NFL Mock Draft 2017: Breaking Down Early Forecast for Entire 1st Round

We still have two rounds and a little more than two weeks remaining in the 2016 NFL postseason. Yet, it's definitely not too early to look ahead to the looming NFL draft.

Beginning on April 27, teams are going to start scooping up this year's crop of incoming rookie talent. This year, the draft returns to Philadelphia for the first time since 1961.

Fans, of course, care far less about where and when the annual selection ceremony will take place than they do about the talent their favorite teams are going to add. This is what we're going to try predicting here today—at least for Round 1.

We will be making our choices based on factors like team need, player potential and team fit. Since only the first 28 slots are set—actually, a coin flip will settle picks 14 and 15 due to a tie between the Minnesota Vikings and Indianapolis Colts—we will be using reverse-seeding order to determine the final four picks of Round 1.

We will also examine some of the latest draft-related storylines heading in to the conference championship games.

NFL Mock Draft

Pick	NFL Team	Selection
1	Cleveland Browns	Myles Garrett, DE, Texas A&M
2	San Francisco 49ers	Mitch Trubisky, QB, North Carolina
3	Chicago Bears	Jamal Adams, S, LSU
4	Jacksonville Jaguars	Leonard Fournette, RB, LSU
5	Tennessee Titans (via LA)	Jonathan Allen, DL, Alabama
6	New York Jets	Deshaun Watson, QB, Clemson
7	Los Angeles Chargers	Jabrill Peppers, LB, Michigan
8	Carolina Panthers	Derek Barnett, DE, Tennessee
9	Cincinnati Bengals	Marshon Lattimore, CB, Ohio State
10	Buffalo Bills	Mike Williams, WR, Clemson
11	New Orleans Saints	Solomon Thomas, DE, Stanford
12	Cleveland Browns (via PHI)	Cam Robinson, OT, Alabama
13	Arizona Cardinals	Malik Hooker, S, Ohio State
14	Indianapolis Colts	Marlon Humphrey, CB, Alabama
15	Philadelphia Eagles (via MIN)	Dalvin Cook, RB, Florida State
16	Baltimore Ravens	Quincy Wilson, CB, Florida
17	Washington Redskins	Chris Wormley, DL, Michigan
18	Tennessee Titans	John Ross, WR, Washington
19	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	Corey Davis, WR, Western Michigan
20	Denver Broncos	Ryan Ramczyk, OT, Wisconsin
21	Detroit Lions	Charles Walker, DT, Oklahoma
22	Miami Dolphins	Teez Tabor, CB, Florida
23	New York Giants	Zach Cunningham, LB, Vanderbilt
24	Oakland Raiders	Christian McCaffrey, RB, Stanford
25	Houston Texans	Caleb Brantley, DT, Florida
26	Seattle Seahawks	Dan Feeney, OG, Indiana
27	Kansas City Chiefs	JuJu Smith-Schuster, WR, USC
28	Dallas Cowboys	Taco Charlton, DE, Michigan
29	Green Bay Packers	O.J. Howard, TE, Alabama
30	Pittsburgh Steelers	Charles Harris, DE, Missouri
31	Atlanta Falcons	Sidney Jones, CB, Washington
32	New England Patriots	Lowell Lotulelei, DT, Utah

Latest Buzz

Underclassmen Abound in 2017

We've become increasingly used to the idea of underclassmen eschewing eligibility in order to enter the NFL draft early. This recent trend looks to continue in 2017.

According to Dane Brugler of CBSSports.com, 103 underclassmen have declared for this year's draft. This number is just slightly lower than last year's total of 107 underclassmen. If we use last year's 253 picks as a guideline (compensatory picks have yet to be announced), this means that up to 40 percent of this year's class could be underclassmen.

Of course, the reality is that many of the underclassmen who have declared won't actually hear their names called during the draft. Some won't have enough game film to satisfy NFL scouts, while others simply haven't developed enough to make a lasting impression.

For the latter group, returning to college may have been the better idea. This is an idea that gets floated around every year—but it isn't necessarily true for all players.

Consider North Carolina quarterback Mitch Trubisky, who has just one year of starting experience under his belt. While another year of collegiate play would almost certainly help him develop as a signal-caller, his stock is incredibly high because of the perceived lack of quarterback talent in this draft class.

Therefore, Trubisky could conceivably be the No. 1 pick in the draft because of the position he plays, even though he could use another year of collegiate development.

Some underclassmen, like Texas A&M pass-rusher Myles Garrett, appear ready to step in to an NFL lineup right now.

The Argument Against the Jets Drafting Watson

In this mock, I have the New York Jets taking Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson. Technically, Watson is one of the 103 underclassmen entering the draft, even though he has already graduated. 

On one hand, drafting Watson makes sense for the Jets, who probably aren't interested in bringing back Ryan Fitzpatrick. The team doesn't have a clear franchise quarterback on its roster and isn't likely to be relevant in the AFC East until this changes.

The problem with spending a high pick on a guy like Watson is that the Jets already have two young and unproven signal-callers on the roster in Bryce Petty and Christian Hackenberg.

Hackenberg was drafted in the second round just last year. ESPN draft expert Mel Kiper Jr. recently explained why this could prevent New York from spending another high pick on a signal-caller.

Kiper said, via Brian Costello of the New York Post:

"

You have a coach [Todd Bowles] that has to win. You already drafted Hackenberg in the second round. You could say, 'Well, he didn't show anything.' But who does when you don't play, and you had the struggles late in your [college] career? You've got to kind of recreate what we saw as a freshman under Bill O'Brien [at Penn State]. So all of a sudden, do you give up on a quarterback you drafted just because as a rookie he didn't play? I don't believe that.

"

Should the Jets take another year to see what they have in Hackenberg and/or Petty? Jets general manager Mike Maccagnan certainly didn't commit to the idea after the season.

"I'm not going to speculate on what [Petty's] ceiling may be. I think Bryce has a lot of potential," Maccagnan said, per Rich Cimini of ESPN.com. "We like Christian as a prospect. He's a young player; he's only 21 years old. He has made progress and he does have potential that we're focused on trying to make him develop."

If the Jets decide to pass on a quarterback with the sixth overall pick, it would open the door for a team like the Buffalo Bills, Cleveland Browns or even the Arizona Cardinals to snag one later in the first round.

Myles Garrett Still Trending as No. 1 Pick...For Now

The Browns may be inclined to take a quarterback such as Watson with the No. 1 overall pick because of their well-documented lack of a stable quarterback. However, the general perception is that Garrett is simply too good to pass up there. 

While this perception could change after the Senior Bowl and scouting combine, it holds true heading in to Conference Championship Weekend.

However, not everyone shares this popular opinion. One unnamed NFC scout actually believes that the A&M product is vastly overrated.

"That guy, he is going to break somebody's heart," the scout said, per Mark Eckel of NJ.com. "He's really, really overrated. You'll see. I'm telling you, he's just not that good. He's OK. Top pick, that's crazy.''

This scout's opinion demonstrates just how varied opinions can be on even the perceived top prospects in the draft. As teams and media types dig even further into prospects' film and workout numbers in the coming months, this range of opinions is likely to grow.

While Garrett is seen as a can't-miss prospect by many now, he might not be by the time the draft kicks off in April.