NFL Draft 2016: Top Prospects and 1st-Round Mock Predictions

What better time to look ahead to the 2016 NFL draft than on the final day of this year's draft? Fans can't get enough of football, to the point that a mock 365 days away becomes so compelling. 

The best explanation for a mock at this point is to provide a snapshot of where talent stands heading into 2016. A lot of the players predicted to be taken in this way-too-early mock will fall out of the first round, while a host of others not even on the radar will vault into the top 10. 

Teams will spend the next 11-plus months going over videotape and watching games to ensure that their future is secure. There is no exact science to the draft; it's a crap shoot for all 32 teams and every player taken. The best will always rise to the top.

Without further ado, here's a look at how the 2016 draft class stands right now. The order of selections is based on Odds Shark's odds to win the Super Bowl. 

Pos.	Team	Pick
1	Tennessee Titans	Joey Bosa, DE, Ohio State
2	Jacksonville Jaguars	Robert Nkemdiche, DE, Mississippi
3	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	Laremy Tunsil, OT, Mississippi
4	Washington	Shawn Oakman, DE, Baylor
5	Oakland Raiders	Carl Lawson, DE, Auburn
6	Cleveland Browns	Cardale Jones, QB, Ohio State
7	New York Jets	Christian Hackenberg, QB, Penn State
8	Minnesota Vikings	D'haquille Williams, WR, Auburn
9	Houston Texans	Connor Cook, QB, Michigan State
10	Chicago Bears	A'Shawn Robinson, DE, Alabama
11	St. Louis Rams	Vernon Hargreaves, CB, Florida
12	San Diego Chargers	Kendall Fuller, CB, Virginia Tech
13	New Orleans Saints	Nate Andrews, S, Florida State
14	Kansas City Chiefs	Tyler Boyd, WR, Pittsburgh
15	Carolina Panthers	Spencer Drango, OT, Baylor
16	Atlanta Falcons	Ezekiel Elliott, RB, Ohio State
17	San Francisco 49ers	Laquon Treadwell, WR, Mississippi
18	Miami Dolphins	Jalen Ramsey, CB, Florida State
19	Detroit Lions	Derrick Henry, RB, Alabama
20	Cincinnati Bengals	Jaylon Smith, LB, Notre Dame
21	Buffalo Bills	O.J. Howard, TE, Alabama
22	Pittsburgh Steelers	Zack Sanchez, CB, Oklahoma
23	New York Giants	Scooby Wright, LB, Arizona
24	Baltimore Ravens	Leonard Floyd, DE, Georgia
25	Arizona Cardinals	Myles Jack, LB, UCLA
26	Philadelphia Eagles	Darron Lee, LB, Ohio State
27	Denver Broncos	Su'a Cravens, S, USC
28	Dallas Cowboys	Cameron Sutton, CB, Tennessee
29	Indianapolis Colts	Ronnie Stanley, OT, Notre Dame
30	New England Patriots	Shilique Calhoun, LB, Michigan State
31	Green Bay Packers	Emmanuel Ogbah, DE, Oklahoma State
32	Seattle Seahawks	Travin Dural, WR, LSU

Cardale Jones, QB, Ohio State

Cardale Jones is a fascinating draft case at this point in the process. He's got a grand total of three college starts under his belt and may not even be Ohio State's starting quarterback when the 2015 season begins. 

The redshirt junior did make an instant impression on everyone, throwing for 742 yards and seven touchdowns in the Big Ten Championship, Sugar Bowl and College Football Playoff National Championship. He could have entered the 2015 draft but decided against it to gain more playing experience. 

Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer said during a recent conference call (h/t Bill Landis of Northeast Ohio Media Group) that he hopes to name a starting quarterback in "the middle of training camp."

As far as Jones' NFL ability, one thing that's been made clear through his brief starting turn is the arm strength is there. B/R's Ben Axelrod noted the big quarterback was showing it off this spring:

One NFL team's director of college scouting told Zac Jackson of Fox Sports Ohio in January that Jones' lack of experience may not have hurt him as much in 2015 as one might think:

"(Jones) only playing three games isn't a huge issue; most times, we're only watching three games on a guy anyway," the director said. "We need to get to know him, but we love what we see. Speaking for myself, I am surprised he stayed."

Another executive from a different team told Jackson that Jones "likely" would go in the top 10 or 15 this year based on his body, arm and lack of depth at the position in this 2015 draft. 

Development is going to be critical for Jones this season with more eyeballs than ever following him. He's got all the physical requirements to play at the highest level, but there's a mental component he will have to overcome now that college defensive coordinators have more tape to scout him. 

Vernon Hargreaves, CB, Florida

Butch Dill/Associated Press

I will admit up front that Vernon Hargreaves going at No. 11 overall is likely lower than most early draft predictions will have the Florida star. 

On the surface, Hargreaves ticks all the physical boxes NFL teams want. He's listed at 5'11" and 192 pounds, being named to the Associated Press All-America second team as a sophomore in 2014 with 13 pass breakups and three interceptions. 

B/R draft expert Matt Miller has Hargreaves as the No. 7 player on his 2016 big board heading into this season. He's going to go high in the first round, barring some kind of injury or steep drop in performance, but the level of consistency hasn't been there for him to project as a star right now. 

A perfect example is last year's matchup between Florida and Alabama. Hargreaves was primarily matched up against Amari Cooper, who had a big day on Thursday. The new Oakland wide receiver went off for 10 catches, 201 yards and three touchdowns. 

To Cooper's credit, he said to reporters (h/t Chase Goodbread of NFL.com) after Alabama's 42-21 win that Hargreaves is an impressive talent despite what the numbers showed:

"He's a great player. He's fast, he's quick. He plays smart, and is very instinctive," Cooper said. "I just took what I watched on film and tried to take advantage of it."

One game doesn't define a player, or at least it shouldn't, but putting Hargreaves on that stage against a player who went No. 4 overall in the 2015 draft only to see him collapse is going to stick for the time being. 

As long as Hargreaves keeps getting better—he is still just entering his third year of college football so he shouldn't be a finished product—his draft positioning will continue to improve. 

Shawn Oakman, DE, Baylor

Tony Gutierrez/Associated Press

Shawn Oakman could have come out of school for this year's draft and been a top-15 pick, but the massive Baylor defensive lineman opted to stay in college. It's a risky proposition, though one that could result in him being a guaranteed top-five pick. 

Last September, before Oakman would go on to have 11 sacks, one scout told NFL Network's Albert Breer that the defensive star would at least be a first-round pick:

"He's big and strong and relentless," an NFC area scout said. "He's got a great motor, too. He'll be first round for someone."

One thing that has defined a lot of pass-rushers in this year's class is size. NFL.com's Lance Zierlein ranked the top 10 edge-rushers in the 2015 class with three of the first four being dinged for their weight or lack of height. 

Oakman is a physical freak in that respect, listed at 6'9" and 280 pounds on Baylor's athletic website. He's not an "edge-rusher," because his size allows him to line up inside or outside, but that only adds to his value because of position versatility. 

Jeff Gross/Getty Images

The only player in the 2015 class with similar measurables to Oakman is Arik Armstead, who measured in during the combine at 6'7" and 292 pounds. San Francisco drafted the Oregon star 17th overall after a junior season in which he only had 5.5 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks. 

Two keys to success in today's NFL are having a quarterback and being able to sack the opposing quarterback. Oakman has shown a knack for being able to do the latter, despite having size that can create problems when he tries to get low against offensive linemen. 

There's a superstar waiting to break out as soon as Oakman gets into the NFL.