Top NFL GM Says It's 'a Mysterious Year' for NFL Draft; Mock Drafts Inconsistent

Accurately forecasting what 32 different general managers will do in the NFL draft is always impossible. Even for the sharpest minds, this year's edition is especially tough to read.

NBC Sports' Peter King spoke to one general manager who outlined the wide variance on player evaluations ahead of the 2022 NFL draft.

"You can take the top 20 most plugged-in guys in your business. Ask them to pick the top 10 guys in this draft," the GM said. "I would bet a lot of money no two guys have the same top 10. When you don’t know who’s going one or two or three at this point of the year, you’ve got a mysterious year."

Plenty of ink has been spilled about the state of this year's quarterback class and how there isn't a clear can't-miss talent for QB-needy teams picking in the top 10. That largely holds true about the draft pool as a whole too.

Oregon edge-rusher Kayvon Thibodeaux is the highest-rated player on Bleacher Report's big board with a 9.2 overall grade. Alabama offensive tackle Evan Neal and USC wide receiver Drake London (both of whom are rated at 9.0) are the only other players given a top-10 grade.

By contrast, Trevor Lawrence led the way with a 9.6 grade on B/R's final big board for the 2021 draft. Kyle Pitts (9.4) and Justin Fields (9.3) also would've qualified as the best player heading into the 2022 draft.

Underscoring the uncertainty surrounding what will unfold in less than two weeks, King spoke with a GM and a head coach who projected Georgia defensive lineman Travon Walker to be the No. 1 overall pick to the Jacksonville Jaguars on April 28 in Las Vegas.

Walker is the No. 26 overall player on the B/R big board but projected to go third to the Houston Texans on B/R's mock draft.

Since nobody really knows all that much, the first few rounds of the 2022 draft should make for great television.