2022 NFL Draft Rankings & Their Book Character Counterparts
The NFL Draft is all the rage right now, but the BBC has been following it since day one. We’re not bandwagoners. We’re OG draft enthusiast. Don’t believe us? Here is the high tech 2005/2006 website myself and few good buddies put together (which ultimately became Draft Analysis).
Everyone is doing a mock draft and draft rankings nowadays, but is anyone combining book content and the draft? I don’t think so, and that is the BBC difference.
Without further ado, here is BBC’s 2022 Top 20 Draft Prospects and Their Book Character Comparison.
This is a very serious and heavily researched blog.
1. Evan Neal – OT, Alabama is Moby Dick (Moby Dick) – An absolute mammoth of a man, the best pass blocker and overall OT, and should be drafted first overall to the Jaguars (someone please protect Sunshine!) Neal will be the anchor on any offensive line. What does an anchor remind us of? A boat. What is the most popular character on (or outside of a) boat known for it’s size and strength? Moby Dick.
2. Derek Stingley Jr. – CB, LSU is Remus Lupin (Harry Potter) – Stingley has the potential to be a lock down corner and perennial pro-bowler. Super high ceiling. But, like Remus Lupin, there were long stretches where he wasn’t seen (due to injury, not because he is a werewolf). Similar to Lupin, he’s a wizard, and worth the risk.
3. Ahmad Gardner – CB, Cincinnati is Severus Snape (Harry Potter) – Gardner has the tall, skinny, ranginess of Snape and the talent to boot. Like Snape he wasn’t hanging out with all the cool kids from Gryffindor (Alabama and Georgia), but still managed to separate himself from the pack.
4. Kyle Hamilton – S, Notre Dame is Ender Wiggins (Ender’s Game) – The physical characteristics may not match here, as Hamilton has elite size and Ender did not. But the intelligence, leadership, and success at a young age are similar. Both are guys you want leading your defense/attack against an alien race.
5. Kayvon Thibodeaux – DE, Oregon – is Katniss Everdeen (Hunger Games) – Katniss scored an 11 at her version of the combine, for her skill with a bow and arrow and her fierce temper. Kayvon would score 11 for his unbelievable first step and explosiveness. Deciding if he is Dion Jordan or Khalil Mack is like picking between Peeta and Gale.
6. Ikem Ekwonu – OT, NC State is Jack Reacher (Lee Child Series) – Like Reacher, Ekwonu is a big powerful dude who just wants to beat up whoever is in front of him. An elite run blocker and effort player. Was it Jack Reacher or Ekwonu that said this quote, “Whoever is in front of me, I just want to bury him”?
7. Travon Walker – DE, Georgia is Mitch Rapp (Vince Flynn Series) – We’ve mentioned on the Buddy Book Club that Mitch Rapp is the best character out there, so this comparison could only go to the likely #1 overall pick. Walker, is pretty much great at everything he does. A jack of all traits, top tier athlete, just like Mitch Rapp in his lacrosse playing days.
8. Aidan Hutchinson – DE, Michigan is Darrow au Andromedus (Red Rising Series) – Similar to Darrow in stature in his Gold form, Hutchinson is quick, strong, great hands, and agility (probably from dancing like Darrow). Great production his senior year and a sure fire top 5 pick.
9. Jermaine Johnson – DE, FSU is Court Gentry (Mark Greaney Series) – Much like Court, Johnson battled through a lot of adversity going to two different schools, before finally settling in at FSU and dominating. He’s got all the skills and size you look for in a DE, expect him to be laying out QBs like Court lays out terrorists next season.
10. Andrew Booth – CB, Clemson is Harry Potter – Keeping with the theme that cornerbacks are wizards, Booth is right up there with the best of them. He stays on WRs like Harry stays on the golden snitch. He has come up with some of the best wizard-like interceptions you’ll ever see. He also happened to go to a prestigious school similar to Hogwarts.
11. Devin Lloyd – LB, Utah is Aragorn (Lord of the Rings Series) – Lloyd’s production and down-hill style of play makes him an easy top 15 talent. Even though the off the ball linebacker spot has been devalued like Aragorn at one point, every group can benefit from the leadership, instinctiveness and aggressiveness that both Lloyd and Aragorn show.
12. Garrett Wilson – WR, Ohio State is Duncan Idaho (Dune) – We describe Wilson, the same way the book Dune describes Duncan Idaho “feline movements, the swiftness of reflex that made him such a difficult weapons teacher to emulate” (that’s a direct quote but honestly it sounds grammatically wrong, but I’m also an idiot and Dune was way over my head.) That’s Garrett Wilson, extremely quick feet, impossible to cover, should be the first WR to come off the board.
13. Devonte Wyatt – DT, Georgia is a Velociraptor (from Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton) – Sticking with defensive tackles being non-human characters in books, Wyatt was part of an absolutely loaded defense and was probably the least talked about player. Like a Velociraptor he is extremely quick and can sniff out the run or get to the QB. A true 3-down DT.
14. Jordan Davis – DT, Georgia is Jaws (Peter Benchley Book) – Huge, scary, ferocious, faster than you can possibly imagine. Are all the ways to describe Jaws and Jordan Davis, who at 6’6″ 341lbs, and ran a 4.78. Stuff of nightmares.
15. Trent McDuffie – CB, Washington is Hermione Granger (Harry Potter) – A smart, instinctive corner with great speed. He makes up for size with hustle and heart. Similar to Hermione in Harry Potter series, McDuffie may be overlooked but is the true talent.
16. Jameson Williams – WR Alabama is Kvothe (Kingkiller Series) – Williams is a smooth, fluid athlete, that put up insane numbers (19.9 YPC). Was likely a top 5 pick before getting injured. Much like Kvothe and the Kingkiller series, super talented and expecting a lot of big things but we’ll need to continue to wait to see more (don’t hold your breath for Kvothe).
17. Tyler Linderbaum – C, Iowa is The Hatchet (from Hatchet )- Linderbaum is a lunch pale type of guy, hard working, under appreciated, interior lineman that likely won’t go until late in the first round. Much like the Hatchet from the book Hatchet, Linderbuam is underappreciated but will always get the job done despite being a bit undersized. But sometimes a hatchet is better than an axe.
18. Chris Olave – WR, Ohio State is James Bond (Ian Fleming Series ) – Fast, great route running, Devonta Smith type WR. He’s fun to watch and got that silky smoothness of a James Bond. Everything he does seems to come easy. Olave, Chris Olave.
19. Zion Johnson – OG, Boston College is The Green Light (in The Great Gatsby) – The Green Light in the Great Gatsby is very symbolic. It represents… (I have no idea, I’ll save that for the scholars). Zion represents that green light, because he’s a constant, a stalwart at his position. “Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us.” And we believe in Zion. But really he’s more like a red light because he’s not letting anyone in 🙂 (okay I’m losing it, one more).
20. Drake London – WR, USC is Roland Deschain (Dark Tower Series) – London is a big body WR, with great production and a nice safety blanket for QBs. He’s a guy that doesn’t lose 50/50 balls. His play style is similar to Roland Deschain’s “he prefers not to over-plan his actions, trusting in his instinct and skill at improvising according to the situation” – lot of his best moments are on broken plays or on poor throws.
If anyone actually got to this point, I commend you. Find more insightful and useful blogs here, or check out our episodes here. Happy NFL Draft Day!
