Half
way through the season and we can take another glimmer at the NFL draft. For
some of you, your team is stinking it up and it’s about time to start getting
prepped for the 2017 draft. I got you covered. I have not one, but two rounds
for this addition of my mock draft. I thought it would be a nice treat for my
loyal readers (and quite frankly I LOVE mocking). There is plenty to talk about
in the points afterward. The same rules as last time applied here to determine
draft order:
-
Win/Loss record
-
Division record
-
Conference win/loss record
-
Non-conference win/loss record
-
Current win/loss streak
-
If all else fails, I flip a coin
11. Cleveland Browns (0-8):
Myles Garrett, EDGE, Texas A&M
22. San Francisco 49ers (1-6):
Deshaun Watson, QB, Clemson
33. Chicago Bears (2-6):
DeShone Kizer, QB, Notre Dame
44. Carolina Panthers (2-5):
Quincy Wilson, CB, Florida
55. Jacksonville Jaguars
(2-5): Leonard Fournette, RB, LSU
66. San Diego Chargers (3-5):
Jabrill Peppers, S, Michigan
77. Indianapolis Colts (3-5):
Derek Barnett, EDGE, Tennessee
88. New York Jets (3-5):
Jalen Tabor, CB, Florida
99. New Orleans Saints (3-4):
Johnathan Allen, DT, Alabama
110. Miami Dolphins (3-4): Brad Kaaya, QB, Miami
Florida
111. Tennessee Titans (via Rams 3-4): Jamal Adams,
S, LSU
112. Baltimore Ravens (3-4): Mike Williams, WR,
Clemson
113. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-4): Reuben Foster, LB,
Alabama
114. Arizona Cardinals (3-4-1): Malik McDowell, DT,
Michigan State
115. Cincinnati Bengals (3-4-1): Charles Harris,
EDGE, Missouri
116. Detroit Lions (4-4): Dalvin Cook, RB, FSU
117. Buffalo Bills (4-4): Justin Evans, S, Texas
A&M
118. Tennessee Titans (4-4): Jourdan Lewis, CB,
Michigan
119. Cleveland Browns (via Eagles 4-3): Marlon
Humphrey, CB, Alabama
220. New York Giants (4-3): Malik Hooker, S, Ohio
State
221. Pittsburgh Steelers (4-3): DeMarcus Walker,
EDGE, FSU
222. Green Bay Packers (4-3): Jake Butt, TE,
Michigan
223. Washington (4-3-1): Sidney Jones, CB,
Washington
224. Seattle Seahawks (4-2-1): Cam Robinson, OT,
Alabama
225. Atlanta Falcons (5-3): Carl Lawson, EDGE,
Auburn
226. Houston Texans (5-3): O.J. Howard, TE, Alabama
227. Philadelphia Eagles (via Vikings 5-2): Marshon
Lattimore, CB, Ohio State
228. Kansas City Chiefs (5-2):
Gareon Conley, CB, Ohio State
229. Denver Broncos (6-2): Zach Cunningham, LB,
Vanderbilt
330. Oakland Raiders (6-2): Jarrad Davis, LB,
Florida
331. Dallas Cowboys (6-1): Desmond King, CB, Iowa
332. New England Patriots (7-1): Christian
McCaffrey, RB, Stanford
333. Cleveland Browns: Armani Watts, S, Texas
A&M
334. San Francisco 49ers: Isaiah Ford, WR, Virginia
Tech
335. Chicago Bears: Dawuane Smoot, EDGE, Illinois
336. Jacksonville Jaguars: Pat Elfein, OG, Ohio
State
337. Carolina Panthers: Dan Feeney, OG, Indiana
338. Indianapolis Colts: Caleb Brantley, DT,
Florida
339. New York Jets: Mitch Trubisky, QB, North
Carolina
440. San Diego Chargers: Evan Pocic, C, LSU
441. Miami Dolphins: Tim Williams, EDGE, Alabama
442. Los Angeles Rams: Roderick Johnson, OT, FSU
443. Baltimore Ravens: Ryan Anderson, EDGE, Alabama
444. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Tre’Davious White, CB,
LSU
445. New Orleans Saints: Raekwon McMillan, LB, Ohio
State
446. Arizona Cardinals: JuJu Smith-Schuster, WR,
USC
447. Cincinnati Bengals: Marcus Williams, S, Utah
448. Buffalo Bills: Lowell Loutulelei, DT, Utah
449. Tennessee Titans: Dede Westbrook, WR, Oklahoma
550. Detroit Lions: Takkarist McKinley, EDGE, UCLA
551. New York Giants: Royce Freeman, RB, Oregon
552. Pittsburgh Steelers: Bucky Hodges, TE,
Virginia Tech
553. Green Bay Packers: Nick Chubb, RB, Georgia
554. Philadelphia Eagles: Wayne Gallman, RB,
Clemson
555. Washington: D’Onta Foreman, RB, Texas
556. Seattle Seahawks: Solomon Thomas, EDGE,
Stanford
557. Houston Texans: Carlos Watkins, DT, Clemson
558. Atlanta Falcons: Evan Engram, TE, Ole Miss
559. Kansas City Chiefs: Devonte Fields, EDGE,
Louisville
660. Minnesota Vikings: Samaje Perine, RB, Oklahoma
661. Oakland Raiders: Jamaal Williams, RB, BYU
662. Denver Broncos: Budda Baker, S, Washington
663. Dallas Cowboys: John Ross, WR, Washington
664. New England Patriots:
Cordrea Tankersley, CB, Clemosn
- - Let’s address the elephant in the room: Why did I not have the
Cleveland Browns, who have the number one pick, not draft a quarterback with
any of their picks?! Because the new regime believes in a best player available
approach. This is by far the best way to attack the draft and rebuild a team in
desperate need for an infusion of talent. Reaching on a quarterback is NOT the
solution. As I will address later, next year’s quarterback class is loaded with
talent. The Browns are not one draft class away from competing. They are in a
major rebuild and if Jimmy Haslam gives Sashi Brown time to rebuild this team
properly, they can turn this boat around in a few years. Best player available
is by FAR the best way to draft. This is what the Browns SHOULD do if they want
to start winning. Don’t overthink it, Cleveland. Take Myles Garrett and don’t think twice about it.
- - The running back class, as we all know by now, is absolutely
loaded with talent. As you can see above, I have three going in round one and
an astonishing six go in round two. Two new names have emerged and begun to
separate themselves from the rest of the pack, however. They are D’Onta Foreman and Jamaal Williams. They are both outstanding backs who have been
dominating the college world. It wouldn’t surprise me to see them both be
selected as high as top 50 picks. I currently have them both at the end of
round two, but rest assure they are steadily climbing up my board.
- - Half way through the season, the draft order is becoming a bit
more clear. With that in mind, there are certainly some big surprises,
particularly Carolina owning a top five selection. This is not something I
would have ever imagined, but an awful secondary and the inability to protect
Cam Newton has led to their tumble down the NFL rankings. They can solve those
issues by grabbing the top cornerback available (Quincy Wilson) and land my “number two” guard at the top of round
two. Dan Feeney is a favorite of
mine and I view him and Pat Elfein
as 1a and 1b. Anyways, I like to do my mocks based on a number of things, but I
like to put myself in the shoes of the general manager. If this mock draft was to
actually happen, I would kiss everyone in the war room.
- - I have addressed this before, but I feel the need to really drive
this home: The cornerback class is unbelievably stacked. With that in mind,
don’t be surprised if top tier talents such as Sidney Jones or Marshon
Lattimore slip into the second round because of that depth. We saw last
year with the depth on the defensive line that top tier players like Jarran
Reed and A’Shawn Robinson slipped into round two, despite being round one
talents, because of the depth. This is a common practice. Basically, when there
is a lot of depth, players can be meshed together and not seen as separating
themselves from the pack. Therefore, grabbing players at another position that
isn’t as deep makes sense and then grabbing a player from the deeper position a
round later because so many guys had a similar grade. If it were up to me, as I
have hammered this point already, I go best player available. It just so
happens I have a ton of cornerbacks with round one grades.
- - Mitch Trubisky is getting some major
hype right now, and rightfully so. Trubisky is a junior quarterback at North
Carolina who has displayed a variety of tools that NFL scouts and GMs drool
over. This is his first full season as a starter, however, and could easily
return for another season to really polish his mechanics. As of now, I have him
with a fringe round one grade, but he is slowly climbing his way up the list in
a weak quarterback class.
- - On the topic of quarterbacks, don’t be shocked to see Trubisky, as
well as the other top three guys, selected within the first 20 picks. Quarterbacks
are valued higher than any other position, due to being the most valuable
player on the field, and will often times be taken ahead of superior talent.
With quarterback needy teams picking in the top 20, it would be surprising at
all to see those guys taken very high.
- - One more note on quarterbacks, particularly Trubisky and DeShone Kizer. I like both of these
guys quite a bit, especially in the upside department, but I would very much
love for them to return to school for another year. They are both very raw and
don’t have a lot of starting experience. If they returned, however, they would
join a LOADED quarterback class to include Josh
Rosen (who some scouts, myself included, have said would be the top ranked
quarterback in this year’s crop), Lamar
Jackson, and Jake Browning.
While that would make being a top five selecting hard on both of them, like I
just said they could vastly improve their stock by returning for another year.
In fact, if they polished their mechanics like I believe they would, they could
become top three prospects behind Rosen. However, with a weak class this year
it makes sense for them (especially Kizer) to declare this year.
- - This draft class has some very interesting names that have
superior talent, but terrible off-the-field issues. The two main names that
come to mind are Oklahoma running back Joe
Mixon and Louisville EDGE rusher Devonte
Fields. As many of you know, I was very high on Fields but am dropping him
down my board because of his off-field and lack of consistency on-field. As for
Mixon, he has so out-of-this-world talent at running back but his off-field is
a nightmare. Google these guys if you are curious or want to be well-informed.
The point is, guys like this drop-down boards fast. Their interviews during the
combine and throughout the draft process will be crucial for them to be top
selections. As of now, I believe they are both round three players at best, and
top 50 talents.
Richard Bradshaw is
available to follow on Twitter @RichieBradz36. Thank you for the read.
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