2017 NFL Draft: Which Teams Have the Best Shot at Landing the No. 1 Overall Pick

Too early for 2017 NFL draft predictions?

It's not too early, unless we decide it is!

It will be months before the race for next year's No. 1 overall pick begins to truly take shape, but there's no harm it taking a gander on paper to see which teams are most likely to find themselves in the running.

Whether it's the usual suspects or a team that could plummet due to a key injury—the Dallas Cowboys can tell you all about it—these five teams could end up battling down the stretch of the 2016 season for the rights to make the first pick in Chicago next April.

San Francisco 49ers

Ezra Shaw/Getty Images

It's hard to believe this team is just two seasons removed from a third consecutive trip to the NFC title game, but things have gotten pretty ugly, pretty fast for the 49ers.

Chip Kelly heads into the 2016 season as the team's third different head coach in as many seasons, after a failed attempt to revive the Philadelphia Eagles with his fast-paced offense. He inherits a roster feeling the sting of multiple early retirements from key players on both sides of the ball, and a huge question mark at the game's most important position.

For all the offseason trade rumors, Colin Kaepernick remains with the team. His skill set seems a perfect fit for Kelly's scheme, but he's coming off an injury and has looked like a shell of his former self in his most recent work. His competition is Blaine Gabbert, making this a position battle 49ers fans aren't likely to get too excited about.

They have some solid young talent on the roster, but this team lacks depth and has too many holes in the starting lineup. Unless either quarterback puts together a surprisingly stellar campaign in 2016, the 49ers could easily be in the running for next year's top pick.

Tennessee Titans

Jim Rogash/Getty Images

The Titans are dangerously close to moving out of the AFC South cellar, but they're likely still one more season away from climbing to relevance.

They have their franchise quarterback in Marcus Mariota, but he already missed a handful of games due to injury as a rookie. The Titans have plenty of promising young talent on the roster, but if Mariota goes down again in 2016 for any significant amount of time, it won't be pretty in Nashville.

This year's draft haul should help build a solid foundation around Mariota for the near and distant future. New general manager Jon Robinson turned the top overall pick in 2016 into a slew of extra selections in both this and next year's drafts, which will help the team build starting talent and depth on both sides of the ball.

This should be a fun team to watch in 2016, regardless of their record. If Mariota stays healthy, they could easily be picking outside the top five next spring. But that's a big if at the moment.

Cleveland Browns

Ron Schwane/Associated Press

In 2014, the Browns had a chance to spend a top-five pick on a much-needed playmaker at receiver in Sammy Watkins.

Instead, they traded down and ended up with Justin Gilbert and Johnny Manziel. In 2016, they could have spent the second overall pick on a potential franchise quarterback, but they chose instead to trade down again—twice—and roll with the newly signed Robert Griffin III and third-round pick Cody Kessler.

Cleveland's new management has its work cut out with this roster, and it looks like a long-haul project. Barring some rebirth from Griffin, he'll likely be a bridge to next year's draft, when the Browns could be targeting a true difference-maker under center.

Until then, they've got to hope some of their disappointing first-rounders live up to their high expectations. In any event, the Browns might be slowly building for future success, but 2016 looks like it'll be a wobbly first few bricks.

San Diego Chargers

Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images

2015 was the first losing season for the Chargers in 12 years, but they're headed for another one unless quarterback Philip Rivers gets some serious improvement from his supporting cast and the team can avoid the injuries that plagued them last season.

Rivers threw for over 4,000 yards for the seventh time in his career, but even that couldn't keep the Bolts from posting a meager four wins in 2015. At 34 years old, Rivers can only carry the team for so long, and he'll need young offensive weapons like Keenan Allen and Melvin Gordon to stay healthy this season if the team wants to avoid picking in the top five again.

Joey Bosa is a solid addition to an intriguing defense, but the Chargers face a tall task on both sides of the ball to hang with the talent in the rest of their division.

Whether they're still calling San Diego home or heading elsewhere soon, the Chargers should contend for the top pick if their aging veterans start to regress, or their young budding stars can't stay on the field.

New Orleans Saints

Patrick Smith/Getty Images

Looking for a candidate to be this year's version of the Cowboys? If veteran—and future Hall of Famer—Drew Brees goes down like Tony Romo did, it could be a long year for fans in New Orleans.

Brees has started at least 15 games in 12 straight seasons, but the veteran gunslinger is 37 years old and was sacked 31 times last year, the second-highest total of his career. He's lost his two most reliable security blankets over the past two seasons—tight end Jimmy Graham and receiver Marques Colston—and will be relying on plenty of youth in 2016.

Speaking of youth, the Saints defense has plenty of promising talent, but a lot of inexperience to go with it. Adding Sheldon Rankins in the first round of this year's draft should help, but half the starting defense will have just one year of experience heading into 2016.

If Brees can stay healthy for another season, the Saints shouldn't be worried about ending up in the NFL basement. But if they can't keep him protected and he goes down with a significant injury, it could be a rough road in 2016 that could lead to the top of the draft in 2017.