Lincoln Riley, the head coach of the Oklahoma Sooners, has a history of sending quarterbacks to the NFL. Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray were first overall draft picks in consecutive years. Following Murray, Alabama transfer Jalen Hurts took over the starting role. Hurts was then drafted in the second round by the Philadelphia Eagles. Last season, in his redshirt freshman season, Spencer Rattler took over the reins of the Sooner offense. As we’ll explain below, this season Spencer Rattler is predicted to take a huge step forward and solidify himself as the best QB in the 2022 NFL Draft class.
Oklahoma QB QB Spencer Rattler is @rivalsmike No. 1 overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, and believes Rattler has an amazing arm and should have a massive season.
LINK for the top NFL Draft prospects in the Big 12: https://t.co/cLRwFaMzfg pic.twitter.com/IVCcc2x8qV
— Rivals (@Rivals) August 23, 2021
In our recent mock draft, available here, we had the Houston Texans selecting Spencer Rattler with the first overall pick. Last season, Rattler displayed all the traits that NFL scouts want to see in a quarterback. He has elite velocity and arm strength, as displayed in the tweet above from Rivals.com. Furthermore, Rattler’s athleticism and ability to make quick decisions allows him to escape a collapsing pocket and scramble for additional yardage.
Competition At Quarterback In The 2022 NFL Draft
The path to becoming the top 2022 QB won’t be easy for Spencer Rattler. Aside from the Oklahoma QB, there are several others that could easily find themselves having their name called before Rattler.
North Carolina’s Sam Howell could very well end up being a top ten pick in 2022. Howell burst onto the scene in 2019 as a true freshman, throwing for over 3,600 yards. Last season was just as impressive for the Tar Heels QB as he threw for 3,500 yards and a 179.1 passer efficiency rating. However, this season Sam Howell will have to impress NFL scouts with younger talent around him. North Carolina lost two of their top running backs, as well as two wide receivers, to the 2021 NFL Draft.
We also have Southern California’s Kedon Slovis in the mix. Slovis had a massive season in 2019 after taking over for JT Daniels. Slovis finished with 3,500 passing yards and 30 touchdowns, returning USC to prominence. However, last season, in a pandemic-shortened season, the USC QB struggled. In just six games, Slovis finished with a 17-7 touchdown to interception ratio.
Be sure to follow NFL Draft Lounge for more coverage on Spencer Rattler and the 2022 NFL Draft QB class. As always, you can find us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.