NFL Draft 2017: Updated Mock Draft Ahead of Conference Championships

Four NFL teams are still waiting to determine their postseason fates, but for the rest of the league, it's time to look ahead to the 2017 NFL draft. 

We're one round further into the NFL playoffs, and four more teams have been eliminated. 

That means four additional teams are heading into the offseason phases of their programs and have turned their attention to the upcoming NFL draft. It also means we have four more spots solidified in the draft order.  

Let's take a look at which positions of need teams may be considering at this early point in the year as well as the prospects who could fit them. Though we'll do a full mock for all 32 NFL teams, we'll focus more closely on some prospects who are almost sure to be top-10 talents. 

Selection	Team	Player	Position	School
1	Cleveland Browns	Myles Garrett	DE	Texas A&M
2	San Francisco 49ers	Mitch Trubisky	QB	UNC
3	Chicago Bears	Jonathan Allen	DE	Alabama
4	Jacksonville Jaguars	Jamal Adams	SS	LSU
5	Tennessee Titans (via LAR)	Malik Hooker	FS	Ohio State
6	New York Jets	DeShone Kizer	QB	Notre Dame
7	Los Angeles Chargers	Cam Robinson	OT	Alabama
8	Carolina Panthers	Leonard Fournette	RB	LSU
9	Cincinnati Bengals	Derek Barnett	DE	Tennessee
10	Buffalo Bills	Deshaun Watson	QB	Clemson
11	New Orleans Saints	Tim Williams	OLB	Alabama
12	Cleveland Browns (via PHI)	Marlon Humphrey	CB	Alabama
13	Arizona Cardinals	Reuben Foster	ILB	Alabama
14 (tie)	Philadelphia Eagles (via MIN)	Mike Williams	WR	Clemson
14 (tie)	Indianapolis Colts	Dalvin Cook	RB	FSU
16	Baltimore Ravens	Solomon Thomas	DE	Stanford
17	Washington	Malik McDowell	DT	Michigan State
18	Tennessee Titans	John Ross III	WR	Washington
19	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	Jabrill Peppers	S	Michigan
20	Denver Broncos	Ryan Ramczyk	OT	Wisconsin
21	Detroit Lions	Teez Tabor	CB	Florida
22	Miami Dolphins	Marshon Lattimore	CB	Ohio State
23	New York Giants	Christian McCaffery	RB	Stanford
24	Oakland Raiders	Zach Cunningham	ILB	Vanderbilt
25	Houston Texans	Taco Charlton	DE	Michigan
26	Seattle Seahawks	Garrett Bolles	OT	Utah
27	Kansas City Chiefs	Quincy Wilson	CB	Florida
28	Dallas Cowboys	Sidney Jones IV	CB	Washington
29	Green Bay Packers	O.J. Howard	TE	Alabama
30	Pittsburgh Steelers	Takkarist McKinley	OLB	UCLA
31	Atlanta Falcons	Charles Harris	DE	Missouri
32	New England Patriots	DeMarcus Walker	DE	Florida State

Top-10 Talents

Malik Hooker, FS, Ohio State

Regardless of scheme, every defense could use a safety that can be a ball hawk without sacrificing technical fundamentals, and that's exactly what the team that drafts Ohio State's Malik Hooker could end up getting. 

Hooker is known for his flashy interceptions, of which he had seven in 2016, the second-most in the FBS, per CBS Sports' Dane Brugler. 

However, because of Hooker's late start in college football (he redshirted in 2014 after playing basketball primarily), his other skills may be flying under the radar, namely his ability to hone his skills and develop into a solid open-field tackler at the next level.

Hooker will likely show off his impressive speed and hands at the NFL combine. But it's the other fundamental skills he's still honing that will solidify his draft position in the first 10 selections. 

Leonard Fournette, RB, LSU

We've all heard the narrative that running back is no longer a highly valued position in the draft's first round, but when there's a franchise-changing talent available at a position of need, you make sure you take him before someone else does. 

To put it simply, people went nuts when Leonard Fournette put up a monster performance in his sophomore season at LSU. He totaled 1,953 yards with 22 touchdowns in 2015, averaging more than six yards per carry. 

However, Fournette didn't get to solidify his status as a potential top-10 draft selection in his junior season because he was hindered by an ankle injury. Make no mistake; his 843 yards and eight touchdowns in seven games were nothing to sneeze at, but it was hard to see the same explosiveness and elusiveness that made him such an exciting prospect to begin with. 

Still, the drop-off Fournette experienced in his junior year can be traced to an obvious cause, and he's a player of upstanding character as well. He spent his birthday giving back to his high school in New Orleans, as NOLA.com (h/t Geaux247's Jordan James) shared in a video. 

Derek Barnett, DE, Tennessee 

There's a premium on pass-rushers in the NFL these days; no defense can be successful without at least one standout rusher, and they'd preferably have a pair of them. 

In this year's draft class, one of the best pass-rushers is Tennessee's Derek Barnett, who amassed 20 sacks over his first two seasons with the Volunteers before racking up 13 in his final campaign. 

Whether Barnett will actually get selected within the top 10 is still up in the air. There's no question that he's one of the better edge-rushers among this group of prospects when going off production alone. 

But in his draft profile of Barnett, CBS Sports' Rob Rang voices concern about Barnett's lateral agility and flexibility to round off his rush. 

Still, no college prospect is perfect, even those who end up being drafted Nos. 1-10 overall. Teams have to be excited about Barnett's productivity at Tennessee, where he finished holding the records for the most tackles for loss (20.5) and sacks (10.0) by a true freshman, per Rang. 

Because so many teams in the top 10 need to upgrade their front sevens, Barnett could slip into top-10 territory before Day 1 is out.