2016 NFL Mock Draft: Latest Prospect Predictions Before AFC, NFC Championships

With college football at its end and basketball yet to hit its postseason fervor, all eyes will be on the NFL playoffs this weekend. Two entertaining matchups—both on the field and off—provide even more intrigue for what were already going to be two of the most watched events this weekend.

But while the players for the four teams left in the postseason are preparing to take the field and achieve their goals, college athletes are devoting much of their time to preparing to join the league and possibly become teammates with the eventual Super Bowl champs.

It is NFL draft season—when isn’t it, really?—for the elite from college football, and offseason prep is in full swing with the combine and personal workouts just around the corner.

For guys like Laremy Tunsil, Joey Bosa and Jared Goff, though, this time of year is just another chance to show off their skills and solidify their spot at the top of the draft. But for others, those lower down on the big board, the next few months will be the perfect stage to show off why they deserve to be in the discussion for a top draft selection.

Although some of these players already have high draft stocks, these are the guys who have the most to gain, and subsequently the most to lose, during the offseason leading up to the draft.

Pick	Team	Player	Position	School
1	Tennessee Titans	Laremy Tunsil	OL	Ole Miss
2	Cleveland Browns	Jared Goff	QB	California
3	San Diego Chargers	Joey Bosa	DE	Ohio State
4	Dallas Cowboys	Myles Jack	LB	UCLA
5	Jacksonville Jaguars	Jalen Ramsey	DB	Florida State
6	Baltimore Ravens	Ronnie Stanley	OL	Notre Dame
7	San Francisco 49ers	Laquon Treadwell	WR	Ole Miss
8	Miami Dolphins	DeForest Buckner	DE	Oregon
9	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	Shaq Lawson	DE	Clemson
10	New York Giants	Vernon Hargreaves	CB	Florida
11	Chicago Bears	A'Shawn Robinson	DT	Alabama
12	New Orleans Saints	Mackensie Alexander	CB	Clemson
13	Philadelphia Eagles	Emmanuel Ogbah	DE	Oklahoma State
14	Oakland Raiders	Leonard Floyd	LB	Georgia
15	St. Louis Rams	Paxton Lynch	QB	Memphis
16	Detroit Lions	Taylor Decker	OL	Ohio State
17	Atlanta Falcons	Reggie Ragland	LB	Alabama
18	Indianapolis Colts	Jack Conklin	OL	Michigan State
19	Buffalo Bills	Robert Nkemdiche	DL	Ole Miss
20	New York Jets	Ezekiel Elliott	RB	Ohio State
21	Washington	Andrew Billings	DT	Baylor
22	Houston Texans	Carson Wentz	QB	North Dakota State
23	Minnesota Vikings	Michael Thomas	WR	Ohio State
24	Cincinnati Bengals	Kenny Clark	DT	UCLA
25	Pittsburgh Steelers	Eli Apple	CB	Ohio State
26	Seattle Seahawks	Darron Lee	LB	Ohio State
27	Green Bay Packers	Jarran Reed	DT	Alabama
28	Kansas City Chiefs	Sheldon Rankins	DE	Louisville
29	Arizona Cardinals	Noah Spence	DE	Eastern Kentucky
30	Denver Broncos	Jonathan Bullard	DE	Florida
31	Carolina Panthers	Jason Spriggs	OL	Indiana

Players with the Most to Gain in the Offseason

QB Cardale Jones

Matt York/Associated Press

There was a point early in the season—right after Ohio State was finished looking unbeatable against Virginia Tech—that Cleveland Browns fans were calling for the team to go ahead and throw the season for the Buckeyes' then-starter, Cardale Jones.

This says two things: First, Browns fans are a negative bunch but also realistic about their team, and second, Jones, at one point in the past few months, was considered worthy of a No. 1 overall pick.

Jones was one of the stories of the 2014-15 season, taking over for an injured J.T. Barrett—who was taking over for an injured Braxton Miller—and transforming into an overnight superstar with his three-game run. Leading the Buckeyes to wins over Wisconsin, Alabama and Oregon en route to a national title, Jones was projected as a second-round pick in the 2015 draft despite his lack of experience, but he elected to stay in school for another year.

A poor season saw his draft stock drop significantly, but with a quarterback class that is hardly set in stone, Jones has the ability to rise back up the ranks quickly with a strong showing this offseason. He had built his draft stock on his big arm, size (6'5", 250 lbs) and athleticism rather than on-field production—all things that he will remind scouts of at the combine and workouts.

With a good showing this spring, don’t be surprised if Jones is able to climb the ranks once again and find himself on the fringe of the first round. A team might be willing to take him on as a long-term project rather than an immediate starter.

LB Jaylon Smith

Rick Scuteri/Associated Press

By all accounts, former Notre Dame linebacker Jaylon Smith should be a top-10 draft pick. He has the skill, size (6'2", 240 lbs) and speed—pretty much everything you need to be a top selection in the NFL draft.

But often in life, things don’t go according to plan, and for Smith, his once outstanding draft stock took a serious hit against Ohio State with what appeared to be a gruesome injury, as he tore both his ACL and MCL.

The injury probably could have come at a worse time, only if it had happened in the subsequent months with Smith training and preparing for the combine. But as things stand, such a serious injury means a team’s willingness to spend an early pick on him in the draft decreases immensely.

Even though it is unlikely he will be healthy enough to participate in the combine or even personal workouts, if Smith can convince scouts in the subsequent months that his surgery went well and he will recover quickly, there is a chance he still goes in the first round.

It will take a lot to convince a team to spend a first-round pick on a player who might not be healthy enough to play until well into the season, but so long as things keep going well on his road to recovery, there is a chance Smith could be that prospect.

RB Derrick Henry

David J. Phillip/Associated Press

Some might not have agreed with Derrick Henry’s decision to leave school early and try his hand at the NFL. His long legs and top-heavy physique are not what pro scouts typically want out of their running backs, which led many to believe the Heisman Trophy winner should have returned to school for another year.

But one thing gets overlooked when comparing Henry to other backs in the draft and the NFL throughout history: He is a better running back than they were.

Sure, his body size (6'3", 242 lbs) might not line up with what scouts usually dream up when evaluating running back talent, but few players have been able to produce at a college level quite like Henry did during his time at Alabama.

Unlike system quarterbacks from past years at schools like Texas Tech and Hawaii, the numbers are more a reflection of his skill than of the play-calling—at times Lane Kiffin seemed apprehensive to let his big back carry the load until this season. Henry shouldn’t struggle to find similar success on the ground in the NFL.

He is already seen as a late first-round, early second-round pick, but if Henry can blow people away this spring—don’t count it out, he is an athletic freak—expect his stock to rise. Ezekiel Elliott could have some competition at the top of the running back charts.