Tennessee football: Five takeaways from NFL Draft 2022

Although there was some encouragement about this class, it’s actually a bit of a surprise that Tennessee football had its best NFL Draft since 2017. Some of this had to do with numerous Vols in other classes being overlooked and becoming steals as undrafted free agents, but some this goes to the turnaround last year.

Either way, this class told us a lot about Rocky Top right now and the state of the program as it moves forward into Josh Heupel’s second season on the job. Obviously, not all of this is a reflection on Heupel, as he didn’t sign any of these guys.

Still, Heupel and his staff had a hand in them being drafted. Let’s take a look at all the things this class, with five players taken, reflects about the culture and style of UT right now. This is something partially built before Heupel came. These are the five things we learned from Tennessee football’s 2022 NFL Draft class.

5. Staying an extra senior year is paying off.

When the NCAA adopted its COVID eligibility ruling in 2020, lots of seniors were naturally going to stay an extra year to develop further. Now, that came at a price, as the 2021 draft was going to be watered down because of it, so they’d have a lot more competition entering the 2022 draft. For the Vols, though, it paid off.

Theo Jackson, Matthew Butler and Velus Jones Jr. all decided to stay for an extra year. Butler was probably the only one of the three who had drafting potential in 2021, but Jones could have had it given the combine performance he put on display. Jackson would’ve had no shot.

However, they all had their best season with Tennessee football as seniors, and that was enough to propel them into the draft. You will likely see more of this going forward with certain players until the whole situation is sorted out, which won’t be until 2025. It may not work for everybody every year, but it worked for the Vols players this year.