2017 NFL Mock Draft 1.0: Preseason Edition

Let's be honest, mock drafts are essentially useless to make. They are right probably less than 1% of the time and making one before the NFL regular season even starts will have even worse odds. But who cares? They are fun and everyone loves them! They are by far my favorite material to cover when it comes to the NFL. Quite frankly, they are a ton of fun to make and the conversation that they stir up is fantastic. When I put out mock drafts, they will be ordered like this:

-        Opening paragraph

-        Mock draft

-        Bullet points about certain picks

Simple enough. Now that that’s established, one last thing. I use Vegas odds for the draft order until the actual order is announced. In example, the Cleveland Browns have the worst odds at 200/1 so they own the first overall pick. Vice versa, the New England Patriots have the best odds at 7/1 so they own the 32^nd overall pick. So I don’t hate your team as much as you think. Without further ado, let’s get mocking!

1. Cleveland Browns: Deshaun Watson, QB, Clemson

2. San Francisco 49ers: Brad Kaaya, QB, Miami

3. Tennessee Titans: Myles Garrett, EDGE, Texas A&M

4. Detroit Lions: Leonard Fournette, RB, LSU

5. San Diego Chargers: Cam Robinson, OT, Alabama

6. Tennessee Titans (via Los Angeles): Jalen Tabor, CB, Florida

7. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Jamal Adams, S, LSU

8. Buffalo Bills: Johnathan Allen, DT, Alabama

9. Miami Dolphins: Dalvin Cook, RB, Florida State

10. Cleveland Browns (via Philadelphia): Nick Chubb, RB, Georgia

11. Atlanta Falcons: Derek Barnett, EDGE, Tennessee

12. Chicago Bears: Jabrill Peppers, OLB/S, Michigan

13. New Orleans Saints: Carl Lawson, EDGE, Auburn

14. New York Jets: Mike Williams, WR, Clemson

15. Jackson Jaguars: Roederick Johnson, OT, Florida State

16. Washington: Christian McCaffrey, RB, Stanford

17. Houston Texans: Jake Butt, TE, Michigan

18. Baltimore Ravens: Tre’Davious White, CB, LSU

19. Oakland Raiders: Desmond King, CB, Iowa

20. Dallas Cowboys: Malik McDowell, DT, Michigan State

21. Philadelphia Eagles (via Minnesota): JuJu Smith-Schuster, WR, USC

22. New York Giants: Adoree Jackson, CB, USC

23. Indianapolis Colts: Tim Williams, EDGE, Alabama

24. Kansas City Chiefs: Jalen Reeves-Maybin, LB, Tennessee

25. Cincinnati Bengals: Charles Harris, EDGE, Missouri

26. Denver Broncos: Chris Wormley, DT, Michigan

27. Arizona Cardinals: Jarrad Davis, LB, Florida

28. Carolina Panthers: Royce Freeman, RB, Oregon

29. Pittsburgh Steelers: Eddie Jackson, S, Alabama

30. Seattle Seahawks: Pat Elfein, OG, Ohio State

31. Green Bay Packers: Raekwon McMillan, LB, Ohio State

32. New England Patriots: Dan Feeney, G, Indiana

-        Brad Kaaya’s stock may start slipping and to no fault of his own. This year’s quarterback draft looks intriguing; with guys like Chad Kelly and Davis Webb it’s hard to gauge where their stock will be come draft time. A wild card to keep an eye on is Notre Dame’s DeShone Kizer. Kizer is a red-shirt sophomore who has tremendous upside. Should he continue to progress this season, he has a realistic shot at the first round, should he declare.

-        This is the year of the running back. A very top heavy 2017 draft looks to feature a ton of running back talent. I believe in the five running backs I pegged in the first round as well as several others who just missed the cut. Some names to watch out for include: Samaje Perine, Wayne Gallman, Sony Michel, Jalen Hurd, James Conner, Elijah Hood, Corey Clement, and Shock Linwood.

-        Last year, I had a man crush on Florida State’s Jalen Ramsey. Ramsey was my top overall prospect and my pick for Defensive Rookie of the Year (more detail in tomorrow’s article). This year, it’s LSU’s Jamal Adams. Adams is a big safety with ball hawking abilities as well as a fearsome presence in-the-box. Adams is already a top ten prospect for me and could easily sneak into my top five.

-        Mike Williams and Nick Chubb are huge wildcards going into this year coming off of huge season ending injuries. Williams is coming off a fractured neck and Chubb from a massive knee injury. If week one of the college season is any indication of things to come, they look like they were never injured.

-        This year’s wide receiver class looks to have plenty of names who will be second day grabs. With only a couple big names at the top, guys like KD Cannon, Artavis Scott, and the LSU duo of Malachi Dupre and Travin Dural could see a big boost in their draft stock.

-        Similar to the running back class, the tight end class looks just as deep. While I only have Jake Butt in the first round currently, guys like O.J. Howard, Jordan Leggett, Evan Engram, and Bucky Hodges could all be top 50 picks with Howard challenging for a first round selection.

-        The EDGE class has a ton of names to look for this season. With NFL team making a premium on guys who can get to the quarterback, I could easily see close to ten guys go round one. Name to watch outside of the five above include: Lewis Neal, Devonte Fields (a guy I had a really hard time leaving out of round one), and Ryan Anderson.