NFL Draft 2017: Mock Draft for Every Selection in Star-Studded 1st Round

New Year’s Day marked the end of the 2016 season and the starting point for NFL mock-draft flurries. As 12 teams strategize for the playoffs, 20 fanbases have already turned their attention to prospects who can help their franchises in 2017.

The 2017 NFL draft will be held April 27-29 in Philadelphia. The hometown Eagles acquired their first-round pick from the Minnesota Vikings in the Sam Bradford trade. The Vikings and Indianapolis Colts finished with the same record and identical schedule strengths. A coin toss will determine which team picks No. 14 and No. 15.

Unlike the 2016 draft, quarterbacks won’t likely take the top two spots, but there’s much intrigue surrounding three running backs who could hear their names called in the first round. Blame the Dallas Cowboys’ choice to draft tailback Ezekiel Elliott No. 4, his subsequent success and the team’s 13-3 season for potential copycats in the upcoming draft.

Who’s the clear-cut No. 1 overall pick? When will the first quarterback come off the board? How many running backs will walk into the 2017 season as first-round picks?

Pick/Team	Player	Position	School
1. Cleveland Browns	Myles Garrett	EDGE	Texas A&M
2. San Francisco 49ers	Deshaun Watson	QB	Clemson
3. Chicago Bears	Cordrea Tankersley	CB	Clemson
4. Jacksonville Jaguars	Cam Robinson	OT	Alabama
5. Tennessee Titans	Jalen Tabor	CB	Florida
6. New York Jets	Desmond King	CB	Iowa
7. San Diego Chargers	Jonathan Allen	DE	Alabama
8. Carolina Panthers	Derek Barnett	DE	Tennessee
9. Cincinnati Bengals	Raekwon McMillan	ILB	Ohio State
10. Buffalo Bills	Mike Williams	WR	Clemson
11. New Orleans Saints	Reuben Foster	ILB	Alabama
12. Cleveland Browns	DeShone Kizer	QB	Notre Dame
13. Arizona Cardinals	Zach Cunningham	ILB	Vanderbilt
14. Indianapolis Colts	Tim Williams	OLB	Alabama
15. Philadelphia Eagles	Dalvin Cook	RB	Florida State
16. Baltimore Ravens	JuJu Smith-Schuster	WR	USC
17. Washington Redskins	Malik McDowell	DT	Michigan State
18. Tennessee Titans	Corey Davis	WR	Western Michigan
19. Tampa Bay Buccaneers	Jabrill Peppers	LB/S	Michigan
20. Denver Broncos	Ryan Ramczyk	OT	Wisconsin
21. Detroit Lions	Leonard Fournette	RB	LSU
22. Miami Dolphins	DeMarcus Walker	DE	Florida State
23. New York Giants	Roderick Johnson	OT	Florida State
24. Oakland Raiders	Carlos Watkins	DT	Clemson
25. Houston Texans	Jamal Adams	S	LSU
26. Green Bay Packers	Haason Reddick	LB	Temple
27. Seattle Seahawks	Garett Bolles	OT	Utah
28. Pittsburgh Steelers	Jarrad Davis	LB	Florida
29. Atlanta Falcons	Chris Wormley	DT	Michigan
30. Kansas City Chiefs	Christian McCaffrey	RB	Stanford
31. Dallas Cowboys	Adoree' Jackson	CB	USC
32. New England Patriots	Adam Bisnowaty	OT	Pittsburgh

Notable Draft Picks

2. San Francisco 49ers: Deshaun Watson

Once again, 49ers owner Jed York hit the refresh button on his sports investment, per the team's official website. Without a head coach or general manager in place, San Francisco will begin the 2017 offseason with a blank slate.

After watching quarterbacks Blaine Gabbert and Colin Kaepernick perform from below-average to mediocre throughout the 2016 season, the new regime will likely mark its start with a splashy No. 2 overall pick. It’s a quarterback-driven league, and the 49ers have two veteran signal-callers who’ve floundered over the past three seasons.

North Carolina quarterback Mitch Trubisky has garnered recent buzz. However, as ESPN’s Paul Finebaum said during a SportsCenter interview, Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson has separated himself from the pack:

15. Philadelphia Eagles: Dalvin Cook

The Eagles must acquire upgrades at the offensive skill positions to aid quarterback Carson Wentz’s development. Injury-prone ball-carrier Ryan Mathews missed three games and led the team in rushing yards (661). Tight end Zach Ertz caught 78 passes for 816 yards and four touchdowns as the team’s best in all three receiving categories.

Running back Dalvin Cook racked up 5,399 rushing yards through three years at Florida State as a rushing and receiving threat. Behind Philadelphia’s offensive line, the incoming speedster could put up Elliott-like numbers as a rookie.

Yahoo Sports writer Brad Evans gave a very early heads-up to fantasy football managers in keeper leagues:

Clemson wide receiver Mike Williams won’t last until the No. 14 or No. 15 pick. However, the Eagles could still draft an elite offensive weapon to add juice to the offensive attack.

21. Detroit Lions: Leonard Fournette

Unlike Cook, running back Leonard Fournette decided to miss his final bowl game as a collegian to prepare for the pros. To each his own, but the LSU product doesn’t threaten defenses as a receiver in comparison to the Eagles’ ideal pickup.

Nevertheless, Fournette would add stability and power to the Lions backfield. With running back Adrian Peterson’s future murky in Minnesota, the young bruiser could become the premier physical tailback in the NFC North.

Draftbreakdown.com showed Fournette mowing down opponents:

In two seasons, running back Ameer Abdullah has struggled or spent significant time on injured reserve. If he can stay healthy, the Lions could have a solid one-two punch featuring a speedster and a young hammer in Fournette out of the backfield.

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