2016 NFL Mock Draft: Post-Week 8 1st-Round Predictions for All Prospects

Don’t worry, Tennessee Titans. Don’t worry, Cleveland Browns. Don’t worry, San Diego Chargers. Don’t worry, Detroit Lions.

Help is on the way.

While the 2015 NFL season appears to be a lost cause for plenty of teams around the league, the draft offers a shining beacon of hope for those with losing records. With the right quarterback, skill-position player or group of defenders, a team can flip its fortune within a season or two.

With that in mind, here is a look at an updated first-round mock draft after Sunday’s action. The order of the draft was decided using the reverse of Odds Shark's Super Bowl odds as of Sunday at 6 p.m. ET.

It's time for nearly half the league to start planning for the future.

Pick	Team	Player
1	Jacksonville Jaguars	Joey Bosa, DL, Ohio State
2	Chicago Bears	Laremy Tunsil, OT, Ole Miss
3	Cleveland Browns	Jared Goff, QB, California
4	Baltimore Ravens	Jalen Ramsey, DB, Florida State
5	Detroit Lions	Robert Nkemdiche, DT, Ole Miss
6	San Francisco 49ers	Laquon Treadwell, WR, Ole MIss
7	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	Ronnie Stanley, OT, Notre Dame
8	Kansas City Chiefs	Shaq Lawson, DE, Clemson
9	Tennessee Titans	Vernon Hargreaves, CB, Florida
10	Oakland Raiders	Taylor Decker, OT, Ohio State
11	Washington	Paxton Lynch, QB, Memphis
12	Houston Texans	Connor Cook, QB, Michigan State
13	San Diego Chargers	Andrew Billings, DT, Baylor
14	Miami Dolphins	Jack Conklin, OT, Michigan State
15	St. Louis Rams	Corey Coleman, WR, Baylor
16	New Orleans Saints	Emmanuel Ogbah, DE, Oklahoma State
17	Buffalo Bills	Mackensie Alexander, CB, Clemson
18	Dallas Cowboys	Ezekiel Elliott, RB, Ohio State
19	Minnesota Vikings	Jaylon Smith, LB, Notre Dame
20	New York Giants	Leonard Floyd, LB, Georgia
21	New York Jets	Reggie Ragland, LB, Alabama
22	Indianapolis Colts	DeForest Buckner, DE, Oregon
23	Carolina Panthers	Germain Ifedi, OT, Texas A&M
24	Atlanta Falcons	Shilique Calhoun, DE, Michigan State
25	Seattle Seahawks	Michael Thomas, WR, Ohio State
26	Pittsburgh Steelers	Vonn Bell, S, Ohio State
27	Philadelphia Eagles	Noah Spence, DE/LB, Eastern Kentucky/Ohio State
28	Arizona Cardinals	Kendall Fuller, CB, Virginia Tech
29	Denver Broncos	Kenny Clark, DT, UCLA
30	Cincinnati Bengals	Myles Jack, LB, UCLA
31	New England Patriots	Forfeited Pick
32	Green Bay Packers	Adolphus Washington, DT, Ohio State

Players to Watch

Joey Bosa, DL, Ohio State 

The first number football fans often look toward when evaluating defensive linemen is sacks, but that rarely tells the whole story. Just look at Joey Bosa’s output, per College Football Film Room:

Bosa was suspended for Ohio State’s first game, but he has fully settled into the defensive line rotation. He has three sacks in his last three games and notched seven tackles against Penn State as a nightmare for Christian Hackenberg. The incredible thing about Bosa’s production is the fact that he is double-teamed on almost every play and still disrupts opposing passing attacks.

Fellow defensive lineman Adolphus Washington commented on Bosa’s ability to look past the extra attention, per Tim Shoemaker of Eleven Warriors: "I don't think it's getting to him. They're just scheming it up to where they're having two or three people blocking him at a time."

Bosa is 6’6” and 275 pounds. He is physical enough to plow through single-blocking schemes and explosive enough to blow by blockers on the outside. He is also solid against the run and is a three-down defender who earned the 2014 Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year award and consensus All-American status. 

Comparisons to J.J. Watt are natural for Bosa as a dominant defensive end from the Big Ten who forces opposing offenses to design their game plans around him from one position. Pete Prisco of CBS Sports took note of the similarities during the defensive lineman’s early days in Columbus:  

It is a bit unfair for any college player to draw those comparisons given Watt’s place among the NFL’s elite players, regardless of position. Still, the mere possibility that Bosa could reach Watt’s level is enough for the Jacksonville Jaguars, who were 30th in the league in points allowed per game going into Sunday’s action, to take a chance on him with the No. 1 pick.

Mackensie Alexander, CB, Clemson

Tyler Smith/Getty Images

Mackensie Alexander doesn’t have an interception this season, but that is largely because opposing quarterbacks stay away from him when possible.

Alexander stands out in a loaded cornerback class that includes Florida State’s Jalen Ramsey, Virginia Tech’s Kendall Fuller and Florida’s Vernon Hargreaves III. Part of the reason Alexander is so effective is because confidence is not an issue.

Look at his comments to reporters before the season started, via Jared Shanker of ESPN.com:

"

In my opinion it’s not even close. I think every guy that talks about Mackensie knows I’m the best corner in college. It’s not even close…Look at my body of work, the things I’ve put on, the things I’ve done. It’s not even close. My numbers, you look at everybody else’s numbers. I don’t care who they are and what league they play in. if you can play, you can play.

"

Alexander let the nation know how dominant he is against Notre Dame’s Will Fuller, who is one of the best receivers in college football. Fuller was almost a non-factor throughout the game, and Notre Dame quarterback DeShone Kizer rarely looked his direction with Alexander serving as a shadow. Fuller finished with two catches for 37 yards.

Alexander is 5’10” with the physicality to match up in press coverage and the speed to make up ground in the open field and prevent receivers from beating him deep. He already contained one of the elite receivers in the country in Fuller and will continue to have opportunities in marquee games if Clemson keeps winning.

He will take full advantage of them.