2016 NFL Mock Draft: Ideal Landing Spots for Top College Prospects

When you start to look at the projected draft boards for the upcoming NFL draft—look out, it is closer than you might think—you start to see a trend when it comes to the collegiate experiences most of the players had.

Schools like Ohio State, Alabama and Notre Dame are poised to dominate the early proceedings of the draft, with the big schools producing most of the high-end draft prospects every year.

But while teams are more likely to hit on a draft prospect when they do come from the big-time programs with a track record of success, not every elite player ends up playing for a blue-chip school. Khalil Mack was an All-Pro at two positions this year, and he played for the University of Buffalo.

Sometimes talent slips through the cracks in recruiting, and top-level players find themselves at a smaller school.

Here are some of the top players in this spring's draft class that attended smaller schools but managed to make names for themselves regardless of the limited television time or the bias toward bigger programs:

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	Los Angeles 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

Top Prospects From Smaller Schools

QB Carson Wentz

MIKE STONE/Associated Press

Joe Flacco has a Super Bowl ring. Tony Romo is one of the best quarterbacks of this generation. What do these two quarterbacks have in common that doesn’t involve injuries? Neither were drafted from college football's highest division.

This year, another elite player could join their ranks when Carson Wentz likely goes in the opening round of the NFL draft. A member of the North Dakota State dynasty, the quarterback has quickly risen up most draft boards after his school claimed another national title.

Having avoided the limelight until the tail end of this season because of the league he plays in and the competition he faces, Wentz is still one of the most exciting prospects in this year’s draft at his position and could be the franchise quarterback for a team in desperate need of a signal-caller.

Scouts will have worries about his lack of experience against the highest competition, but history has showed that quarterbacks from outside of the FBS can succeed, and Wentz is poised to be the next in a long line of stars.

DE Noah Spence

David Stephenson/Associated Press

It might seem a little bit like cheating to have Noah Spence on this list since he was an elite recruit who made a name for himself at Ohio State, but the defensive end finished his hugely successful career at Eastern Kentucky, so he qualifies.

With the Buckeyes, Spence was arguably the best player on a defensive line that had the likes of Joey Bosa and Adolphus Washington on it—both of whom will also be early draft selections this year—and was named first-team All-Big Ten as a sophomore, before a pair of failed drug tests saw the conference rule him permanently ineligible.

During his first season with Eastern Kentucky, though, Spence showed that he can shine no matter the situation he is in, playing like the 5-star recruit he was, earning Co-Defensive Player of the Year honors in the Ohio Valley Conference.

He doesn’t quite have the ceiling that former teammate Bosa has, but if scouts can overlook the issues off the field, Spence has the potential to be one of the biggest steals of the draft. His natural ability and speed off the edge are things few in the class can match and make him one of the more intriguing draft prospects this year.

QB Paxton Lynch

David J. Phillip/Associated Press

Part of the revolving door of players considered to be the top signal-caller in the draft class at one point this season—at one point or another, any of the list of Cardale Jones, Connor Cook, Christian Hackenberg and Jared Goff have held the title—the hype has seemingly cooled for Memphis quarterback Paxton Lynch since the Tigers' huge upset win against Ole Miss in the middle of the year.

Still considered anywhere from the second to fourth best quarterback prospect, depending on who you ask, though—Goff comfortably has the top spot locked up heading into the predraft season—Lynch could very easily find himself joining a team in the first round.

Sporting a prototypical size for an NFL quarterback, Lynch (6'7", 245 lbs) is surprisingly light on his feet and can both make the throws needed at the top level and run the read-option that has become so popular in the pros in recent years.

His ceiling is arguably the highest in the draft, but his floor is one of the lower among the elite prospects as well, making teams a little apprehensive to spend a pick on him. If Lynch can continue to grow and flash his elite athleticism at the combine, he shouldn’t drop out of the first round.