NFL draft 2022 takeaways -- What we learned about the QB class, WR value and the new trade-happy NFL

The biggest draft class in NFL history is officially in the books with 262 players joining the ranks of professional football players following the 2022 NFL draft.

What big takeaways are there from this draft? What lessons can be learned, studied and applied from the 2022 class?

This draft saw a record-number of trades involving first-round picks, a tie for the most wide receivers drafted in the first three rounds and a quarterback class that ultimately wasn't valued by evaluators and decision-makers despite projections that teams would panic at the sport's most important position.

Are these trends or one-off situations?

At least two trends that continue to hold true are the dominance of the SEC — notably Georgia and Alabama — in producing talent for the NFL draft, and the Baltimore Ravens' ability to own the draft board.

Here are the five big takeaways to consider as we pack up the 2022 draft and start to prepare for 2023.

For months, talk surrounding the NFL draft — both in league circles and on television — centered around the disparity between the quarterback grades in this class versus the expectation that teams would panic and reach for them much earlier in the draft than they were valued at.

But it never happened.

Only Pitt's quarterback Kenny Pickett went in the first round at No. 20 to the Steelers — the latest the first QB has been drafted since 1997, according to ESPN's Stats and Information. It took until selection No. 74 — well into the third round — before the second quarterback (Desmond Ridder) came off the board to the Atlanta Falcons. That selection was the third latest in a draft for the second quarterback to be taken.

Instead of panicking and over-drafting this year's quarterback class, NFL teams