NFL Draft 2016: Latest Mock Draft, Projections for Difficult 1st-Round Decisions

The initial rush of early free agency is gone. The NFL Scouting Combine is in the past, and plenty of meaningful college workout days are already done. It’s almost decision time for front offices across the NFL with the draft rapidly approaching (April 28-30).

This year’s crop of prospects features multiple quarterbacks who could go in the top 10, a slew of pass-rushing defensive ends and outside linebackers who can make life incredibly difficult on offenses for years to come, and a few wide receivers who will likely be regulars in the end zone as soon as their rookie seasons.

With that in mind, here is a look at a mock draft for the first round, as well as a breakdown of some of the potentially difficult decisions that will face front offices come draft day.

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

No. 2 Cleveland Browns: Quarterback Quandary

The Cleveland Browns have the No. 2 pick, and they will face multiple decisions regarding the quarterback position.

For one, they have to determine whether they will pick a signal-caller at all after they signed Robert Griffin III this offseason. However, he hasn’t taken a snap in a regular-season game since 2014 and had four touchdown passes to six interceptions in that campaign for the Washington Redskins. That doesn’t exactly scream franchise quarterback for a Browns team so desperately searching for one.

Cleveland will decide to go quarterback at No. 2, but it will then have to choose between Jared Goff and Carson Wentz.

Goff was a first-team All-Pac-12 performer this season at California with 4,719 passing yards and 43 touchdown tosses. He capped off his incredible campaign with 467 passing yards and six touchdowns against Air Force in the Armed Forces Bowl.

Wentz tallied 3,111 yards and 25 scores in 2014 and was the catalyst for North Dakota State’s fourth consecutive FCS title. He missed some time with a wrist injury in 2015 but returned to lead his team to yet another championship.

Neither will consistently run for 100 yards per game at the NFL level, but they are athletic in the pocket. They can each fit the ball through tight windows or hit receivers downfield and are the best this year’s draft has to offer at the position.

Still, there is some concern with Wentz when he faces pressure, as Sam Monson of Pro Football Focus illustrated:

While it is natural to see some dropoff from almost any quarterback when he is under pressure, Goff’s decrease was not as drastic, as Monson showed:

Football Outsiders ranked the Browns as the 26th-best offensive line in pass protection last season, and that was before they lost Alex Mack and Mitchell Schwartz. Cleveland needs a quarterback who can face pressure and deliver, and Goff will be its pick. 

It may not be fair, but the level of competition Wentz faced in the FCS will also be held against him in such a tight quarterback race, especially in light of some of his struggles against pressure. Goff will go No. 2 to the Browns.

No. 4 Dallas Cowboys: Choosing Between Buckeyes

The Dallas Cowboys select at No. 4, and they will look toward Columbus, Ohio, and Urban Meyer’s program for their pick. The question is, will Dallas select defensive end Joey Bosa or running back Ezekiel Elliott from Ohio State?

The Cowboys could certainly use Bosa after they finished an abysmal 25th in the league in total sacks last season with 31. The lack of pressure was one reason they were a mediocre 17th in total defense and 16th in scoring defense on the way to a last-place finish in the NFC East at 4-12.

However, Dallas could be in the market for a franchise running back since Darren McFadden struggled through injuries early in his career and will be 29 years old before the start of the 2016 season. He is also only signed through the 2016 campaign, per Spotrac.

Dallas did sign Alfred Morris to a two-year deal this offseason after he ran for 751 yards in 2015. It was the first time Morris failed to reach the 1,000-yard mark in his career, and the Cowboys could look for a bounce-back effort behind an offensive line that Football Outsiders ranked as the sixth-best run-blocking unit in 2015.

Morris and McFadden are short-term options, but adding someone like Elliott would ideally give the Cowboys a reliable back for years to come. The former Buckeye topped the 1,800 mark in each of the last two years and was the hero in Ohio State’s national championship win over Oregon with 246 rushing yards and four touchdowns.

However, the overall defensive concerns and the presence of Morris for at least two years will lead the Cowboys to Bosa.

The defensive end won’t be lacking for confidence when he gets to Dallas given his comments at the combine, via Paul Kuharsky of ESPN.com:

"

I do believe I'm the best player in the draft. There's, of course, a lot of amazing players in the draft, and it's going to be up to Tennessee to make that decision. But I think as a top player, if you don't believe that, then there is something wrong.

I think I bring the best pass-rusher, the best defensive lineman in the country. 

"

Cowboys fans will hope that is the case when their team picks him.

No. 9 Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Cornering the Market

Gregory Payan/Associated Press

Lance Zierlein of NFL.com said cornerback is the biggest position of need for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers entering the 2016 draft. Fortunately for Tampa Bay, this year’s class is particularly deep at the position.

Although Jalen Ramsey—who is arguably the most talented player in the draft—will be gone by No. 9, Tampa Bay will have the chance to choose from a crop that includes Ohio State's Eli Apple, Florida's Vernon Hargreaves III, Clemson's Mackensie Alexander and Houston's William Jackson III. Any of them have the talent to slide right into an NFL defense and contribute right away.

Tampa Bay will ultimately go with the hometown cornerback from Florida in Hargreaves. Pete Prisco of CBS Sports believes that will be the choice as well: “As much as they need edge-rush help, they also need corner help. Hargreaves excels in man coverage.”

Hargreaves was a first-team All-SEC performer in each of his three seasons with the Gators and has the athleticism and speed to keep up with receivers in press coverage on deep balls and close the gap in zone looks. His instincts will help him rack up pass deflections as a rookie, and he could be a special teams contributor as well thanks to his speed.

While Tampa Bay probably couldn’t go wrong with any of those cornerbacks, its fans who know Hargreaves from his time with the Gators will be pleased to see a familiar face in the secondary in 2016.