2017 NFL Draft Order: Updated Selection List After Divisional Round
The dream ended in the most painful of fashions for the Dallas Cowboys Sunday, as they were drummed out of the playoffs when Green Bay place-kicker Mason Crosby connected on a 51-yard field goal at the gun.
The booming kick gave the streaking Packers a 34-31 victory over the favored Cowboys and sent Aaron Rodgers and his teammate to the NFC Championship Game next Sunday against the Atlanta Falcons.
That game will kick off at 3:05 p.m. ET from the Georgia Dome.
The Cowboys had been looking forward to hosting that game and stormed back from an 18-point deficit to tie the game twice, but the Cowboys can only look forward to preparing for the offseason and their selection with the 28th pick in the first round.
A few hours after the Cowboys suffered their defeat, the AFC West champion Kansas City Chiefs suffered an 18-16 loss at home to the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Chiefs will have the 27th pick in the first round.
The Steelers and the New England Patriots will meet in Foxborough, Massachusetts, in the AFC Championship Game Sunday at 6:40 p.m. ET.
The Houston Texans and the Seattle Seahawks lost their division playoff games Saturday, and they will have the No. 25 and 26 picks in the first round, respectively, barring any trades involving those picks.
| Pick | Team |
| 1 | Cleveland Browns |
| 2 | San Francisco 49ers |
| 3 | Chicago Bears |
| 4 | Jacksonville Jaguars |
| 5 | Tennessee Titans (from LA) |
| 6 | New York Jets |
| 7 | Los Angeles Chargers |
| 8 | Carolina Panthers |
| 9 | Cincinnati Bengals |
| 10 | Buffalo Bills |
| 11 | New Orleans Saints |
| 12 | Cleveland Browns (from PHI) |
| 13 | Arizona Cardinals |
| 14 | Indianapolis Colts |
| 15 | Philadelphia Eagles (from MIN) |
| 16 | Baltimore Ravens |
| 17 | Washington Redskins |
| 18 | Tennessee Titans |
| 19 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers |
| 20 | Denver Broncos |
| 21 | Detroit Lions |
| 22 | Miami Dolphins |
| 23 | New York Giants |
| 24 | Oakland Raiders |
| 25 | Houston Texans |
| 26 | Seattle Seahawks |
| 27 | Kansas City Chiefs |
| 28 | Dallas Cowboys |
| 29 | Green Bay Packers* |
| 30 | Pittsburgh Steelers* |
| 31 | Atlanta Falcons* |
| 32 | New England Patriots* |
| *-Positions to be finalized after conference championship games and Super Bowl. |
The Cleveland Browns, San Francisco 49ers and Chicago Bears are at the opposite end of the spectrum, and those three teams will have the first three picks in the draft.
While all three of those teams have huge needs on both sides of the ball, it would not be a shocker if two of those teams selected quarterbacks with those premium selection spots.
As the college season progressed, the original description of the quarterback position was not impressive. However, quarterback remains the highest position on the food chain, and teams that have not received consistent production from that position understand that their chances of turning their fortunes around are much greater with a competent quarterback.
While teams like the New England Patriots hit the jackpot when they selected Tom Brady in the sixth round and the Dallas Cowboys did the same last year when they chose Dak Prescott in the fourth round, the best quarterbacks are most often selected near the top of the first round.
That's when quarterbacks Mitch Trubisky of North Carolina and DeShaun Watson of the national champion Clemson Tigers could be selected.
Trubisky is somewhat of a risky pick because he has only been a regular starter for the Tar Heels for one season.
However, he created quite an impression as he completed 304 of 447 passes (68.0 percent) passes for 3,748 yards with 30 touchdowns and just six interceptions. In addition to those impressive numbers, Trubisky stands in the pocket at 6'3" and 220 pounds.
Trubisky is not a major running threat, but he gained 308 yards on 93 carries and scored five touchdowns. He can escape the pressure and buy time before cutting loose with his strong arm.
Watson showed off his skill and leadership as the Tigers got to the College Football Playoff title game two years in a row. A year after losing to Alabama in the title game, Watson impressively led the Tigers to a fourth-quarter rally that allowed them to win the title.
The 6'3", 215-pound Watson completed 388 of 579 passes for 4,593 yards with 41 touchdowns and 17 interceptions. Watson is a brilliant runner who ran for 1,105 yards in 2015, and he followed that up with a 629-yard effort in 2016.
Watson's fundamentals in the pocket have been questioned, and his interception total is somewhat troubling. However, those errors are mitigated by his leadership ability, will, talent and athleticism.
The top defensive player in the draft appears to be Myles Garrett of Texas A&M, according to Rob Rang of The Sports Xchange (h/t CBS Sports).
Garrett has been a game-changing player in each of the last two seasons on the Aggies defensive line. Garrett has had 34.5 tackles for loss in that time frame, and 20.0 of those tackles were sacks.
Garrett has eye-opening quickness at 6'5" and 262 pounds, and he could well be the Browns' choice at the top of the draft.
Those are early impressions, and much will change over the coming months, but it would not be a shock if Garrett, Trubisky and Watson went with the top three picks in the 2017 draft.
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