Most drafts are usually centered around shining a spotlight on college football’s brightest offensive talents, leaving up-and-coming defensive stars as sort of afterthoughts. But unlike other years, 2022’s draft was one where elite defensive talents took over the class thus giving defense-needy teams a chance to score their next big player.
Rookies like Travon Walker, Aidan Hutchinson, Ahmad “Sauce” Gardner, and Kayvon Thibodeaux all led a 2022 draft class stacked to the brim with immensely talented playmakers on the defensive side of the ball. And let’s not forget about other studs like Derek Stingley Jr, Jordan Davis, Kyle Hamilton, and Jermaine Johnson.
As the five first players were selected, all were defensive players, with two defensive ends, one defensive back, a cornerback, and an edge rusher going in that order.
With this year’s NFL season 14 weeks in, let’s take a look at who NFL odds experts are starting to pinpoint as the top candidates to win this season’s Defensive Rookie of the Year Award.
Let’s check the latest NFL picks, stats, injury reports, and NFL predictions. We’ve plenty of NFL expert picks for you to consider.
Aidan Hutchinson, DE, Detroit Lions
If you’re looking for one of those “had to be” stories between a rookie and a team, look no further than Aidan Hutchinson and the Detroit Lions. Hutchinson, who hails from Plymouth, Michigan, has a football story that has always been in one way or another linked to the Lions.
To put it simply, Detroit’s star DE played high school football a few miles from the Lions’ training facilities.
With Jim Harbaugh’s Wolverines, Hutchinson showed that he was one of the most pro-ready players in this year’s draft class. With a super football IQ, versatility to move around the field and fit in perfectly in either 3-4 or 4-3 defensive fronts, and incredible strength, why he didn’t go first in the draft is something that continues to baffle experts.
From the get-go, Hutchinson has become a pivotal piece of Dan Campbell’s pedal-to-the-metal defensive style of playing in Detroit. With 13 games under his belt, 32 total tackles, seven sacks, two passes defended, and two interceptions, Hutchinson has become one of the leaders of this new-look, winning Lions team.
As Detroit continues on its path to try and reach the postseason, which would make it the Lions’ first time since 2016, Hutchinson has proven that he can be a player this team can be built around defensively. Yes, I know, we’re talking about a player in the league’s second-worst defense, but that still hasn’t stopped Hutchinson from becoming a star in Lions territory.
Lastly, it doesn’t hurt that the local kid has already won the hearts of all Lions fans around.
While he might not become a generational talent for Detroit right away, he could perfectly be one of the cornerstones of a new era in Lions football down the line.
Ahmad “Sauce” Gardner, CB, New York Jets
When you have a cornerback who in his college career never had a passing touchdown scored on him, you know you have something special. That’s exactly the case with Gardner, the rookie CB of the New York Jets.
The Jets are no strangers to having some elite CBs manning their backfield, with Darrelle Revis being the best example, which is why Gardner’s immediate impact on the team has been welcomed with such hype and positivity. Being compared to players like Jalen Ramsey and Richard Sherman, it was understood from the get-go that Gardner was bound to be a player whose ceiling would be hard to match.
After having their defense rank last in yards and points allowed per game last season, this year the Jets look like a completely different unit, and it’s in great part because of how well Gardner has adjusted to playing in the pros.
If you look at Sauce’s numbers, he has been consistently ranked in the top three cornerbacks lists in basically any metric there is. From passes defended, to passer ratings on throws that go through his routes, yards per coverage, and catches allowed, the rookie has put in the work and continues to dazzle week in and week out.
Tariq Woolen, CB, Seattle Seahawks
In a class where defensive stars were picked all over the board, Seahawks CB Tariq Woolen, who was chosen in the fifth round of the draft has become a standout in Seattle’s surprisingly good season. Even when being considered a raw talent that would need immense quantities of work to get him up to pro speed, Woolen has shown that he has all the tools to become Seattle’s next-best corner.
After seeing 20 other CBs get drafted, Woolen had his chance come. And who better to take him under his wing that a coach who is known for being an expert in training and developing cornerbacks with a physical frame like Woolen, Pete Carroll?
With six interceptions, tying him for the most in the league, as well as two fumble recoveries, 37 solo tackles and 11 assisted tackles, 13 passes deflected, one kick blocked and one touchdown scored, you can’t argue that Woolen isn’t a stud.
Woolen is on his way to proving that just like Sherman when drafted by Seattle in the fifth round of the 2011 draft, waiting for the right moment and the right player to snag up might be one of coach Carroll’s best assets to the game.
