Derek Stingley Draft Stock Seeing Last-Minute Surge

The 2022 NFL Draft is only days away, but nothing is set in stone regarding LSU cornerback Derek Stingley's landing spot. While his draft stock has remained steady as a first-round lock after providing shutdown coverage for the Tigers, Stingley reportedly has a shot to sneak into the top 10 picks.

Derek Stingley NFL Draft

ESPN's Jeremy Fowler explained that Stingley's impressive pro day impressed scouts in attendance enough to warrant a rise in the rankings. The 20-year-old posted a 4.37 second 40-yard dash and 38.5" vertical jump. Both of those marks would've ranked top five at the position at the NFL Combine.

Stingley could end up hearing his name called by the Atlanta Falcons at No. 8 overall or by the Seattle Seahawks at No. 9. There's even some buzz about the Houston Texans being interested all the way up at No. 3. Of course, all three of these teams posted a bottom-11 pass defense DVOA rating in 2021. He's also been linked to the Minnesota Vikings at No. 12 and the Washington Commanders at No. 11.

The talent Stingley possesses was best on display during his freshman year at LSU. He tallied 38 tackles, 15 pass breakups and 6 interceptions during a National Championship run. Injuries suffered over the next two seasons led to a underwhelming results in a total of 10 games played, though.

Seeing the Tigers standout jump over Cincinnati's Ahmad "Sauce" Gardner as the first CB taken in the draft would be surprising. Gardner has been the favorite for the entirety of the pre-draft process. It would go to show that the unpredictability of the NFL Draft is what makes it so exciting every year.

All of the first-round action gets underway at 8 p.m. ET on Thursday, April 28.

Larry Rupp is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Larry Rupp also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username phillyfan424. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.