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

The new year approaches, and with that comes the end of the college football season. Some of the nation's most talented athletes eligible for the 2016 NFL draft will have just one more opportunity to prove themselves on the field of play before an offseason of interviews, combines and workouts. 

For many teams in the NFL, their chances of making the postseason have gone up in smoke, and it's some of these college prospects that prove to be a new hope for these professional teams.

Here is my latest first-round mock draft. The draft order has been set by the NFL's current standings, with the New England Patriots forfeiting their pick due to the Deflategate scandal. 

Pick	Team	Player	Position	School
1	Tennessee Titans	Laremy Tunsil	OT	Ole Miss
2	Cleveland Browns	Paxton Lynch	QB	Memphis
3	Baltimore Ravens	Jalen Ramsey	DB	Florida State
4	San Diego Chargers	Laquon Treadwell	WR	Ole Miss
5	Dallas Cowboys	Jared Goff	QB	California
6	San Francisco 49ers	Joey Bosa	DE	Ohio State
7	Miami Dolphins	Vernon Hargreaves	CB	Florida
8	Jacksonville Jaguars	Andrew Billings	DT	Baylor
9	New Orleans Saints	Ronnie Stanley	OT	Notre Dame
10	Chicago Bears	A'Shawn Robinson	WR	Ole Miss
11	Detroit Lions	Myles Jack	LB	UCLA
12	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	Tre'Davious White	CB	LSU
13	New York Giants	Emmanuel Ogbah	DE	Oklahoma State
14	Oakland Raiders	Jack Conklin	OT	Michigan State
15	Philadelphia Eagles	Connor Cook	QB	Michigan State
16	Buffalo Bills	Jaylon Smith	LB	Notre Dame
17	Indianapolis Colts	Taylor Decker	OT	Ohio State
18	St. Louis Rams	Josh Doctson	WR	Ohio State
19	Atlanta Falcons	DeForest Buckner	DE	Oregon
20	New York Jets	Leonard Floyd	DE/LB	Georgia
21	Minnesota Vikings	Vadal Alexander	G	LSU
22	Seattle Seahawks	Mackensie Alexander	CB	Clemson
23	Kansas City Chiefs	Shaq Lawson	DE	Clemson
24	Pittsburgh Steelers	Jayron Kearse	S	Clemson
25	Washington Redskins	Robert Nkemdiche	DE	Ole Miss
26	Houston Texans	Ezekiel Elliott	RB	Ohio State
27	Green Bay Packers	Kenny Clark	DT	UCLA
28	Denver Broncos	Jason Spriggs	OT	Indiana
29	Cincinnati Bengals	Su'a Cravens	S	USC
30	Arizona Cardinals	Reggie Ragland	LB	Alabama
31	Carolina Panthers	Adolphus Washington	DE	Ohio State

There are currently three quarterbacks that are legitimate first-round talents: Memphis' Paxton Lynch, California's Jared Goff and Michigan State's Connor Cook. North Dakota State's Carson Wentz is making a case, but probably won't go until the mid-second round. 

There are plenty of teams with quarterback troubles that would want to add one of these arms to their offense. 

Headlined by the Johnny Manziel saga in which he seems to have a different spot on the depth chart every week, the Cleveland Browns have to take a quarterback with their top-five pick. 

On paper, Cleveland's quarterbacks haven't necessarily been bad, though. They lost Josh McCown to a broken collarbone, and Manziel and Austin Davis haven't been able to string together wins. Yet the three quarterbacks have combined for over 3,700 passing yards, 20 touchdowns and nine interceptions this season. 

With the constant flip-flopping of starters, it's better to wipe the slate clean and start with an arm you can label as your franchise quarterback from the start and go from there. 

There's no way a quarterback can succeed with this kind of thought process, as ESPN.com's Tony Grossi reported:

While a need for a new quarterback was expected in Cleveland, it probably wasn't expected yet in Dallas. But after Tony Romo went down for a majority of the season due to injury, the Cowboys showed the league just how inept they were without a solid arm. 

Owner and general manager Jerry Jones is now seeing his team suffer due to his oversight, as he told 1053 The Fan's Jared Sandler:

Having started Brandon Weeden, Matt Cassel and Kellen Moore, Dallas is the worst of the worst in the NFC East. While drafting a quarterback doesn't mean that Romo is out of his job, it would mean the Cowboys have a clear successor for him.

The new quarterback, whether it be Lynch, Goff or Cook, can learn under Romo and get a feel for the offense before being pushed in and expected to magically produce.

Dallas and Cleveland are two clear top-10 picks that have a shot at a quarterback. But there are other teams, like the Houston Texans, that could miss out on a quarterback if they continue their postseason run. 

At the moment, the Philadelphia Eagles' loss of the NFC East lead could be a future gain, as it could mean acquiring one of the three first-round arms. 

The Sam Bradford experiment has not gone well in Chip Kelly's offense, and according to Philly.com's Bob Ford, the first-year Eagle may want out. This, of course, would make the trade that sent Nick Foles to St. Louis look pretty worthless a year later. 

Bradford's contract is up at the end of the season, per Spotrac.com. If Bradford goes, whether by his or the Eagles' decision, Philadelphia will be without an arm unless they want to start Mark Sanchez next season. 

Drafting a quarterback that can quickly assimilate to professional football under Kelly, or another head coach, could give the Eagles hope that they can come out of the NFC East next season.

Stats courtesy of Pro-Football-Reference.com.