2017 NFL Mock Draft 8.0: Post Free Agency Frenzy Edition

Already throwing out last week’s mock draft and updating it. Good thing I love this stuff! We all knew going into last week’s mock that free agency would shake things up and boy did they. We will dive into all of that in the quick hits following the mock. Since it’s only been a week since my last mock, this one is only a single round mock (sorry Minnesota and New England fans). Let’s get to it:

11.     Cleveland Browns: Myles Garrett, EDGE, TAMU

22.     San Francisco 49ers: Solomon Thomas, EDGE, Stanford

33.     Chicago Bears: Jamal Adams, S, LSU

44.     Jacksonville Jaguars: Leonard Fournette, RB, LSU

55.     Tennessee Titans (via LAR): Malik Hooker, S, Ohio State

66.     New York Jets: Mitchell Trubisky, QB, North Carolina

77.     Los Angeles Chargers: Reuben Foster, LB, Alabama

88.     Carolina Panthers: Marshon Lattimore, CB, Ohio State

99.     Cincinnati Bengals: Taco Charlton, EDGE, Michigan

110.  Buffalo Bills: O.J. Howard, TE, Alabama

111.  New Orleans Saints: Derek Barnett, EDGE, Tennessee

112.  Cleveland Browns (via Philadelphia): Deshaun Watson, QB, Clemson

113.  Arizona Cardinals: Corey Davis, WR, Western Michigan

114.  Philadelphia Eagles (via Minnesota): Quincy Wilson, CB, Florida

115.  Indianapolis Colts: Joe Mixon, RB, Oklahoma

116.  Baltimore Ravens: Mike Williams, WR, Clemson

117.  Washington: Jonathan Allen, DL, Alabama

118.  Tennessee Titans: John Ross, WR, Washington

119.  Tampa Bay Buccaneers: David Njoku, TE, Miami

220.  Denver Broncos: Garrett Bolles, OT, Utah

221.  Detroit Lions: Charles Harris, EDGE, Missouri

222.  Miami Dolphins: Forrest Lamp, OG, Western Kentucky

223.  New York Giants: Ryan Ramczyk, OT, Wisconsin

224.  Oakland Raiders: Christian McCaffrey, RB, Stanford

225.  Houston Texans: Patrick Mahomes, QB, Texas Tech

226.  Seattle Seahawks: Gareon Conley, CB, Ohio State

227.  Kansas City Chiefs: DeShone Kizer, QB, Notre Dame

228.  Dallas Cowboys: Budda Baker, S, Washington

229.  Green Bay Packers: Dalvin Cook, RB, FSU

330.  Pittsburgh Steelers: Haason Reddick, LB, Temple

331.  Atlanta Falcons: Takkarist McKinnley, EDGE, UCLA

332.  New Orleans Saints (via New England): Jabrill Peppers, S, Michigan

- The biggest shakeup of all free agency had to be the Patriots shipping their 2017 first and third round picks in exchange for former Saints wide receiver Brandin Cooks and the Saints fourth round pick. Talk about a steal for New England… Back to the draft world, the Saints now have two first round picks. What should they do with them? DEFENSE. DEFENSE. DEFENSE. With a deep EDGE and CB class, New Orleans has no excuse not to land some premier talent and help turn that defense around.

- More big free agency news: The Bears signed quarterback Mike Glennon to a three year $45 million contract. How does this affect the draft? More than likely this indicates that the Bears will pass on a quarterback with the third pick. Then again, they could take one of the quarterbacks with the third pick and bring them into the game slowly. This would be ideal IF they draft a quarterback, as none of these quarterbacks are ready to be day one starters. If I’m the Bears, I would go with a defensive playmaker to come in and make an instant difference.

- Does the Eagles signing of wide receivers Alshon Jeffrey and Torrey Smith via free agency change their need for a wide receiver? It COULD. Jeffrey and Smith join a receiving core with big names such as Jordan Matthews, Nelson Agholor and Dorial Green-Beckham. However, Jeffrey and Smith both signed one-year contracts and Matthews enters the final year of his rookie deal, which means all three of them could wind up leaving via free agency in 2018. Add in the fact that Agholor and DGB have not lived up to their draft status and wide receiver is still a need, regardless of the log jam they have at the position. It may not be a round one need, but it certainly should be addressed in the top four rounds.

- What’s up with Mike Williams dropping you ask? Why don’t you ask teams and sources throughout the league. To clarify, I don’t have my own sources; I just report what I hear from media members. Williams is apparently dropping down boards because of his lack of elite speed. My take? You don’t need to have elite speed to be a dominant receiver (see Hopkins, DeAndre). Williams is a top five talent on my board. Any team will benefit should he have a draft day slide, but he won’t fall past a needy Baltimore Ravens’ wide receiving corps at 16.

- Not one, not two, not three, but FOUR running backs in round one. Let’s go through them…

Leonard Fournette: My top prospect for 2017. A freak athlete with size and speed that is rare to see at his position. Should be a lock for a top ten pick and could see himself go as high as no.2 overall to San Francisco.

Joe Mixon: All the talent with one giant question mark. Mixon has hints of Le’veon Bell to his game and freakish athletic skills. His vision and hands combined with his elite size (6’1” 227lbs) makes him a very attractive prospect. However, with his past demons, we have no clue how high he is truly valued by NFL teams.

Christian McCaffrey: Let’s cut the crap. The white running back is not only a stupid stereotype, but it is slightly racist. That’s another topic for another time. McCaffrey is a weapon with the ball in his hands. Hand the ball off to him, throw it to him out of the backfield, split him out as a wide receiver, even put him out for punt/kickoff returns. Get the ball in his hands and let him do his thing.

Dalvin Cook: Another talented running back with some off-field question marks. Cook has a few things going against him. Shoulder surgeries, fumbling issues, and a slew of run-ins with the law puts a giant question mark on his draft stock. Take all of that away, and he’s a top 15 talent who can be an instant starter and electric game changer for any team willing to take a chance on him.

- What are we to do about Joe Mixon? As mentioned above, Mixon possesses top 15 talent and a horrific incident off-the-field. Where will he get drafted? My bet is the first round. I could see him as high as 12 to Cleveland, but I can’t see him fall past Oakland at 24. Teams seem to be signing off on his incident, seeing it as a one-time offense. Mixon served community service and has apologized to numerous people to try and leave his demons in the past.

- Where do I stand with Mixon? It should be well-documented by now that I have a no tolerance policy when it comes to domestic violence. So, while he has all the talent in the world, I still wouldn’t sign off on drafting him. I am all for second chances, and I hope that he can learn from his mistakes and be successful. For me, I don’t want that mark by my name if he slips up again. No prospect with that kind of off-field, one incident or multiple, is worth my job as a scout, general manager, etc.

- No one got more screwed by offseason workouts than Washington’s Sidney Jones. Jones was my no.2 corner before injury and a top 15 talent on my board prior to his Achilles tear. Where will he land in the draft? My bet is mid-to-late day two. His talent is too much to let slide into day three and the average recovery time for an Achilles tear is roughly six months. He could come back late in the season for a contender. At worst, he takes a red-shirt year like what the Cowboys did with Jaylon Smith last year.