NFL Draft: How were the top prospects ranked as high school recruits?

The recruiting analysts in 2019 accurately predicted the 2022 NFL Draft class.

The top of the recruiting board featured a lot of talented edge rushers, offensive tackles, wide receivers and defensive backs but not a lot of quarterbacks.

Kayvon Thibodeaux, Derek Stingley, Evan Neal, Daxton Hill, Nakobe Dean, Garrett Wilson, Travon Walker, Andrew Booth and Charles Cross were five-star recruits in 2019 and are expected to be selected in the first round of the draft on Thursday.

Quarterbacks Kenny Pickett and Malik Willis, who both could be drafted in the first round, were rated three-star recruits in high school.

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Here's how some of the top players in the draft were ranked and recruited in high school:

Charles Cross (Mississippi State OT)

Cross, a five-star recruit at Laurel (Mississippi) in the class of 2019, is the fifth-highest rated Mississippi State signee since 2000 and the school’s highest rated recruit since Chris Jones (Kansas City Chiefs Pro Bowl defensive tackle) in 2013. Cross was the No. 2 rated player in Mississippi and the No. 5 offensive tackle in the nation on the 247Sports composite. He also took official visits to Ole Miss and USC.

Jordan Davis (Georgia DL)

Davis a highly desired recruit as a senior at Mallard Creek (N.C.) in 2018. The three-star player was ranked the No. 15 recruit in North Carolina and No. 29 defensive tackle in the nation on the 247Sports composite. He picked Georgia over North Carolina, N.C. State and others a few weeks before the early signing period but opted to wait until the February signing day to make it official.

Ikem Ekwonu (NC State OT)

Ekwonu was rated a three-star offensive guard in the class of 2019. The Providence Day School (N.C.) graduate was the No. 26 ranked player in North Carolina and No. 36 guard in the nation on the 247Sports composite. Ekwonu selected N.C. State over offers from Maryland, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and others.

Ahmad Gardner (Cincinnati CB)

Gardner wasn’t exactly considered a can’t miss recruit as a senior at Martin Luther King High School in Detroit in 2019. He was the No. 163 overall cornerback in the nation and the No. 1,672 overall player on the 247Sports composite. Gardner had four Power 5 offers – Indiana, Iowa State, Kentucky and Syracuse – but opted for Cincinnati.

Kyle Hamilton (Notre Dame S)

Hamilton was one of the top recruits in the nation as a senior at Marist High School (Georgia) in 2019. The U.S. Army All-American was the No. 5 safety in the county, the No. 9 player in Georgia and the No. 60 overall recruit on the 247Sports composite. Hamilton picked Notre Dame over Michigan, Georgia, Ohio State, Clemson, Duke and Northwestern.

Daxton Hill (Michigan DB)

Hill was one of the nation’s top recruits in the class of 2019 as a senior at Booker T. Washington (Oklahoma). He was rated the No. 1 safety in the nation, the No. 14 overall recruit in the country and the No. 299 all-time recruit on the 247Sports composite. Hill was committed to Michigan for months during his senior year but flipped to Alabama two weeks before the early signing period. Hill pulled off a rare stunner when he signed with the Wolverines on the first day of the early signing period.

Aidan Hutchinson (Michigan EDGE)

Hutchinson was a consensus four-star recruit and the No. 1 rated player in Michigan as a senior at Divine Child in 2018. The U.S. Army All-American also held offers from LSU, Michigan State, Minnesota, Nebraska, Wisconsin and others. Only two SEC schools – LSU and Vanderbilt – offered Hutchinson.

Jermaine Johnson (Florida State EDGE)

Count Johnson among those who took the road less traveled to being a first-round pick. He was the No. 105 weakside defensive end and No. 2,089 overall recruit on the 247Sports composite as a senior at Eden Prairie (Minnesota) in 2017. He went to Independence Community College (Kansas) and became the No. 1 junior college recruit in the class of 2019. He signed with Georgia and spent two seasons with the Bulldogs before entering the transfer portal and finishing his college career with the Seminoles.

Tyler Linderbaum (Iowa C)

Linderbaum was a three-star defensive tackle on the 247Sports composite as a senior at Solon (Iowa) in the class of 2018. He was ranked the No. 2 recruit in the state of Iowa and the No. 28 defensive tackle in the nation. Linderbaum, who grew up approximately 15 minutes from Iowa’s campus, picked the Hawkeyes over Iowa State.

Drake London (USC WR)

The Moorpark (California) graduate was the No. 33 ranked player in California and the No. 35 wide receiver in the nation on the 247Sports composite in 2019. London, a four-star recruit, also had offers from Notre Dame, Oregon, UCLA, Utah and others before committing to USC before his senior year.

Trent McDuffie (Washington CB)

McDuffie was one of the nation’s top recruits as a senior at St. John Bosco (California) in 2019. He was rated the No. 12 cornerback in the nation and the No. 126 overall player in the country on the 247Sports composite. McDuffie picked Washington one week before the early signing period. He also had offers from Alabama, Florida, Notre Dame, Oklahoma and others.

Evan Neal (Alabama OT)

Neal started his high school career at Okeechobee before transferring to IMG as a sophomore. A five-star recruit, Neal was the top-ranked offensive tackle in the class of 2019. Neal was the No. 3 recruit in Florida and the No. 7 player overall on the 247Sports composite. He picked Alabama over Florida State, Georgia, Miami and Oklahoma.

Chris Olave (Ohio State WR)

Olave was the No. 47 recruit and No. 68 wide receiver in the nation on the 247Sports composite as a senior at Mission Hills (California) in 2018. The four-star recruit announced he was committing to Ohio State less than two weeks before signing day. Olave also was considering UCLA, USC and Utah.

Trevor Penning (Northern Iowa OT)

The title of Mr. Irrelevant is given to the final pick in the NFL Draft, but it could have applied to Penning during his senior year at Newman Catholic (Iowa) in 2017. He had no ratings on any recruiting sites and his lone FBS offers were from Northern Iowa and South Dakota. Penning opted for Northern Iowa, in part because of the program’s ability to develop offensive linemen.

Kenny Pickett (Pitt QB)

Pickett was the No. 33 overall quarterback in the class of 2017, behind a handful of recent NFL draft picks (Davis Mills, Jake Fromm, Mac Jones). The Ocean Township (N.J.) graduate was the No. 738 ranked player in the nation on the 247Sports composite. Pickett initially committed to Temple before flipping to Pitt the summer before his senior year.

Derek Stingley Jr. (LSU CB)

Stingley arguably was the nation’s premier recruit in the class of 2019. The Dunham School (Louisiana) graduate was the No. 1 cornerback and No. 3 overall player in the nation on the 247Sports composite. Stingley was offered by LSU as a sophomore and committed the same day. He decommitted a few months later. After going through the recruiting process, he picked the Tigers over Florida and Texas on his 17th birthday.

Kayvon Thibodeaux (Oregon EDGE)

Thibodeaux was a five-star recruit and the top-rated player in California as a senior at Oaks Christian (California). The Under Armour All-American was the No. 2 player in the nation on the 247Sports composite. Thibodeaux narrowed his list to Alabama, Florida, Florida State and Oregon before picking the Ducks at halftime of the New Mexico Bowl.

Travon Walker (Georgia EDGE)

Walker was one of the premier players in the nation as a senior at Upson-Lee High School (Georgia) in 2019. Walker was a consensus five-star recruit, the No. 2 ranked player in Georgia, No. 3 rated defensive tackle and No. 22 overall on the 247Sports composite. In addition to Georgia, Walker took official visits to Florida, South Carolina and Tennessee.

Malik Willis (Liberty QB)

Willis was a three-star recruit from Roswell High School in Atlanta as a senior in 2017. He was ranked the No. 35 recruit in Georgia and the No. 21 athlete in the nation on the 247Sports composite. Willis committed to Virginia Tech before his senior year but flipped to Auburn a day after getting his offer from the Tigers. Willis transferred to Liberty in 2019.

Garrett Wilson (Ohio State WR)

Wilson was the No. 2 ranked wide receiver in the nation as a senior at Lake Travis (Texas) in 2019. The five-star recruit was rated the No. 3 player in Texas and the No. 20 overall player in the nation on the 247Sports composite. Wilson took official visits to Texas and Ohio State and opted for the Buckeyes less than three weeks after visiting the campus.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: NFL Draft: Neal, Thibodeaux, Walker were 5-star high school recruits