Russell Wilson gives his verdict on Broncos' haul in 2022 NFL Draft
Russell Wilson gave his assessment of the Denver Broncos and their draft class in the 2022 NFL Draft. He tweeted this out after the draft:
When we got @BadgerFootball players on @Broncos in the draft! … you know it’s a good draft! #OnWisconsin
🏾… you know it’s a good draft! #OnWisconsinWhen we got @BadgerFootball players on @Broncos in the draft! 💪🏾… you know it’s a good draft! #OnWisconsin
Denver drafted two players from the University of Wisconsin with their last two picks, interior defensive lineman Matt Henningsen in the sixth round and cornerback Faion Hicks in the seventh round.
Henningsen racked up 8.5 sacks, 13.5 tackles for loss, and 92 total tackles in his four seasons as a Badger. In 2021, Hicks had 27 tackles and eight passes defended for Wisconsin. The eight passes defended were the 10th most in the Big Ten in 2021.
It's important to note that Wilson was drafted out of Wisconsin back in the 2012 NFL Draft by the Seattle Seahawks.
Overall, general manager George Paton and the Broncos didn’t have much to work with in this draft. Denver didn’t have a first-round pick in this year’s draft. Despite not having that first-round pick, Paton and the Broncos front office did a great job working their way through the process by acquiring picks later on in the draft and even boosting their draft capital for the 2023 draft.
Notable draft picks to help Russell Wilson
Denver drafted UCLA tight end Greg Dulcich in the third round of the draft. Dulcich accumulated 77 receptions, 1,353 yards receiving, and 11 touchdowns in his four years in college. The six-foot-three, 245-pounder was sixth in the Pac-12 with 725 receiving yards and eighth in touchdown receptions with five in the 2021 season.
Dulcich could be the replacement for Noah Fant, who was shipped to Seattle in the trade for Wilson. They also added to the wide receiving corps by drafting Montrell Washington in the fifth-round out of Samford.
Washington could not only be a special teams player; he could be in the competition for snaps as a receiver. In 2021, he led the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) with 1,938 all-purpose yards, including 813 receiving yards, 742 kick return yards, 243 punt return yards and 140 rushing yards, while adding 18 touchdowns, three of which were touchdown returns.
All in all, Wilson has every reason to love the Broncos' 2022 draft class, and we’ll see their impact moving forward.