The pick is in and the Detroit Lions have made their 3rd Round selection.
http://gty.im/1234966107
With the No. 97 overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, the Lions have selected S Kerby Joseph out of Illinois.
Kerby Joseph To the #Lions per source
— Jordan Schultz (@Schultz_Report) April 30, 2022
From Dane Brugler:
A one-year starter at Illinois, Joseph lined up as the free safety in defensive coordinator Ryan Walters’ scheme, playing single-high and covering the deepmiddle. After spending the first three years as a part-time player, he became more of a student of the game as a senior and enjoyed a breakout 2021 season with at least one takeaway in seven of Illinois’ 12 games. With his play speed, range and above-average ball skills, Joseph is reliable as the last line of defense with his ability to patrol from the hashmarks to outside the numbers. He credits his reaction quickness to his volleyball background and drives on the football in front of him, although he has room to clean up his tackling consistency. Overall, Joseph must improve his play strength, but he reads well from depth and tracks the football with his speed and burst to close. He projects as a special-teamer and developmental NFL starter ideally suited for a cover-3 scheme.
Nation, how would you grade this pick by the Lions?
Kenny Pickett Is a Worthwhile Gamble for the Steelers
Kenny Pickett wasn’t the betting favorite to be the first quarterback picked — listed at +200 on FanDuel Sportsbook — but he ended up being just that as the Pittsburgh Steelers nabbed him with the 20th overall pick.
Pickett logged a whopping 51 games with at least 10-plus pass attempts at Pittsburgh, which is significant, and among the signal-callers in the mix to be taken early in this draft, he led this year’s class in adjusted yards per attempt and QBR.
Will Pickett be the next franchise quarterback in Pittsburgh?
Player Comparisons
numberFire’s Jim Sannes breaks down Pickett’s profile and gives his top comparison.
“Pickett has a lot of overlap with Andy Dalton.”@JimSannes believes Kenny Pickett is a good football player, but has a capped ceiling in the NFL pic.twitter.com/x8BWzREFEh
— FanDuel (@FanDuel) April 29, 2022
Brandon Gdula’s draft database has found these 10 prior prospects to have the most similar statistical profiles to Pickett’s. Keep in mind that these are based not on play style or traits but age, athleticism, draft equity, experience, efficiency, and production.
| Rank | Kenny Pickett Profile Comparisons | Similarity |
| 1 | Andy Dalton | 88.7% |
| 2 | Colt McCoy | 84.0% |
| 3 | Christian Ponder | 83.2% |
| 4 | Charlie Frye | 82.8% |
| 5 | Ryan Tannehill | 80.9% |
| 6 | Colin Kaepernick | 80.7% |
| 7 | Russell Wilson | 80.7% |
| 8 | John Beck | 79.4% |
| 9 | Kevin Hogan | 78.9% |
| 10 | Joey Harrington | 78.6% |
Gdula’s Take: Pickett’s profile suggests a high floor due to a lack of red flags. There aren’t specific areas where he shines, however, and his late (fifth-year) breakout doesn’t inspire a ton of confidence. That’s not to say there aren’t hits in his comp list, of course. Does he have true high-end upside? That is the question he’ll need to answer.
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