NFL Draft 2017: Order and Predictions for Top Prospects After Super Bowl 51

The New England Patriots completed their improbable comeback when running back James White propelled his body toward the end zone at 11:25 p.m. Sunday night.

White's body never made it, but when the edge of the football crossed the front of the goal line before his knee hit the ground, he was successful in his mission. He scored the winning touchdown in overtime from two yards out, and the Patriots had a 34-28 victory over the Atlanta Falcons in Super Bowl LI.

That moment marked the unofficial end of the 2016 season. The official start up of the 2017 "league year" begins March 9 at 4 p.m. ET. That's when all 2016 player contracts end, and teams can sign free agents for the upcoming season.

Draft season started last month with the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Alabama, and will continue to heat up at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis and pick up in intensity with individual workouts and interviews.

Pick	Team	Selection
1	Cleveland Browns	Myles Garrett, DE, Texas A&M
2	San Francisco 49ers	Mitch Trubisky, QB, North Carolina
3	Chicago Bears	Deshaun Watson, QB, Clemson
4	Jacksonville Jaguars	Jamal Adams, S, LSU
5	Tennessee Titans (via Rams)	Jonathan Allen, DL, Alabama
6	New York Jets	O.J. Howard, TE, Alabama
7	Los Angeles Chargers	Mike Williams, WR, Clemson
8	Carolina Panthers	Dalvin Cook, RB, Florida State
9	Cincinnati Bengals	Cam Robinson, OT, Alabama
10	Buffalo Bills	Reuben Foster, LB, Alabama
11	New Orleans Saints	Solomon Thomas, DE, Stanford
12	Cleveland Browns (via Eagles)	Derek Barnett, DE, Tennessee
13	Arizona Cardinals	Marshon Lattimore, CB, Ohio State
14	Indianapolis Colts	Leonard Fournette, RB, LSU
15	Philadelphia Eagles (via Vikings)	Jabrill Peppers, S, Michigan
16	Baltimore Ravens	Takkarist McKinley, LB, UCLA
17	Washington Redskins	Malik McDowell, DT, Michigan State
18	Tennessee Titans	Tim Williams, LB/DE, Alabama
19	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	Desmond King, CB, Iowa
20	Denver Broncos	John Ross WR, Washington
21	Detroit Lions	Taco Charlton, DE, Michigan
22	Miami Dolphins	Teez Tabor, CB, Florida
23	New York Giants	Caleb Brantley, DL, Florida
24	Oakland Raiders	Marlon Humphrey, CB, Alabama
25	Houston Texans	Zach Cunningham, LB, Vanderbilt
26	Seattle Seahawks	Malik Hooker, S, Ohio State
27	Kansas City Chiefs	Ryan Ramczyk, OT, Wisconsin
28	Dallas Cowboys	Corey Davis, WR, Western Michigan
29	Green Bay Packers	Raekwon McMillan, LB, Ohio State
30	Pittsburgh Steelers	Haason Reddick, LB, Temple
31	Atlanta Falcons	T.J. Watt, LB, Wisconsin
32	New England Patriots	Carl Lawson, LB, Auburn

The annual player draft will commence April 27, and the combination of what teams do to improve through free agency and the draft will largely determine what kind of challenge the 31 remaining teams will be able to provide to the Patriots next season.

The final draft order was also determined with the Patriots' remarkable 25-point comeback victory. The Atlanta Falcons will have the 31st pick in the first round, while New England will have the 32nd and final pick.

The top five picks belong to the Cleveland Browns, San Francisco 49ers, Chicago Bears, Jacksonville Jaguars and Tennessee Titans (through the Los Angeles Rams).

As usual, quarterbacks will be the top commodity in the draft, and the Browns, Niners and Bears are all clearly in need of an elite signal caller. However, there are legitimate questions as to whether North Carolina's Mitch Trubisky, Clemson's DeShaun Watson and Notre Dame's DeShone Kizer can develop into consistent, winning quarterbacks.

Trubisky is a talented thrower with good size at 6'3" and 220 pounds but is limited in experience. He started 13 games last season for the Tar Heels, but that is the whole of his starting experience.

Watson is a remarkable leader with exceptional intangibles but had some problems with interceptions over the past two seasons. If he was a bit scatter-armed against college competition, it stands to reason that it may become a bigger issue in the NFL for the 6'2", 215-pound Watson.

Kizer is a physically gifted player at 6'4" and 230 pounds who many scouts admire, but there are plenty of questions about his maturity and ability to overcome adversity. 

If the Browns, Niners or Bears want to spend one of their draft picks on one of these quarterbacks, they will be making a huge gamble. All three of those teams have multiple holes to fill, and going after an unproven quarterback is something of a gamble.

However, passing on a quarterback with potential means it will take that much longer for a team to start improving and climbing the ladder.

Therein lies the conundrum of the draft: whether to select a talented quarterback early and help him develop into a future superstar or pass on him and concentrate on other areas to rebuild. That may result in an improved team, but it's almost impossible to win a Super Bowl title without a stellar quarterback.

Ultimately, every team needs an elite quarterback at one point or another, and all three of those teams will face increasing pressure if they don't consider drafting a quarterback this year.

The top prospects in this year's draft are defensive end Myles Garrett of Texas A&M, defensive end Jonathan Allen of Alabama and running back Dalvin Cook of Florida State.

Garrett has a chance to become a dominant player at the next level because of his classic size at the position (6'5" and 262 pounds) and excellent athleticism and strength. He combines those physical assets with a great understanding of how to play the position and attack offensive linemen. His ability to turn his quickness and power into big plays (21.0 sacks in the last two seasons) makes him look like a sure thing.

Dane Brugler of NFLDraftScout.com (h/t CBSSports.com) pointed out that Garrett has a high pain tolerance that allows him to play through injuries that would stop others. He also says that Garrett has the potential to compare with Denver pass-rusher DeMarcus Ware.

Allen may have a higher ceiling in the NFL than any player in the 2017 draft. The 6'3", 292-pound Allen is powerful against the run and also has 19.0 sacks his last 26 games.

He should be effective whether he plays on the interior or rushes from the outside, and he has a very advanced game. Rob Rang of NFLDraftScout.com (h/t CBSSports.com) compared him to Seattle defensive end Michael Bennett because he uses his hands so well when battling with offensive lineman. That often allows Allen to deliver a series of blows to close up the hole or get to the quarterback.

Cook's draft status is undoubtedly helped by the success of Dallas Cowboys rookie running back Ezekiel Elliott this season. The Cowboys raised eyebrows when they selected the talented Elliott with the fourth pick in 2016 because running backs are rarely drafted that highly in the current NFL environment.

Since Elliott led the league in rushing this year, that should help Cook, who has wonderful instincts for the position along with excellent speed and a great burst when going through the hole. At 5'11" and 206 pounds, Cook is strong enough to take the pounding but also elusive enough to avoid the big hit when possible.