2022 NFL Draft Notes: Kyle Hamilton, Evan Neal, Spencer Rattler

NFL Media’s Daniel Jeremiah is taking an early look at some of the top prospects to watch this upcoming college football season and for the 2022 NFL Draft. 

Kyle Hamilton

• Jeremiah raves about Notre Dame S Kyle Hamilton‘s measurables, as he’s listed by the school at 6-4 and nearly 220 pounds with a reported 42-inch vertical jump.
• Hamilton has elite measurables and Jeremiah thinks he can do anything you’d ever ask a safety to do. Beyond that, Jeremiah highlights Hamilton’s technical ability as a sound tackler and how his film work shows up in his anticipation on the field. 
• If there’s a weakness to Hamilton’s game, Jeremiah doesn’t think he matches up all that well against smaller, shifty slot receivers. He also would like to see more ball production in terms of interceptions. 
• Jeremiah compares Hamilton to a bigger version of Broncos S Justin Simmons as instinctual safeties with range, length and strong tackling skills. 

Evan Neal

• Jeremiah believes Alabama OT Evan Neal is the next great offensive lineman in the Crimson Tide pipeline. The gargantuan 6-7, 360-pound Neal played left guard as a true freshman and right tackle last season, starting every game since he arrived on campus. He’ll play left tackle in 2021. 
• Neal moves exceptionally well for his size, per Jeremiah, and is a powerful blocker in both the pass and run game. He’s still susceptible to speed and quickness, either against speed rushes or in space at the second level, however. 
• Jeremiah thinks Neal might be a better fit on the right side and compares him to former Chargers OT Marcus McNeill. 

Spencer Rattler

• Oklahoma QB Spencer Rattler has a lot of hype entering the 2021 season and is on a number of watch lists for the Heisman trophy. However, Jeremiah currently doesn’t think Rattler is on the level of previous Sooner quarterbacks who have gone high in the draft. 
• On the positive side, Jeremiah thinks Rattler is at his best throwing on the move, where he can show his quick release and touch. He adds Rattler completed some beautiful deep passes in the games he watched and also flashed the ability to stick passes in some tight windows. 
• Two major negatives Jeremiah observed from Rattler were a tendency to drift at the top of his drop and float into unnecessary pressure, and his pocket awareness against the blitz. 
• Jeremiah thought Baker Mayfield was a more polished passer, while Kyler Murray was much more athletic than Rattler. With some development, Jeremiah thinks Rattler could become a similar player to former NFL QB Jeff Garcia.