NFL Comparisons: Class of 2022 Defensive Recruits

It’s always fun to draw comparisons between younger football players in high school and college to that of NFL players. Sometimes, analysts can make unreasonable projections and comparisons, but sometimes, the similarities are very obvious. As stated in our previous NFL Comparisons Article, coaches often times utilize comparisons to develop a picture of what they hope a player can develop into. For fans, these comparisons can be fun to entertain. Listed below are comparisons for three of the more notable defensive players within the 2022 class. [player_tooltip player_id="33866" first="Mykel" last="Williams"] (DE)- 6’5 255 Hardaway Maybe its because of their similar frame, but when I look at [player_tooltip player_id="33866" first="Mykel" last="Williams"], I see a young prospect who is in the very beginning stages of a development that has the ceiling of being similar to Deforest Buckner for the San Fransisco 49ers. He has the height, length, and flashes of the burst that Buckner has. While Williams is very young, he has plenty to work on such as how high he plays at times and how he sinks his hips. Despite this, there are flashes of excellence and fundamental football in the way he uses his hands and extends his arms on contact as he fires off of the ball. These things can be coached, but instinct to do them cannot be coached. Buckner uses his hands as well within his game, and it helps him get to the QB. Williams shows the ability to do the same. As he continues to get older, his frame will fill out more, but his height and length will remain and can continue to be a strength in his toolbox. [player_tooltip player_id="33863" first="Daniel" last="Martin"] (LB)- 6’3 190 Marietta [player_tooltip player_id="33863" first="Daniel" last="Martin"] has shown the ability to effectively play in coverage as a young Outside linebacker. He can move around like a safety and get sideline to sideline, which has already proven to help Marietta’s defense in many ways. He runs through his tackles and moves well in the hook, curl, and flats range of the football field. Instantly, Martin draws comparisons of Los Angeles Ram’s linebacker Cory Littleton. Littleton, being an athletic linebacker himself, shows the ability to cover, and makes plays on the football as well. Martin, like Littleton, has no problem coming downhill to make a play, but moves well enough to change direction and cover if need be. This is very attractive to college coaches as defensive schemes are beginning to change and lean more towards an athletic linebacker prototype player. [player_tooltip player_id="33860" first="Marquis" last="Groves-Killebrew"] (CB)- 6’0 180 Brookwood University of Georgia commit [player_tooltip player_id="33860" first="Marquis" last="Groves-Killebrew"] already moves better than most kids his age, and older. His ability to flip his hips on a dime and change direction very quickly, allowing him to burst out of his breaks, is what translates to every level of play. Not only does he show the burst and short area quickness that you want, but his overall speed is very ideal as well. These things, paired with his footwork and tenacity on the football field make him a game changer. His spacial awareness in coverage allows him to put himself in a good place to make plays on the ball, and recover after making mistakes. All of these traits are similar to Baltimore Ravens CB Marcus Peters. Peters shows a burst, change of direction, quickness, spacial awareness, ball skills, and tenacity that can already be seen in Groves-Killebrew. Groves-Killebrew puts himself in a great place in coverage, and has similar recovery speed as Peters. If you’re familiar with Peters, you’d know how much this helps a team. With this, their build is very comparable. As he continues to develop, watch him turn into a Marcus Peters type CB within his time at the University of Georgia.