NFL Mock Draft 2016: Complete 1st-Round Predictions for Most Hyped Prospects

Hype might be the most important word when it comes to the 2016 NFL draft.

It's one of them, at least. Hype influences stock, which alters how the draft plays out. It had an interesting effect last year, to say the least. Hype pushed guys like Amari Cooper and Todd Gurley up the board and helped the Oakland Raiders and Los Angeles Rams, respectively, in a big way.

Ditto for Dante Fowler Jr. and Kevin White, who didn't get much of a chance to help their respective teams.

That's the thing with hype—no matter how important it is for the prospect, it's just one piece of the puzzle for the team. Below, let's narrow the focus to hype monsters after a look at an updated mock draft.

2016 NFL Mock Draft

Pick	Team	Player	Position	School
1	Tennessee Titans	Laremy Tunsil	OT	Ole Miss
2	Cleveland Browns	Jared Goff	QB	California
3	San Diego Chargers	Jalen Ramsey	CB/S	Florida State
4	Dallas Cowboys	Myles Jack	LB	UCLA
5	Jacksonville Jaguars	Vernon Hargreaves III	CB	Florida
6	Baltimore Ravens	Ronnie Stanley	OT	Notre Dame
7	San Francisco 49ers	Joey Bosa	DL	Ohio State
8	Philadelphia Eagles	Jack Conklin	OT	Michigan State
9	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	Darron Lee	LB	Ohio State
10	New York Giants	DeForest Buckner	DE	Oregon
11	Chicago Bears	Noah Spence	DE/LB	Eastern Kentucky
12	New Orleans Saints	Reggie Ragland	LB	Alabama
13	Miami Dolphins	Shaq Lawson	LB	Clemson
14	Oakland Raiders	Mackensie Alexander	CB	Clemson
15	Los Angeles Rams	Carson Wentz	QB	North Dakota State
16	Detroit Lions	Taylor Decker	OT	Ohio State
17	Atlanta Falcons	Leonard Floyd	LB	Georgia
18	Indianapolis Colts	A'Shawn Robinson	DT	Alabama
19	Buffalo Bills	Paxton Lynch	QB	Memphis
20	New York Jets	Jonathan Bullard	DE	Florida
21	Washington	Michael Thomas	WR	Ohio State
22	Houston Texans	Robert Nkemdiche	DL	Ole Miss
23	Minnesota Vikings	Josh Doctson	WR	TCU
24	Cincinnati Bengals	Laquon Treadwell	WR	Ole Miss
25	Pittsburgh Steelers	Eli Apple	CB	Ohio State
26	Seattle Seahawks	Ezekiel Elliott	RB	Ohio State
27	Green Bay Packers	Sheldon Rankins	DT	Louisville
28	Kansas City Chiefs	Corey Coleman	WR	Baylor
29	Arizona Cardinals	Emmanuel Ogbah	DE	Oklahoma St.
30	Carolina Panthers	Kevin Dodd	DE	Clemson
31	Denver Broncos	Jason Spriggs	OT	Indiana

Analyzing Most-Hyped Prospects

3. San Diego Chargers: Jalen Ramsey, CB/S, Florida State

L.G. Patterson/Associated Press

When folks started looking at the 2016 class, much in the way of debate went down when folks attempted to decide who stood tall as the top corner in the class.

Now Jalen Ramsey stands above all corners and safeties, a versatile, elite athlete who has the talent to come off the board with the first pick. It won't happen because the Tennessee Titans need an offensive lineman to help protect Marcus Mariota, but Ramsey will absolutely remain in the conversation.

Why? Ramsey comes in at 6'1" and 209 pounds, yet can run a 4.41-second 40-yard dash and leap 41.5 inches into the air. As Yahoo Sports' Eric Adelson detailed, he's not only historic for what he accomplished in school, but also has jaw-dropping versatility:

"

Ramsey was the first corner to start as a true freshman at FSU since Deion Sanders (another track star), he made an interception in his first game, and then switched to safety a few weeks later as an injury replacement. The next season, after a national title, he took over at the "star" position (basically a nickel) after Lamarcus Joyner turned pro.

"

In this scenario, there is zero chance the San Diego Chargers pass.

San Diego lost Eric Weddle this offseason. Even with him, the Chargers hardly ranked in the top half of the league against the pass. With Jason Verrett, Casey Hayward and other corners needing strong running mates at safety, Ramsey is the obvious choice who can come in and start right away.

4. Dallas Cowboys: Myles Jack, LB, UCLA

An injury to Notre Dame's Jaylon Smith has made things less interesting than they should be at linebacker, but that shouldn't take anything away from UCLA's Myles Jack.

Players like Jack don't come around often. The guy's so athletic that he played some offense in college, coming in at 6'1" and 245 pounds. Some might think he's undersized, but with the way he can close on a sideline-to-sideline basis and get back in coverage while reading a quarterback's eyes, height is just a number.

Not that anyone expected any different, but Jack put on a show at his pro day, as NFL Network's Albert Breer illustrated:

Teams in need at linebacker simply won't have any problems taking Jack, even in the top five.

Look at the Dallas Cowboys. The unit has the battered Sean Lee and the unpredictable Rolando McClain leading the way and finished last season tied for 22nd against the run, permitting 120.9 yards per game on the ground.

Jack isn't some world-beating fix who changes everything on his own. However, he is a guy the front office can build around and a guy coaches can slap on the field with a certain assignment and never have to worry about whether he will actually get it done in a positive manner.

7. San Francisco 49ers: Joey Bosa, DL, Ohio State

Joey Bosa has had one of the oddest paths to the draft this year.

Somebody somewhere mentioned Bosa in the same breath as J.J. Watt and the Ohio State product's stock exploded, only for Bosa to show up at the combine and prove that he is, in fact, not J.J. Watt (who is?) and the hype suddenly went the way of the dinosaur.

Bosa is Bosa, not a pure pass-rusher like some wanted to make him out to be, nor is he some once-in-a-generation talent like Watt who can do it all. He's 6'5" and 269 pounds, relatively stout against the rush and has a nice array of moves and quickness to get around linemen and pressure quarterbacks.

He's still a complete package, and reactions such as this from Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald explain why the NFL scouting world seems to have fallen in love with Bosa all over again:

In the end, Bosa never fell out of the top-10 conversation. He's scheme versatile and impacts the game more than one way with plenty of upside.

Some might clamor for a quarterback, but Bosa is the right move for the 49ers if the board falls like so. San Francisco has had one of the worst leakages of talent in recent memory, with only NaVorro Bowman left to speak of on the first and second levels.

Bosa changes that. He comes in and starts right away in the trenches, helping to provide a positive impact while the team rebuilds the unit over a number of years.

Stats courtesy of NFL.com and are accurate as of Wednesday. All advanced metrics courtesy of Pro Football Focus.