Predicting 5 of the boldest moves NFL franchises could make in 2022 NFL Draft

#3 - Jacksonville Jaguars will copy the Cincinnati Bengals and reunite Trevor Lawrence with Justyn Ross

LSU’s national championship was built heavily around the partnership of Ja’Marr Chase and Joe Burrow on offense, and the Cincinnati Bengals almost rode the same pair to a Super Bowl title after reuniting them in the 2021 NFL Draft.

The NFL is a copycat league, and the Jacksonville Jaguars will be looking for some out-of-the-box thinking to get much more out of Trevor Lawrence in 2022.

“We had a great connection in college, he’s special with the way he can cut and all those things he can do. I think he’s gonna be great wherever he ends up, but it would be nice to have a familiar face and pick back up where we left off,” explained Lawrence when asked about Justyn Ross this offseason.

Their generationally talented quarterback needs some serious help on offense, and the Jags could give him a massive boost by bringing onboard former Clemson target Justyn Ross.

Ross isn’t considered one of the elite receivers in this class, but he had excellent timing with Lawrence at Clemson.

Predicted to be selected in the third or fourth round of the 2022 NFL Draft, serious spinal surgery has limited the value teams have been willing to place on Ross. Still, he is swift and a reliable catcher and Lawrence will immediately trust him from day one.

Considering their sizable draft capital, the Jaguars will see this as a low-risk move, but it could kick-start their offense.

#4 - New Orleans Saints pay a heavy price to get into the top 8 and draft Malik Willis

The quarterbacks in the 2022 NFL Draft class have divided opinions that we haven’t seen for years.

There is no consensus on a guaranteed-success selection, and teams appear to be falling over themselves trying to figure out who is most likely to succeed in the NFL.

Kenny Pickett is perhaps the most balanced prospect in this crop of signal-callers, but he lacks the explosive athleticism that has marked Malik Willis out as a potential superstar wildcard in 2022.

NFL franchises have been monitoring his development throughout the 2021 season, and it is expected that a team will make a move for him in the upcoming NFL Draft.

New Orleans have positioned themselves as the most likely team to do just that. Seeing Drew Brees retire in 2021, re-signing Jameis Winston, and then trading up to #16 with the Philadelphia Eagles have been critical moments in the build-up to what would need to be the most significant trade of the 2022 NFL Draft.

Holding #16 and #19 in the first round, the Saints will assess which teams are open to moving down and who could rival them to move up.

The Pittsburgh Steelers also love Willis and have an opening at QB following Ben Roethlisberger’s retirement.

The Saints will need to beat them out and negotiate a deal with a team inside the top-8, likely to be the Atlanta Falcons, to grab Willis first.

If this happens, it will be the story of the night. Picks as high up as #8 are very expensive, especially when the selling team knows there is desperation in the air.

The Falcons need to look towards their rebuild but could see the 2023 NFL Draft class as the better arena to start it in earnest. They could take a lot of future draft capital from the Saints, and this is a potentially explosive move to watch out for.

It could either make or break the Saints’ hopes for life after Sean Payton.

#5 - Bill Belichick trades up to draft his highest pick since Richard Seymour

Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots don't trade up. They don’t do exciting things on NFL Draft night, and the closest we’ve gotten to entertainment from Belichick in an NFL Draft was when his zoom camera showed his dog sitting in front of a laptop during the COVID-19-impacted 2012 NFL Draft.

This is a long shot, but all that could change in 2022, with Belichick perhaps finally ready to make a move and draft his highest pick since taking Richard Seymour with the sixth-overall pick back in 2001.

It’s simple. Belichick doesn’t like losing. His Patriots team has underwhelmed since Tom Brady departed, and with Mac Jones appearing to be the long-term choice, the Pats now need a defensive stud.

This is the time for Belichick to break his own draft rules, significantly if a possibly generational athletic talent like Kayvon Thibodeaux or Aidan Hutchinson somehow drops past #5.

New England want to bolster their defense, especially from the edge positions, and with Belichick knowing that at 70 years old, retirement can’t be staved off indefinitely, he might decide to take a page out of the Los Angeles Rams’ playbook and gamble.

This would entail moving up into the top-10 and taking a player who could steer him to one final Super Bowl in Foxboro.