2016 NFL Mock Draft: 1st-Round Predictions and Rising Impact Prospects

The 2016 NFL draft is fast approaching, which means it's time to start cementing our analysis on where players will land.

Which, of course, is a futile exercise. The likelihood of anyone correctly projecting all 31 first-round picks is about zero. There are going to be trades, crazy picks and even crazier picks—that's just the way these things go.

But mock drafting itself remains a worthwhile endeavor. While it's unlikely you're going to become a savant weeks before the draft, assessing the first round gives a baseline of expectation. That's all it is. A simple baseline upon which we judge the value of picks come draft night. If someone projected to go in the third round goes in the first, we chuckle. If it's vice versa, we praise.

With that in mind, let's take a look at how the first round should play out and assess a few players who are moving up draft boards.

Mock Draft

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

Ascending Prospects

QB Carson Wentz, North Dakota State

Having any list of "rising" prospects without Wentz would be nonsense. Wentz has been the fastest-rising star since the college season ended, overtaking Jared Goff as the draft's top quarterback.

"I want to go somewhere where they believe in myself to be that franchise quarterback whether right away or down the road," Wentz told reporters, per CBS Sports. "That's what's important to me. I want to go in a good situation, get good coaching and just keep playing ball."

The reasons Wentz has been moving up are obvious. Wentz stands 6'5" and 237 pounds, equipped with a rocket arm and above-average athleticism. His rise somewhat mirrors that of Blaine Gabbert a few years ago, as his stats don't necessarily match the level of hype around his physical gifts. 

As it stands, it'd be a major surprise if Wentz fell out of the top five. Teams have fallen in love with him and the potential he brings to the table. It'll just be interesting to see whether he's actually worth the hype.

 

OLB Myles Jack, UCLA

Jack has been tipped to be a top-10 pick for the entire process. He's perhaps the most uniquely gifted prospect in the entire class. Equipped with running back athleticism, a safety's build and a linebacker's toughness, it's impossible to tell what position he'll play at the next level. Even Jack remains unsure, per Kyle Bonagura of ESPN.com:

"

Linebacker, maybe safety, maybe outside 'backer. It all depends on how the coaches see me. Some people kind of see that as a bad thing, but I see it as a good thing. You can kind of plug me in wherever you feel like you see me or wherever the coach sees me. I feel like I was pretty successful at UCLA wherever they plugged me in at.

"

Jack impressed at his pro day even without running a 40 time. He's still not 100 percent healthy from a knee injury that prematurely ended his collegiate career, but he posted a 40-inch vertical jump and 124-inch broad jump.

“I see myself as a football player,” Jack said, per Matt Maiocco of CSN Bay Area. “I want the teams to decide for themselves. I feel like I can play any position. Me, personally, I like being off the ball as a Mike, Will, Sam. I think I could play strong safety as kind of a Kam Chancellor type of role. I feel like I could get the job done there.”

As it stands, Jack's done enough to move himself into the top five conversation. 

 

RB Ezekiel Elliott, Ohio State

Much like Todd Gurley a year ago, Elliott's talent is becoming hard to ignore. The Ohio State product rushed for nearly 3,699 yards and 41 touchdowns over the last two seasons, rushing for more than 100 yards in all but one game in his junior campaign.

At the combine, he clocked in with a 4.47-second time in the 40-yard dash at a prototypical 6'0" and 225 pounds. He's also shown deft hands whenever asked to catch the ball out of the backfield, making him the rare prospect who can excel on all three downs. Sam Monson wrote for ESPN.com:

"

Elliott might not be the runner [Adrian] Peterson is, but from the get-go he can play on more downs and affect the game in more areas. When you add all of that to the fact that the gap between the two purely as a rusher is not colossal, Elliott is the best running back prospect to come along since Peterson, and the most complete prospect at the position in years.

"

Having him at No. 13 may wind up being too low. There's a legitimate chance a team rolls the dice on Elliott in the top 10. It happened a year ago with Gurley, who had just blown up his knee. Elliott poses none of the same injury questions, even if he isn't quite the same physical marvel.

In the end, drafting a running back this high isn't an advisable move. But some team's going to fall in love with Elliott enough to buck the trend and take him anyway.