NFL Draft 2017: Order, 1st-Round Mock Projections After Regular-Season Finales

The 2017 NFL draft isn't scheduled to kick off until the end of April. It isn't too early to start looking ahead and making predictions, however, especially since much of the draft order has been set.

With the regular season in the books, the first 20 selections have nearly been cemented. There will be a coin flip to settle the order between Picks 14 and 15, where the Philadelphia Eagles and Indianapolis Colts sit.

We're going to examine the draft order, utilizing playoff seeding to help fill out the first round. We'll also be making mock projections for each of the first-round picks and examining some of the latest buzz surrounding this year's crop of draft prospects.

2017 1st-Round Mock

Pick	Team	Player
1	Cleveland Browns	Myles Garrett, DE, Texas A&M
2	San Francisco 49ers	Mitch Trubisky, QB, North Carolina
3	Chicago Bears	Tim Williams, LB, Alabama
4	Jacksonville Jaguars	Jamal Adams, S, LSU
5	Tennessee Titans (from Los Angeles)	Jonathan Allen, DE, Alabama
6	New York Jets	Leonard Fournette, RB, LSU
7	San Diego Chargers	Cam Robinson, OT, Alabama
8	Carolina Panthers	Jabrill Peppers, LB, Michigan
9	Cincinnati Bengals	Derek Barnett, DE, Tennessee
10	Buffalo Bills	Corey Davis, WR, Western Michigan
11	New Orleans Saints	Jalen Tabor, CB, Florida
12	Cleveland Browns (from Philadelphia)	Quincy Wilson, CB, Florida
13	Arizona Cardinals	DeShone Kizer, QB, Notre Dame
14	Philadelphia Eagles (from Minnesota)	Mike Williams, WR, Clemson
15	Indianapolis Colts	Reuben Foster, LB, Alabama
16	Baltimore Ravens	Takkarist McKinley, LB, UCLA
17	Washington Redskins	Taco Charlton, DE, Michigan
18	Tennessee Titans	Cordrea Tankersley, CB, Clemson
19	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	Zach Cunningham, LB, Vanderbilt
20	Denver Broncos	Ryan Ramczyk, OT, Wisconsin
21	Detroit Lions	Charles Harris, DE, Missouri
22	Miami Dolphins	O.J. Howard, TE, Alabama
23	New York Giants	D'Onta Foreman, RB, Texas
24	Oakland Raiders	Christian McCaffrey, RB, Stanford
25	Houston Texans	David Njoku, TE, Miami
26	Green Bay Packers	Sidney Jones, CB, Washington
27	Seattle Seahawks	DeMarcus Walker, DE, Florida State
28	Pittsburgh Steelers	Carl Lawson, LB, Auburn
29	Atlanta Falcons	Dawuane Smoot, DE, Illinois
30	Kansas City Chiefs	Quenton Nelson, G, Notre Dame
31	New England Patriots	Dalvin Cook, RB, Florida State
32	Dallas Cowboys	JuJu Smith-Schuster, WR, USC

Latest Buzz

Mitch Trubisky Struggles in Sun Bowl Loss

North Carolina quarterback Mitch Trubisky is arguably the top quarterback in this year's draft class. He has adequate size for the position (6'3", 200 pounds) and the arm strength and field vision that scouts covet at the next level.

His numbers for the 2016 season were also impressive. Trubisky completed over 68 percent of his passes for 3,748 yards with 30 touchdowns and just six interceptions.

The downside is that he has just one year of starting experience. This may cause many to view him in a similar light to the one that shone on Carson Wentz heading into last year's draft. The differences being that Trubisky played on the ACC stage, while Wentz played in more of a pro-style offense

Depending on how the next round of the evaluation process goes—and if he declares for the draft—Trubisky could wind up as one of the top picks, if not the first overall choice by the Cleveland Browns.

One thing scouts will be considering is Trubisky's lackluster performance against Stanford in the Sun Bowl. He completed 60.5 percent of his passes in that game, but he passed for just 280 yards with two touchdowns, two interceptions and a fumble.

Overanalysis always seems to come into play this time of year, and Trubisky struggled in one of the biggest matchups of his limited collegiate career.

Jake Butt Suffers Torn ACL

One name you won't find in our first-round mock is that of Michigan tight end Jake Butt. Before Saturday, you might have. 

Unfortunately, Butt suffered a torn ACL against Florida State in the Orange Bowl. ESPN's Adam Schefter reported that the talented tight end will need to undergo surgery:

This could damage Butt's draft stock, which was extremely high before New Year's Eve. The 6'6", 250-pound senior caught 46 passes for 546 yards and four touchdowns this season. He produced 654 yards and three touchdowns the season prior.

Butt will almost certainly still hear his name called at some point on draft day, but it likely won't be in the first round. A lot will obviously depend on future medical evaluations.

Still, he doesn't seem to regret his decision to participate in the exhibition game:

While players like Stanford's Christian McCaffrey and LSU's Leonard Fournette created controversy by skipping their respective bowl games, Butt went the traditional route and put his team first. It ended up costing him, but NFL evaluators won't be questioning his commitment.

Stock Rising for Dalvin Cook

One player who is quickly moving up draft boards is Florida State running back Dalvin Cook. The junior ball-carrier recently declared for early entry in the draft, and he could be in the conversation to be the first back selected.

Cook also decided to participate in the Orange Bowl. Not only did he avoid injury, but he may have cemented himself as a high draft pick. Against the vaunted Wolverines defense, he rushed for 145 yards and a touchdown while catching three passes for 62 more yards.

"Last night was the best game of my life," Cook said during a live video announcement via Instagram (h/t ESPN.com). "Unbelievable. These last three years at Florida State were the best three years of my life, man. After much consideration, I just want to tell everybody I will be taking my talents to the 2017 NFL draft."

For the season, Cook rushed for 1,765 yards and 19 touchdowns. He also caught 33 passes for 488 yards and another score.

His performance against Michigan earned Cook Orange Bowl MVP honors.