2016 NFL Mock Draft: 1st-Round Predictions for Top College Prospects

The college football season is preparing to draw its season to a close with many of the nation's top professional prospects getting one more chance to showcase their talent in bowl games before heading to the NFL draft. 

In the NFL, the playoff picture is growing clearer, which gives some teams an idea of where they'll be drafting in 2016. 

Here is my latest first-round mock draft, predicting who each NFL team will select. As a reminder, there will be only 31 picks in the first round this year, as the New England Patriots were forced to forfeit their selection due to the Deflategate scandal.

The draft order was determined by the current NFL standings, with tiebreakers being each team's conference record and then divisional record if the placement wasn't yet decided.

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

It looks like this will be a year filled with defensive talent, as some of the best college prospects are coming from that side of the ball, especially on the defensive line with the likes of Joey Bosa, Robert Nkemdiche and Emmanuel Ogbah. 

But crashing the defensive line party is a cornerback that could go in the first five picks of the draft.

Vernon Hargreaves

CB, University of Florida

Part of a swarming Gators defense that will be playing in the Citrus Bowl, Vernon Hargreaves has been one of Florida's best defensive backs. He's tied for the team lead with four interceptions and is second among defensive backs with 31 total tackles. 

He's bringing in the accolades as well, being named to the FWAA and Sporting News All-American first teams.

Hargreaves also brought in a historic SEC honor as well, per SEC Network:

At 5'11", he has decent size for a cornerback, but could obviously have a tough time with taller receivers. He does make up for that with long arms—a valuable trait for any player defending passes for a living—to go along with the kind of athleticism that allows him to stay with almost any receiver out there, as he has plenty of speed and a great vertical. 

Here are some of his highlights over the past few seasons:

He shows solid play recognition that allows him to rush the backfield and get after the opponent's run game, but he needs to be wary that he doesn't get caught looking into the backfield, as he can be burned for big plays, as Draft Breakdown shows:

Teams that are looking for secondary help, or to put their pass defense over the top, will be coveting Hargreaves. The way things look at the moment, the Dallas Cowboys could create one of the best pass defenses in the league if they were able to get Hargreaves. They are already ranked fourth in the league and could be downright unbeatable if Hargreaves pans out. 

If not Dallas, the San Francisco 49ers, who are on the opposite end of the league rankings, could snap him up if they decide to keep Colin Kaepernick and not draft another quarterback. Acquiring Hargreaves could be the first step to re-establishing the 49ers' once great defense.

Stats courtesy of Sports-Reference.com.