Which undrafted free agents will make an impact in the NFL in 2022?

Oregon safety Verone McKinley III

Safety – Verone McKinley III, Oregon (Miami Dolphins)

McKinley was my number eight overall safety and a top-100 overall prospect, ahead of a couple of guys that went on day two. He’s just under six feet and 200 pounds, and his testing certainly hurt him, finishing in the 45th percentile or worse across the board at the combine and then running a 4.65 at the Ducks pro day. With that being said, this guy has been making plays on the ball since his redshirt freshman season, when he led the Pac-12 with four interceptions, and after another solid 2020 campaign, he was a consensus All-American this past year, thanks to 77 total tackles, six passes intercepted and broken up each. He tracks the eyes of the quarterback exceptionally well. He’s handled a multitude of coverage responsibilities – anything from deep middle duty to rotating down late and covering tight ends – and he has an innate feel for how to play the ball in the air. His evaluation is similar to Jordan Fuller coming out of Ohio State, who is now a green-dot player for the Rams. Both see the game so well that they’re consistently a step ahead and have better play speed than how they test. McKinley now gets to reunite with fellow Oregon alum Jevon Holland, who was the first selected drafted in last year’s draft and had a monster rookie season for the Dolphins. It would not be shocking if he eventually started over Brandon Jones or, at least, got onto the field, if they want to pull that guy closer to the line of scrimmage.