The 2022 NFL draft, which runs through Saturday, isn’t expected to be bountiful for the Arizona Wildcats. It’s possible — more likely than not, according to most rankings — that no UA players will be selected.
This wouldn’t be breaking news. No program in the Pac-12 has had fewer draft picks over the past nine years than Arizona. (Why nine years? We’ll explain in a little bit.)
The question then becomes: How can Arizona change that narrative?
UA coach Jedd Fisch believes that process already has begun. Fisch, who has extensive NFL coaching experience, said several current Cats will attract serious NFL attention in 2023. He rattled off six off the top of his head: offensive tackle Jordan Morgan, receiver Jacob Cowing, defensive tackle Kyon Barrs and defensive backs Christian Roland-Wallace, Jaxen Turner and Christian Young.
“I would assume, safely, that next year’s pro day will have more draft picks,” Fisch said after Arizona’s pro day in March. “And then the following years we’ll continue to have more and more.”
Fisch knows that it’s absolutely critical, for a variety of reasons, to secure and develop pro-level talent. Every high school prospect has NFL aspirations, and they want to be part of programs that can help them achieve that dream.
To that end, Fisch assembled a staff featuring several former NFL assistant coaches: Brennan Carroll, Ricky Hunley, DeWayne Walker, Chuck Cecil. Running backs coach Scottie Graham played in the league for six years.
Those coaches reeled in a top-25 recruiting class for 2022. That’s really where it starts.
“We want to have as many guys at the (scouting) combine as we possibly can,” Fisch said. “We want as many guys to get drafted as we possibly can. We’re trying to build a program where the NFL comes here to get players. That’s the ultimate goal.
“The more players you get that are NFL-caliber players, the more wins you get. We’re gonna just keep building it.
“I think we have a very strong football team this year in terms of NFL potential. Now they have to have a great season, and they have to play really well to make it. And if they can do that, then I think we’ve got a great opportunity there.”
Of the six players Fisch listed as possible 2023 draft picks, five signed with Arizona out of high school. Homegrown UA draft picks have been few and far between in recent years.
Of the four Wildcats selected in the past four drafts, three were transfers: safety Dane Cruikshank and defensive tackles PJ Johnson and Roy Lopez. The lone exception: running back Gary Brightwell.
As Fisch noted, nearly half of the 12 players who participated in Arizona’s pro day joined the program the previous offseason. The player most likely to be drafted, receiver Stanley Berryhill III, is a lifelong Wildcat — a Tucson native who walked on to his hometown school and eventually became a scholarship standout.
Will Berryhill be picked? He faces an uphill battle. Berryhill is the 54th-ranked receiver in this year’s class, according to The Athletic’s Dane Brugler, whose 2022 draft guide — dubbed “The Beast” — is 288 pages long and ranks 1,698 players. Thirty-five receivers were picked in the 2021 draft.
Pro Football Network projects Berryhill — who’s been overlooked his entire career because he lacks elite size and speed — to be drafted in the seventh round by the Los Angeles Chargers. If he doesn’t come off the board, Berryhill will have to follow the path of his friend, former teammate and fellow Tucsonan Demetrius Flanagan-Fowles, who went from undrafted free agent to core special-teamer for the San Francisco 49ers.
Who else might get a look? Defensive tackle Trevon Mason is the only Arizona player to receive a grade from ESPN’s Scouts Inc., which ranked 366 prospects. Mason checked in at No. 353. There are 262 picks in this year’s draft.
Defensive lineman Mo Diallo is the only UA player to be profiled by NFL.com, which gave him a grade that places him in the “average backup or special-teamer” category.
Arizona’s draft drought began in 2013, when no Wildcats were picked for the first time since 2005. The previous year, 2012, was the last time a UA player was selected in the first three rounds – quarterback Nick Foles.
The nine subsequent drafts have yielded nine UA draft picks — fewest in the Pac-12 over that span. No Wildcats were picked in four of those drafts.
Here’s a team-by-team look at Pac-12 picks from 2013-21 (source: Pro Football Reference):
Arizona
Total picks: 9
First-rounders: 0
Second/third-rounders: 0
No picks: 2013, 2015, 2017, 2020
Arizona State
Total picks: 18
First-rounders: 3
Second/third-rounders: 2
No picks: 2013
Cal
Total picks: 19
First-rounders: 1
Second/third-rounders: 4
No picks: 2015, 2019
Colorado
Total picks: 13
First-rounders: 0
Second/third-rounders: 6
No picks: 2015, 2016
Oregon
Total picks: 31
First-rounders: 7
Second/third-rounders: 6
No picks: 2017
Oregon State
Total picks: 17
First-rounders: 1
Second/third-rounders: 6
No picks: 2018, 2019
Stanford
Total picks: 38
First-rounders: 4
Second/third-rounders: 14
No picks: N/A
UCLA
Total picks: 36
First-rounders: 6
Second/third-rounders: 8
No picks: N/A
USC
Total picks: 37
First-rounders: 6
Second/third-rounders: 13
No picks: N/A
Utah
Total picks: 30
First-rounders: 2
Second/third-rounders: 10
No picks: 2021
Washington
Total picks: 33
First-rounders: 8
Second/third-rounders: 12
No picks: N/A
Washington State
Total picks: 12
First-rounders: 2
Second/third-rounders: 1
No picks: 2021
