In a college football season filled with chaos -- No. 2 Iowa was the latest top-10 team to lose this weekend -- there are also lots of questions about what's to come in the 2022 NFL draft. I updated my Big Board and position rankings late last month, but I'll have new updates a few more times before the season ends, and nothing is set in stone. I expect lots of movement among each position group as we get more 2021 tape and then see how prospects perform at college all-star games, the combine and pro days.
So let's talk today about "sleepers," particularly prospects who aren't in the first-round discussion right now but who could rise into the top 32 picks if they nail the rest of the season and pre-draft process. I picked six guys I like who I could see NFL teams falling in love with by the time April rolls around. These aren't necessarily small-school prospects -- though there are a couple -- but they're guys who are creating some buzz within the league and have a high ceiling.
I'll start with a raw offensive tackle, and I'll also pick an under-the-radar prospect to watch the rest of the season plus a riser after Saturday's games:
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Draft riser | Under-the-radar prospect
Six first-round sleepers for the 2022 NFL draft
Bernhard Raimann, OT, Central Michigan
Scouts have been buzzing about Raimann, who has an amazing backstory. He began playing football in his home country of Austria at age 14, then came to the United States as a foreign exchange student, where he excelled at high school in Detroit. He got a scholarship from Central Michigan as a 6-foot-7, 230-pound tight end and had 20 total catches in 2018 and 2019. Then, he bulked up before the 2020 season to make the transition to left tackle, where has started the past 13 games for the Chippewas.
Now 305 pounds, Raimann looks fantastic so far. He drives defensive ends off the line of scrimmage in the run game and has stellar feet in pass sets. NFL offensive line coaches will love his physical traits. Raimann is not a first-rounder right now, but he's the type of raw, ascending talent I could see teams trying to take at the end of Round 1. He's improving every week. Coaches will want to mold him into the next great left tackle.
Daxton Hill, S, Michigan
A former five-star prospect in the Class of 2019, Hill has started ever since he got to the Michigan campus. He's exactly what NFL coordinators want in a defensive back; he can be a deep safety, cover wide receivers from the slot, or play close to the line of scrimmage and make plays in the run game. He has the ball skills of a corner -- check out this interception against Nebraska -- and has added five tackles for loss this season.
At 6-foot, 190 pounds, Hill has long arms and the speed to run with wideouts. His versatility is a huge plus. He's playing great this season and could rise into the Round 1 discussion if he keeps it up.
Boye Mafe, DE/OLB, Minnesota
NFL teams crave edge rushers -- they can't find enough pass-rushers who create havoc and get after quarterbacks. That's Mafe, who has 9.5 sacks and four forced fumbles in his past 11 games dating to the start of last season. At 6-foot-3, 265 pounds, he can bend the corner and use his speed to get by offensive tackles. He also has some power moves.
Mafe just barely cracked my top 10 list at OLB in my most recent Big Board, but he could rise if he keeps up his production and performs like I think he will at the combine in March. Just look at former Penn State defender Odafe Oweh, who snuck into the end of Round 1 last year on the heels of an elite pro day workout. He already has three sacks for the Ravens. It just takes one team to fall in love with a prospect, and Mafe has the tools that make him a pass-rusher to watch.
Jameson Williams, WR, Alabama
I wrote last month about Williams' start to the season, and he has taken the SEC by storm. With 29 catches for 587 yards and six scores -- including one on Saturday against Mississippi State -- he has been Alabama's best wideout. The Ohio State transfer is an explosive vertical stretch receiver who is averaging 20.2 yards per catch in his first season at Alabama. Williams tracks the ball in the air at an elite level and is a big play waiting to happen. He also has two kickoff return touchdowns.
Jameson Williams hauls in a 75-yard touchdown for Alabama on the first play of the half.
The 2022 receiver class has been up and down this season, and I ranked Williams at No. 6 in my top 10 last month. There's no doubt he's playing like a future first-rounder, but he needs to keep showing his ability to separate and come down with long scores. I actually wouldn't be surprised if he was drafted before his former Buckeyes teammates Chris Olave and Garrett Wilson, if a team falls in love with his long speed.
Logan Hall, DL, Houston
OK, so you asked for sleeper first-round picks, and these next two prospects definitely qualify as under the radar. Hall has really improved this season. He has been absolutely dominant over the past two games, with 3.5 sacks and five more tackles for loss against Tulsa and Tulane. At 6-foot-5, 275 pounds, he can play on the edge or rush passers from the three-technique spot. The versatility will be appealing to NFL teams, who want to move around defenders to confuse offenses.
The arrow is definitely pointing up on Hall, who has put together a few "wow" performances this season. Don't forget that Houston had a surprise first-rounder last year, too, when the Saints took defensive lineman Payton Turner at No. 28. Hall has been one of the most disruptive defenders in college football this season.
Jalen Tolbert, WR, South Alabama
Let's end with a small-school prospect I highlighted before the season as a potential riser. The 6-foot-3 Tolbert is coming off his best performance of the season; he had 11 catches for 174 yards and a touchdown in the win over Georgia Southern. He now has 36 catches for 718 yards on the season, an average of 19.9 yards per reception. For his career, Tolbert has 2,384 receiving yards -- while averaging 18.1 yards per catch -- and 16 scores.
Drops have been an issue, but Tolbert is a big playmaker whom teams could eye at the end of Round 1.
Prospect on the rise after Week 7
Roger McCreary, CB, Auburn
McCreary, who ranked No. 21 on my latest Big Board, is just so fundamentally sound. He had a great game against Arkansas on Saturday, almost grabbing his third pick of the season. Razorbacks wideout Treylon Burks had two touchdowns, but neither came against McCreary, who mostly plays outside. He's a savvy, battle-tested corner who is natural in coverage, and he's also a willing tackler. How I'd describe McCreary is "safe" -- he has a high NFL floor because of his instincts. He has put himself in the early discussion for the middle of Round 1.
Roger McCreary crosses goal line for 35-yard defensive TD
Under-the-radar prospect you should know
E.J. Perry, QB, Brown
I know Brown alumnus Chris Berman will enjoy this, because Perry is a really solid developmental signal-caller. The Boston College transfer had five touchdown passes and an interception in a loss to Princeton on Saturday. He threw for 331 yards and added 82 more on the ground. At 6-foot-2, 210 pounds, he has shown that he can extend plays with his legs, throwing on the run. Perry's ball placement needs work -- he can get a little wild with passes -- and he has thrown an interception in every game this season. But he is the type of late-round pick who will intrigue teams down the road. Perry clearly has some talent.