If it ain’t broke don’t fix it. That’s the energy that Brady Henderson brought into ESPN’s 2022 NFL re-draft. In the first round, he had the Seahawks going the same route they did last year, selecting Mississippi State left tackle Charles Cross with the No. 9 overall pick.
In the second round of ESPN’s re-draft, Henderson picked Michigan State running back Ken Walker in the spot (No. 40 overall) that had gone to Minnesota outside linebacker Boye Mafe.
With the very next pick, Henderson went in a different direction. Instead of taking Mafe, he went with a different edge defender: Penn State’s Arnold Ebiketie:
“The Seahawks loved Ebiketie but never got a chance to take him in the actual draft, ending up with Boye Mafe instead. With Mafe off the board in this scenario, they could take Ebiketie, who had similar production during his rookie season but a much better pass rush win rate — 17.6% compared to Mafe’s 10.2%.”
You’ll hear no argument from us. There’s still time for Mafe to catch up, but for now Ebiketie appears to have the higher ceiling in the NFL.
