2016 NFL Mock Draft: Predicting First-Round Prospects for Every Team

Another week of college and professional football games means there is another mock draft on the horizon. 

Week 9 of the college football season has further solidified some future first-round draft picks while others are slowly making their name as emerging prospects. 

While the first round of the draft might not provide a multitude of star skill position players, it does seem to be deep in defensive players and offensive linemen. 

Let's take a look at my latest first-round mock draft where I predict the landing spots of some of the NCAA's top prospects. 

The current NFL standings were used to decipher the draft order, and each team's decision was made by analyzing what their roster needs the most. 

Pick	Team	Player	Position	School
1	Detroit Lions	Laremy Tunsil	OT	Ole Miss
2	Tennessee Titans	Ronnie Stanley	OT	Notre Dame
3	San Francisco 49ers	Paxton Lynch	QB	Memphis
4	Cleveland Browns	Jared Goff	QB	California
5	San Diego Chargers	Joey Bosa	DE	Ohio State
6	Baltimore Ravens	Robert Nkemdiche	DT	Ole Miss
7	Chicago Bears	Connor Cook	QB	Michigan State
8	Jacksonville Jaguars	Jalen Ramsey	CB	Florida State
9	Dallas Cowboys	Laquon Treadwell	WR	Ole Miss
10	Houston Texans	Jaylon Smith	LB	Notre Dame
11	Indianapolis Colts	Taylor Decker	OT	Ohio State
12	Kansas City Chiefs	Jack Conklin	OT	Michigan State
13	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	Vernon Hargreaves	CB	Florida
14	Washington Redskins	Myles Jack	LB	UCLA
15	Miami Dolphins	DeForest Buckner	DE	Oregon
16	Buffalo Bills	Reggie Ragland	LB	Alabama
17	Philadelphia Eagles	Leonard Floyd	DE/LB	Georgia
18	New Orleans Saints	Michael Thomas	WR	Ohio State
19	New York Giants	A'Shawn Robinson	DT	Alabama
20	Pittsburgh Steelers	Kendall Fuller	CB	Virginia Tech
21	Seattle Seahawks	Scooby Wright	LB	Arizona
22	Oakland Raiders	Emmanuel Ogbah	DE	Oklahoma State
23	St. Louis Rams	Cameron Sutton	CB	Tennessee
24	New York Jets	Jerald Hawkins	OT	LSU
25	Minnesota Vikings	Tyler Boyd	WR	Pittsburgh
26	Atlanta Falcons	Adolphus Washington	DT	Ohio State
27	Arizona Cardinals	Shaq Lawson	DE	Clemson
28	Green Bay Packers	Shilique Calhoun	DE/LB	Michigan State
29	Denver Broncos	Ezekiel Elliott	RB	Ohio State
30	Carolina Panthers	Anthony Zettel	DE/DT	Penn State
31	Cincinnati Bengals	Nate Andrews	S	Florida State

It doesn't look like a deep draft for running backs with first-round talent. I only have one back going in the first round, and it won't be early, either. 

With the emergence of LSU's Leonard Fournette this season, a lot of attention has been directed away from Ohio State's Ezekiel Elliott, and rightly so. Fournette is putting together an incredible season, but he is not eligible to enter the draft until 2017. 

Elliott, on the other hand, has been the most consistent member of the Buckeyes offense this season. He's had over 100 yards rushing in each of the team's eight games this season, totaling 1,130 yards on the ground. Pair that with 23 receptions, and it looks like he can develop into a dual-threat rusher out of the backfield. 

The senior isn't about the numbers and the comparisons, though, as he told Austin Ward of ESPN.com: "It’s not really like a priority of mine to see how many yards I have during the game...I mean, you definitely hear about it and it’s an honor to be compared to the great backs here...But It’s not really something I pay attention to."

That's the kind of attitude other players would covet to have on their team instead of big shots that are always looking out for their own personal gains. 

There are a handful of teams that could use a player of Elliott's caliber in their backfield next year—the first two that come to mind would be the Denver Broncos and Dallas Cowboys. But there's plenty of time left in the regular season, and teams like the Miami Dolphins and Detroit Lions could be added to that list as well. 

Stats courtesy of ESPN.com.