NFL Draft 2022: Malik Willis, Full List of Players Attending Las Vegas Event

AP Photo/David Dermer

Some of the NFL’s brightest future stars are headed to Las Vegas.

Michigan’s Aidan Hutchinson, Liberty’s Malik Willis, Notre Dame’s Kyle Hamilton, Ohio State’s Chris Olave and Cincinnati’s Sauce Gardner headline the list of the prospects heading to Sin City for the 2022 NFL draft in Las Vegas.

The list of players was announced in full Thursday two weeks before the draft is slated to start on April 28:

• Matt Corral, QB, Ole Miss

• Charles Cross, OT, Mississippi State

• Jordan Davis, DT, Georgia

• Ickey Ekwonu, OT, N.C. State

• Sauce Gardner, CB, Cincinnati

• Kyler Gordon, CB, Washington

• Kyle Hamilton, S, Notre Dame

• Aidan Hutchinson, Edge, Michigan

• Jermaine Johnson II, Edge, Florida State

• Zion Johnson, OL, Boston College

• George Karlaftis, Edge, Purdue

• Chris Olave, WR, Ohio State

• Kayvon Thibodeaux, Edge, Oregon

• Malik Willis, QB, Liberty

• Garrett Wilson, WR, Ohio State

• Devonte Wyatt, DT, Georgia

• Jameson Williams, WR, Alabama

Fans now know which players will be in attendance for a draft that will be filled with storylines.

One of those storylines is who will be the No. 1 overall pick with the Jacksonville Jaguars slated to select first.

Hutchinson, Georgia’s Travon Walker, Alabama’s Evan Neal and North Carolina State’s Ikem Ekwonu are all potential candidates, underscoring Jacksonville’s need to improve the line on both sides of the ball.

The first two are pass-rushers, while the second two are offensive linemen who would be tasked with protecting Trevor Lawrence after the Jaguars chose the Clemson quarterback first overall in last year’s draft.

While there is no clear-cut top option like Lawrence last season, the quarterback position is also an intriguing storyline in this year’s draft.

This year’s group may be weaker than in years past, but Willis, Pittsburgh’s Kenny Pickett and Cincinnati’s Desmond Ridder are all legitimate first-round prospects who could find their way to quarterback-needy teams during the event’s first day.

Throw in North Carolina’s Sam Howell and Ole Miss’ Matt Corral, and there are a number of signal-callers who could hear their names called relatively early in the process.

Yet the position to watch, especially in the first round, is wide receiver.

After all, the Ohio State duo of Olave and Garrett Wilson, USC’s Drake London, Alabama’s Jameson Williams, Arkansas’ Treylon Burks, Penn State’s Jahan Dotson, Georgia’s George Pickens, North Dakota State’s Christian Watson and Western Michigan’s Skyy Moore mean there is no shortage of talented playmakers with plenty of upside.

How many of those pass-catchers will go in the first round remains to be seen, but an early run on wideouts is very much in play as the NFL draft approaches.