Texas Football: 5 early top Longhorns for the 2022 NFL Draft

Following the conclusion of the 2021 NFL Draft, a lot of eyes are already focused on what the early look of the landscape is for the 2022 draft class. And while the Texas football program is going through a large transition phase at the moment, there’s still a chance that they can finally snap the drought of first-round picks among former players that dates back to 2015.

Texas Exes had a decent showing in the 2021 draft, with five former Longhorns falling off of the board in the actual seven rounds. Among the eight former Longhorns that were a part of the 2021 draft class, seven have either been drafted, signed, or both. Texas had two wide receivers signed as undrafted free agents in the roughly 18 hours since the conclusion of day three of the draft.

The first Texas Ex was taken off the board in the 2021 draft 51st overall in the second round when the Washington Football Team selected offensive tackle Samuel Cosmi. And then the Longhorns had one more day two selection in this draft when the Cincinnati Bengals selected edge rusher Joseph Ossai 69th overall in the third round.

Three more Texas Exes were taken off the board then on day three. Hopefully the improved results in the NFL Draft this year are something that the Longhorns can build upon for next year’s class.

Early projections for Texas football players in the 2022 NFL Draft

It’s hard to tell the exact picture of the projected Longhorns 2022 draft class at the moment since it is still too early to know. But we can take a look into the early projections among those that will at least be draft-eligible next year.

The NCAA did grant an extra year of eligibility to those who participated in the 2020 college football season in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. So there will be a good bit of draft-eligible players off of the Forty Acres next year.

With that in mind, here’s a look into the top five Longhorns players early on that could be 2022 NFL Draft prospects.