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

It's difficult to start thinking ahead toward the 2016 offseason as both the college football and NFL seasons are still in their early stages.

But with the best crop of collegiate players already making their presences felt and NFL franchises that seem destined for the bottom of the standings, April's draft is slowly taking shape. 

Here is my first 2016 mock draft based on where I believe each NFL team will finish come season's end and what players would best suit their needs:

Pick	Team	Player	Position	School
1	Detroit Lions	Laremy Tunsil	OT	Ole Miss
2	Chicago Bears	Connor Cook	QB	Michigan St.
3	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	Joey Bosa	DE	Ohio State
4	Jacksonville Jaguars	Ronnie Stanley	OT	Notre Dame
5	New Orleans Saints	Laquon Treadwell	WR	Ole Miss
6	Houston Texans	Jalen Ramsey	S	Florida State
7	Cleveland Browns	Jared Goff	QB	California
8	Washington Redskins	Vernon Hargreaves	CB	Florida
9	San Francisco 49ers	Jaylon Smith	LB	Notre Dame
10	Tennessee Titans	Tre'Davious White	CB	LSU
11	Miami Dolphins	Su'a Cravens	CB	USC
12	Philadelphia Eagles	Robert Nkemdiche	DE/DT	Ole Miss
13	Oakland Raiders	Scooby Wright	LB	Arizona
14	Baltimore Ravens	Leonard Floyd	DE/LB	Georgia
15	Pittsburgh Steelers	Kendall Fuller	CB	Virginia Tech
16	Indianapolis Colts	Myles Jack	LB	UCLA
17	Buffalo Bills	Taylor Decker	OT	Ohio State
18	Dallas Cowboys	Jordan Jenkins	LB	Georgia
19	Kansas City Chiefs	Jack Conklin	OT	Michigan State
20	Minnesota Vikings	DeForest Buckner	DE/DT	Oregon
21	San Diego Chargers	Michael Thomas	WR	Ohio State
22	New York Giants	Cameron Sutton	CB	Tennessee
23	New York Jets	Spencer Drango	OT	Baylor
24	St. Louis Rams	Le'Raven Clark	OT	Texas Tech
25	Carolina Panthers	Tyler Boyd	WR	Pittsburgh
26	Seattle Seahawks	Max Tuerk	C	USC
27	Atlanta Falcons	Maliek Collins	DT	Nebraska
28	Denver Broncos	Ezekiel Elliott	RB	Ohio State
29	Arizona Cardinals	Adolphus Washington	DT	Ohio State
30	Cincinnati Bengals	A'Shawn Robinson	DT	Alabama
31	Green Bay Packers	Shawn Oakman	DE	Baylor

Early on, it looks like the skill positions won't dominate the draft. The only way a quarterback is going first overall is if the Houston Texans, Chicago Bears or Cleveland Browns get the No. 1 pick. 

There are other teams that could be in need of a new man under center, but it could be a lack of talent that prevents them from finding an answer this offseason. Of the top two quarterbacks coming out of the 2016 class, Connor Cook of Michigan State and Jared Goff of California are the two clear first-round-worthy talents. 

NFLDraftScout.com's Rob Rang spoke about Goff and Cook to Steve Megargee of the Associated Press (via NCAA.com):

"

[Goff's] a very accurate quarterback. His ball placement is terrific... You can see that football is important to (Cook) by his offseason work and higher level of play each year. The most underrated part of his game is his athleticism. It's not of the Marcus Mariota level, but compares favorably to Andrew Luck in his ability to move in and out of the pocket.

"

For other teams that could be looking for a quarterback further down the draft order like the New York Jets, Washington Redskins or even the Kansas Chiefs and Denver Broncos, they might want to late until the later rounds to take a chance on a quarterback.

Though it isn't necessarily a deep QB class, Ohio State's Cardale Jones and Penn State's Christian Hackenberg could provide viable options. 

However, this draft could be dominated by the offensive line, as there are a number of teams struggling to protect their offenses.

Even though he hasn't been on the field much, Ole Miss' Laremy Tunsil is the best offensive tackle prospect, ranked fourth on ESPN draftnik Mel Kiper Jr's big board.

If the Detroit Lions continue to find ways to lose games, they'll have the first crack at Tunsil. Currently with the worst rushing game in the league, the Lions will be in need of someone on the interior to open up running lanes.

Tunsil is just one of seven linemen I have going in the first round, but as the season progresses, team needs will change as well. Obviously, the players and necessities filling these draft slots will be revamped the closer we get to April. For now, though, this should give football fans a pretty good idea of what to expect after the 2015 season ends.

Stats courtesy of NFL.com.