"I have never seen a more star-less draft than this one" - Skip Bayless on void of talent in this year's NFL Draft
Skip Bayless couldn't have been more skeptical of the 2022 NFL Draft class if he wanted to be. The 'Undisputed' host ripped into this year's crop of pro football hopefuls on Thursday's draft-day show on FS1.
Among his gripes for the 2022 NFL Draft were the lack of star power at the very top of the draft and the inability for him to name the definitive top player in the class:
"In all my years of closely watching drafts, covering drafts, analyzing drafts dating into the mid 1970s. I have never seen a more star-less draft than this one. I have never seen a greater void at the top of the draft than this one because it's just completely up in the air. Who's the best player? I don't know."
In particular, Bayless called out Oregon DE Kayvon Thibodeaux, who he felt had undisputed No. 1 pick potential, but struggled against Pac-12 offensive lines in 2022:
"I went into the regular season of last year's college football thinking Kayvon Thibodeaux was going to be the first pick in the draft. I watched him a lot in Oregon and we're talking about explosive ability. But production... Well, I saw a little burst there...I saw a little flash there, but it didn't sustain itself because it's low motor."
The No. 1 pick in the 2022 NFL Draft is still up in the air
Just because there is a void in knowledge as to who will be the top overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, doesn't mean there won't eventually be prospects that develop into stars from this class.
The No. 1 pick appears to be between Aidan Hutchinson (Michigan) and Travon Walker (Georgia), a pair of defensive linemen whose teams appeared in the College Football Playoff this past season.
Walker currently has the most buzz considering his SEC experience and the fact that not only did his Bulldogs beat down Hutchinson's Wolverines in the Orange Bowl on New Year's Eve, but UGA won its first National Championship since 1980. The typical 'Bama bump' that is applied to draft prospects from Alabama could be granted to Georgia prospects this year, and Walker could be the primary beneficiary of it.