Best bet for second player selected in 2022 NFL Draft

The 2022 NFL Draft is fast approaching and one of the more fascinating questions of the question is who Detroit Lions will take with the No. 2 overall pick. This selection is obviously contingent on who the Jacksonville Jaguars will take with the first overall pick and they’ll certainly have a host of options.

Michigan defensive end Aidan Hutchinson was projected as the No. 1 overall to the Jags for months but Georgia defensive end Travon Walker has recently overtaken him as the odds-on favorite to be taken first. If the Wolverine edge rusher does slip past the top spot, the Lions scooping him up would be a gigantic no brainer. Hutchinson grew up 20 minutes away in the Detroit suburb of Dearborn, MI, and he set program sack records for the flagship college football program of the state. He’d be an instant hometown hero and face of the franchise for the organization.

In an edge rusher-heavy draft class, the Lions would have other options in the form of Walker and Oregon defensive end Kayvon Thibodeaux depending on what Jacksonville does. Thibodeaux has been tabbed as an NFL-bound edge rusher prospect since he was in high school but is starting to fall down boards in the eyes of some analysts for his propensity to “take plays off”. Meanwhile, Walker has skyrocketed up boards in recent weeks following the NFL Scouting Combine and UGA’s Pro Day.

Some are starting to speculate if Detroit will pull the trigger on drafting a franchise quarterback of the future with this pick and Liberty’s Malik Willis has creeped up to this spot on some boards. With Jared Goff as the starting quarterback for now, the franchise could basically stash Willis on the bench for a year before officially handing him the keys in 2023.

We have NFL Draft odds for who will be selected with the No. 2 overall pick of the 2022 NFL Draft courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook. Let’s look at who the oddsmakers have slotted near the top.

Odds

Aidan Hutchinson -300
Kayvon Thibodeaux +350
Travon Walker +650
Jermaine Johnson II +1200
Ahmad Gardner +1800
Malik Willis +2500
Derek Stingley Jr. +4000

Best bet

I originally had Thibodeaux here but the Walker hype from the past few weeks has been real. Jacksonville stays the course and takes Hutchinson, allowing for Walker to fall to Detroit.

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