Stock up, stock down for 5 2022 NFL Draft QB prospects

The 2022 NFL Draft looms large in the not-so-distant future. Three weeks away from the NCAAF, prospects are taking the next steps of their careers into the shark-infested professional football waters.

Before the 256 prospects walk across the stage set up at Allegiant Stadium on April 28-30, pre-draft games will continue to play out as college students make the transition to becoming professional athletes.

Which NFL Draft QB prospects have benefitted so far? And who has seen their stock move in the opposite direction?

Let's see whose stock has gone up, and whose has gone down of these 5 2022 NFL Draft QB prospects:

Bailey Zappe's stock has soared just like his downfield deep-bombs.

#1 - Bailey Zappe, stock up

Bailey Zappe has seen his stock rise in meteoric fashion throughout his collegiate playing days. Rising from the Division I FCS subdivision to leading a Conference USA offense, Zappe improved exponentially every season, becoming a can't miss prospect.

It's no surprise, then, that Zappe has continued to improve his draft position throughout the 2022 NFL Draft process.

Zappe went for 35 TDs and 15 INTs in his junior season at Houston Baptist before averaging just under four touchdown tosses per game in an abbreviated 2021 FCS season due to COVID-19.

At Western Kentucky this past fall, following a grad transfer, he exploded for 56 TDs, leading the FBS in scores and passing yards (5,545).

Matt Corral has only seen his stock fall since the start of the 2021 college football season.

#2 - Matt Corral, stock down

Once upon a time, Matt Corral looked like a shoo-in to be selected first in the 2022 NFL Draft.

The Lane Kiffin-coached dual-threat showed in the 2020 pandemic-stricken, SEC-only schedule that a Heisman-type campaign was possible.

That spectacular senior season never took place. While Ole Miss did finish the season in a New Year's Six bowl game, the worst possible scenario took place at the Sugar Bowl against Baylor.

Corral was sacked early on and suffered a high ankle sprain in his right foot. The injury robbed Corral of some mobility ahead of the most important workouts of his career, in front of NFL teams ahead of the draft.

Once projected to be the first QB selected, you won't find Corral near the top of anyone's NFL Draft Big Board anymore. He's done nothing in recent weeks to stave off the rise of other draft-eligible signal-callers.

Malik Willis has made himself a household name at Liberty under Hugh Freeze.

#3 - Malik Willis, stock up

Who would have thought that Malik Willis would ever come this far after transferring from Auburn due to maturity issues?

Willis recently admitted in an interview with NFL.com that's what he was told by then Tigers head coach Gus Malzahn. That shameful conversation led to a new beginning with Liberty, and the rest is history as they say. Willis stated:

“(Malzahn) didn’t have to (tell me). I knew, I was immature. I had just played really well in the spring game. But I learned the hard way that the spring game doesn’t matter. I decided after that meeting that I had to be better, but I needed to find somewhere else to play and find someone to help me get where I needed to go.”

Willis is now slated to be the first QB off the board in the 2022 NFL Draft, according to a source from The NFL Network's Peter Schrager:

"I know at least one NFL head coach who said he's his No. 1 QB on the board..."

While footwork and size tend to be the issues most often associated with Willis' player profile, like maturity issues, they can be overcome when put in the right situation.

Sam Howell has lost potential top pick status through bad decision-making on the field.

#4 - Sam Howell, stock down

Sam Howell is very much in Matt Corral's camp when it comes to QBs who have metaphorically fumbled their chance to be a top pick in the 2022 NFL Draft. The difference, though, is that his performance throughout the 2021 college football season was the reason.

Howell's decision-making cost him mightily in the 2021 season at the University of North Carolina.

In the Tar Heels' season opener at Virginia Tech, Howell all but wiped away the preseason hype many had for him to not only be a Heisman candidate, but a potential franchise QB as well.

It's still possible for the latter to happen, of course, but Howell has already lost a ton of money by falling on draft boards.

Kenny Pickett is confident he will be the first QB taken in the 2022 NFL Draft.

#5 - Kenny Pickett, stock up

Kenny Pickett is so confident in his performance throughout the 2021 college football season and the pre-draft process that he is projecting himself to be the first passer taken in the 2022 NFL Draft.

Pickett may be underestimating what scouts are seeing out of Malik Willis' versatile skill set, but the Pitt product knows he's a professional able to get the job done at any level.

Here's what Pickett told Adam Breneman on 'Breneman Shows Up' when the host asked if he sees himself as the first QB likely to be selected in a few weeks at Allegiant Stadium:

"I think so ... It's never an easy thing and I'll make that transition, I feel like, faster in the NFL now because [of] that experience . . . that I know how to go about my business as a pro, kind of being an older guy. At the end of the day, that's what . . . coming around to the position, it's like, 'Can you win? Do you know how to handle all the things it takes to be a quarterback?' I definitely do. So I think I am QB1."

Pickett has overcome knocks on his hand size to put himself in a position to be QB1 in the 2022 QB class. The 2021 ACC Championship gunslinger knows that if given the chance, he can lead a team to victory, no matter what position the team is in when he gets there.

NFL Draft scouts seem to understand Pickett's message loud and clear as well.