2022 NFL Mock Draft: Giants, Jets get serious upgrades early

Picks No. 19 through 22

All of a sudden, the Washington Football Team looks like a team to beat in the NFC, this after knocking off Carolina, Tampa Bay, and Seattle in consecutive weeks. Taylor Heinicke looks like a legitimate starting quarterback in the NFL, which makes their need for a quarterback in this draft a moot point.

Instead, they focus on what has become a solid defense, even without Chase Young, and grab Florida cornerback Kaiir Elam. This is a kid who is going to be a Day 1 starter at the next level and will provide the WFT with a standout player at a big position of need.

The Los Angeles Chargers are starting to be one of those teams where you do not know what you are going to get from them weekly. Last week, they took on the Denver Broncos, and despite a 300-yard game from Justin Herbert, they ended up on the losing end, and have fallen to 6-5 on the season.

With pick No. 20 overall, they add a talent to the middle of their defensive line, bringing in the big fella from Georgia, Jordan Davis. Davis is a mountain of a man and someone who is going to help clog the middle for the Chargers while taking pressure off their solid collection of pass rushers.

The Miami Dolphins will pick at No. 21 overall if the season ended tomorrow, this thanks to the fact that the San Francisco 49ers have found their groove down the stretch. Miami is a team with plenty of question marks, including at quarterback, but here, they draft a player that can help protect Tua Tagovailoa in the future.

Ikem Ekwonu is one of those offensive linemen in this class that can play on the inside, or out, but I like him more as an offensive guard at the next level. Miami needs help at tackle, even with Liam Eichenberg having a solid rookie season at left tackle, so it will be interesting to see where he would fit if he were the pick this late in round one.

The Buffalo Bills are in desperate need of catching the New England Patriots, who have become one of the top teams in the AFC. Buffalo has the talent on both sides of the ball to be a serious Super Bowl contender, but they have been wildly inconsistent in recent weeks.

One area where they could stand to get better is at the linebacker position, and they do so here by selecting Devin Lloyd from Utah. Lloyd is one of a handful of first-round linebackers in this draft class, and joining a team led by Sean McDermott, he would be in the best position to succeed early on in his carer.