2017 NFL Mock Draft: Early 1st-Round Predictions for Next Year's Top Prospects

Sure, the 2016 NFL draft might have just ended, but that doesn't mean we can't already start looking ahead to next season. 

In fact, some of the worst teams in the league might already want to start looking forward until then as they'll have another opportunity to turn things around.

So here is a very early look at my first 2017 mock draft where I took the order of selections based off of Walter Football's NFL power rankings:

Pick	Team	Player	Position	School
1	Cleveland Browns	Leonard Fournette	RB	LSU
2	San Francisco 49ers	Deshaun Watson	QB	Clemson
3	Miami Dolphins	Myles Garrett	DE	Texas A&M
4	Tennessee Titans	JuJu Smith-Schuster	WR	USC
5	Tennessee Titans	Jabrill Peppers	CB/S	Michigan
6	New Orleans Saints	Jalen Tabor	CB	Florida
7	Atlanta Falcons	Cam Robinson	OT	Alabama
8	Jacksonville Jaguars	Jamal Adams	S	LSU
9	Detroit Lions	Charles Harris	OLB	Missouri
10	Chicago Bears	Brad Kaaya	QB	Miami (Fla.)
11	San Diego Chargers	Derek Barnett	DE	Tennessee
12	Cleveland Browns	Ethan Pocic	OG	LSU
13	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	Adoree' Jackson	CB/WR	USC
14	New York Giants	Dalvin Cook	RB	Florida State
15	Washington Redskins	Jonathan Allen	DE/DT	Alabama
16	New York Jets	Roderick Johnson	OT	Florida State
17	Buffalo Bills	Mike Williams	WR	Clemson
18	Baltimore Ravens	Jalen Reeves-Maybin	LB	Tennessee
19	Denver Broncos	Lewis Neal	LB	LSU
20	Indianapolis Colts	Tre'Davious White	CB	LSU
21	Houston Texans	Malik McDowell	DT	Michigan State
22	Dallas Cowboys	Desmond King	CB	Iowa
23	Kansas City Chiefs	Malachi Dupre	WR	LSU
24	Oakland Raiders	Nick Chubb	RB	Georgia
25	Minnesota Vikings	Raekwon McMillan	LB	Ohio State
26	Cincinnati Bengals	Pat Elflein	OT	Ohio State
27	Green Bay Packers	Armani Watts	S	Texas A&M
28	Seattle Seahawks	Jarrad Davis	LB	Florida
29	New England Patriots	Christian McCaffrey	RB	Stanford
30	Carolina Panthers	Greg Pyke	OT	Georgia
31	Pittsburgh Steelers	Quin Blanding	S	Virginia
32	Arizona Cardinals	Marquis Haynes	LB	Ole Miss

The No. 1 pick of this draft could very well come down to the performance of one man, and that's Cleveland Browns quarterback Robert Griffin III. 

If the Browns do have a subpar season and do get that first pick, but Griffin shows flashes of what made him the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2012 with the Washington Redskins, Cleveland might not want to draft a quarterback. 

If that's the case, then the Browns could get another centerpiece in their offense with LSU running back Leonard Fournette. 

There was a stretch during the 2015 season when everyone believed that Fournette would win the Heisman Trophy. 

He had three straight games over 200 rushing yards, ending the season with 1,953 total on the ground. With 22 touchdowns, he averaged almost seven yards per carry and was at times impossible to bring down:

On sheer potential alone, the Browns probably haven't had a running back with this kind of talent since Jim Brown. 

However, if Griffin struggles, then there is little question that the Browns should go with Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson. 

The best dual-threat quarterback in the nation last year passed for over 4,100 yards and rushed for an additional 1,105, which was downright impossible to guard against as he recorded 47 total touchdowns. 

What made things more impressive was that he led the Tigers to a national title game appearance in just his sophomore year.

Things could obviously change in the next 365 days. Struggles or eve worse, injuries, could play their part in the teams' decisions at the draft. But for those who just can't get enough of the draft, these are the names that you should watch closely next year. 

Stats courtesy of Sports-Reference.com