2022 NFL Draft Better-Than Team: Here are 20 prospects Pete Prisco likes more than the scouts do

When Tampa Bay Buccaneers linebacker Lavonte David was coming out of Nebraska, he was the captain of my 2012 Better-Than Team, my annual team made up of players I like more than the scouts do.

David impressed me on tape with his speed and ability to make plays, even though he was a smallish linebacker. Since then, David has become an NFL star, thanks mainly to that speed and his ability to track the football.

In putting together this year’s Better-Than Team, I had flashbacks to David when a speedy, athletic linebacker who could go sideline-to-sideline kept showing up on tape. That player is Oklahoma linebacker Brian Asamoah.

At just over 6-feet tall and weighing 224 pounds, his size is almost exactly what David was when he came out of Nebraska. David was just over 6-feet tall and was 225 when he played at Nebraska, although he weighed 233 at the combine in a move he said he hoped would help his draft stock. David’s 40 time was 4.56. Asamoah ran the same exact time at the combine.

The similarities are eerie. The talent is similar too.

That’s why I made Asamoah the captain for this year’s Better-Than Team. In a league where speed linebackers have more value than even a decade ago, Asamoah will be a great add for teams looking for a dynamic off-the-ball linebacker. The three-down linebacker who can stay on the field on third down is what every team wants. 

Asamoah came on our CBS Sports HQ set at the NFL Scouting Combine, and the thing that stood out was his confidence. For example, when the big podiums were given to the higher-profile linebackers to do their interviews, Asamoah was relegated to a small side podium with few listening in on what he had to say.

I asked him about that. His response? Down the road, they will remember how wrong they were about that.

Translation: I will be a damn good player. He’s confident, but not cocky. That’s a good thing.

But, most importantly, he…