NFL Draft 2016: 1st-Round Mock Draft and Projections for Top Prospects

The 2016 NFL draft is about to take center stage after the small matter of Super Bowl 50 is decided. 

We're less than two months away from the top college prospects finding new, professional homes, as NFL teams will look to improve their rosters via the draft. 

Here is my latest first-round mock draft. As a reminder, there are 31 picks in the first round because the New England Patriots had to forfeit their selection due to Deflategate:

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

The elite FBS talent has some company from an FCS player in North Dakota State quarterback Carson Wentz. 

Coming off an FCS national championship, Wentz played in just seven games due to a wrist injury. After an eight-week hiatus, he was able to come back for the national championship game against Jacksonville State and lead the Bison to their fifth straight title. 

He's 6'6", 235 pounds and is a pro-style quarterback. He has a big arm and brings a confident presence to the pocket. Yet he isn't afraid to bring the ball down and run if forced to. Wentz has good speed given his size and could surprise a lot of scouts moving forward. 

While ESPN's Mel Kiper Jr. says in the video above that Wentz is a second- or third-round selection, the quarterback has skyrocketed up mock drafts by impressing a lot of NFL teams during the week of the Senior Bowl. 

NFL.com's Daniel Jeremiah explained what he saw from Wentz:

"

North Dakota State QB Carson Wentz entered this week facing more pressure than any other prospect in Mobile. He was by far the highest-rated passer heading into the week of practice and everyone was eager to see how he would respond to the pressure and higher completion level. He responded with an outstanding performance. He displayed ideal size, arm strength and most importantly, poise. This moment wasn't too big for him. I'm looking forward to watching him play on Saturday, but he's already done enough to earn his spot in the first round of the 2016 NFL Draft.

"

A number of teams could draft a quarterback this year. Unfortunately for them, the pickings are somewhat slim. Only Wentz, Memphis' Paxton Lynch and California's Jared Goff are bona fide first-rounders. 

Michigan State's Connor Cook and Penn State's Christian Hackenberg are options, but I don't see them going until later on in the draft. 

That means Wentz could go early to the likes of the Cleveland Browns, Dallas Cowboys, San Francisco 49ers or Philadelphia Eagles. 

Wherever he goes, the general consensus seems to indicate that Wentz is ready for the pros.