The 2022 NFL Draft was the 87th edition of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ma ...

's annual draft and was held from April 28–30, 2022, at the

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on the

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Paradise, Nevada Paradise is an unincorporated town and census-designated place (CDP) in Clark County, Nevada, United States, adjacent to the city of Las Vegas. It was formed on December 8, 1950. Its population was 191,238 at the 2020 census, making it the f ...

. The first round was held on Thursday, April 28, and was followed by the second and third rounds on Friday, April 29. The draft concluded with rounds 4–7 on Saturday, April 30. It was the first draft to be held in the Las Vegas metropolitan area. The first five selections were defensive players, the second-most taken at the start of a draft after the six in

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. Along with the 1972 and

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drafts, it marked the third time defensive players were the first two picks after the first three picks in the previous year's draft were quarterbacks. Five

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defensive players were also taken during the first round, the most from an individual school in a draft. In addition to the high number of defensive selections, nine offensive linemen were taken in the first round, the most since

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. Conversely, only one quarterback was selected in the first round at 20th overall, the lowest for a draft's first quarterback since

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, and no running backs were taken in the first round for the first time since

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. The draft also saw a record nine draft-day trades with first-round picks, which resulted in less than half of the first round selections being made by the teams that initially owned them. Analysts attributed the high number of trades to eight teams entering the draft without a first-round selection and a general absence of highly-touted prospects.

Host city

The league awarded the draft to Las Vegas on April 23, 2020 after the Raiders officially relocated to Las Vegas. This was after the

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forced the

2020 NFL Draft The 2020 NFL Draft was the 85th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2020 NFL season. The first round was held on April 23, followed by the second and third rounds on April 24. The ...

, originally scheduled to be held in Las Vegas, to take place remotely via

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. Draft activities were held around two main locations on the Las Vegas Strip; invited players walked a red carpet stage constructed on the man-made lake in front of the Bellagio and its fountains. The plans were similar to those originally intended for the 2020 draft, although a plan for players to be transported onto the stage by boat was scrapped in favor of using walkways. Caesars Forum was used to house infrastructure for the event. The Linq Promenade hosted the NFL Draft Experience, which featured fan activities. Parts of Flamingo Road and Las Vegas Boulevard were closed to vehicle traffic to allow spectators to travel between the two sites.

Player selections

The following is the breakdown of the 262 players selected by

position Position often refers to: * Position (geometry), the spatial location (rather than orientation) of an entity * Position, a job or occupation Position may also refer to: Games and recreation * Position (poker), location relative to the dealer * ...

: * 37

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such offensive running plays as sweeps and reverses. They create turnove ...

s * 33

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, pl ...

s * 28 wide receivers * 24 offensive tackles * 22

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback to rush the ball, to line up as a receiver to catch the ball, and block. The ...

s * 21

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formations over the years have substantially changed how the position is p ...

s * 19 safeties * 19 offensive guards * 19

tight end The tight end (TE) is a position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football, on the offense (sports), offense. The tight end is often a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide ...

s * 19 defensive tackles * 9

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

s * 6 centers * 4 punters * 1 kicker * 1

fullback Fullback or Full back may refer to: Sports * A position in various kinds of football, including: ** Full-back (association football), in association football (soccer), a defender playing in a wide position ** Fullback (gridiron football), in Americ ...

Notable undrafted players

Trades

In the explanations below, (PD) indicates trades completed prior to the start of the draft (i.e. Pre-Draft), while (D) denotes trades that took place during the 2022 draft. Round one Round two Round three Round four Round five Round six Round seven

2020 Resolution JC-2A selections

Since the 2021 draft, the NFL, under 2020 Resolution JC-2A, rewards teams for developing minority candidates for head coach and/or general manager positions. The resolution rewards teams whose minority candidates are hired away for one of those positions by awarding draft selections, which are at the end of the third round, after standard compensatory selections; if multiple teams qualify, they are awarded by draft order in the first round. These picks are in addition to, and have no impact on, the standard 32 compensatory selections. Seven picks were awarded for the 2022 draft pursuant to the resolution.

Notes

Forfeited selections

Summary

Selections by NCAA conference

Colleges with multiple draft selections

Selections by position

References

Trade references General references {{NFL drafts National Football League Draft Draft

NFL Draft The National Football League Draft, also called the NFL Draft or (officially) the Player Selection Meeting, is an annual event which serves as the league's most common source of player recruitment. Each team is given a position in the drafting o ...

American football in Nevada Events in Paradise, Nevada