Reviewing the Washington Huskies Draft Class of 2022
Herb Nightengale
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More success for the Washington Huskies in the 2022 NFL Draft. They had four players selected and three more signed as undrafted free agents.
The Washington Huskies had four players selected in the NFL draft. We look at those players in order of their draft placement, plus three other Huskies with teams signed as undrafted free agents.
Trent McDuffie, CB
Kansas City used the first of their two Round 1 picks (21st overall) on cornerback Trent McDuffie. The Huskies standout became the corner off the board after Derek Stingley Jr. and Ahmad “Sauce” Gardner went third and fourth overall to Houston and NYJ respectively.
A three-year starter at UW, McDuffie began the 2021 season on several national defensive back award watch lists. He finished with 45 tackles, 1 interception, 2 forced fumbles, and 3 fumble recoveries. As K.C.’s first round pick, McDuffie will be part of the battle to replace Charvarius Ward along with second round pick Bryan Cook, Deandre Baker, and Deon Bush.
McDuffie signed the standard NFL rookie four-year deal (includes a team fifth-year option) with Kansas City. The Huskies have had a strong class of defensive backs over the years. For example, Budda Baker was drafted by the Arizona Cardinals in the second round in 2017.
Like Baker, McDuffie came out early from Washington to go into the NFL. Being drafted higher than Baker does put pressure on McDuffie to be a high-caliber cornerback. Other recent Washington Huskies DBs in the NFL include Byron Murphy, Keith Taylor, Sidney Jones, Taylor Rapp, and Elijah Molden.
FYI, Kansas City used their other first round pick on edge rusher George Karlaftis from the Purdue Boilermakers (30th overall).