, the Georgia Bulldogs had three defensive linemen and a linebacker taken in the first round, including the first overall pick Travon Walker. Not only that, but star safety Lewis Cine was taken at the end of the first round, bringing the total up to five. 

Winner: Detroit Lions

The Lions, in the post-Stafford era, have done a lot right. Dan Campbell and his cats have continued this trend in 2022 by getting two generational players. Detroit took Aidan Hutchinson with the 2nd pick in the draft, a player many believed would be the first overall pick. They followed this up by turning the 32nd pick, a 2nd rounder and 3rd rounder into the 12th pick and a 2nd rounder. With this pick, they took who I believe is the most pro ready WR in Jameson Williams. He will pair nicely with last year’s breakout star Amon-Ra St.Brown. 

Loser: New England Patriots

Yikes. If it were any other team making the Cole Strange pick, they would be the subject of numerous memes. But Belichick’s reputation of being a football mastermind has given him some benefit of the doubt. I don’t see it, especially seeing as many teams around the 90th pick were scouting him as a 3rd rounder. The odds of the guard from Chattanooga being available at their 2nd round selection were very high, so even if he turns out to have first round value, selecting him here was a head scratcher.

Loser: Pittsburgh Steelers

With the retirement of Ben Roethlisberger and the tragic passing of Dwayne Haskins, quarterback has become a need for the Steelers. However, there are much larger holes for this Steelers team, like at wide receiver and safety. None of the QBs in this draft class were really worth a first round pick and much more QB needy teams skipped picking one from this weak class. 

Loser: Aaron Rodgers

Packers glaring offensive hole: wide receiver. Packers pick: two front seven defensive guys. We may never see Brian Gutekunst draft a wide receiver in the first round. I don’t think that the picks here were bad; I actually think they were quite good. However, Rodgers hasn’t seen an offensive weapon get added to his team in the first round in a very long time. After losing Davante Adams and Marquez Valdes-Scantling, it’ll be very interesting to see how the two time MVP deals with having a low tier recieving core.