2017 NFL Mock Draft: Early Offseason Predictions for First-Round Prospects

Now that the NFL offseason has arrived, football fans are left with a lengthy and somewhat unwanted vacation from on-field action. However, this doesn't mean that fans have nothing to look forward to.

There are plenty of noteworthy events on the upcoming offseason schedule. At the end of February, we'll get the annual scouting combine. Beginning on March 9, the 2017 NFL year will officially begin, and along with it, free agency. In late April, the offseason will culminate with the 2017 NFL draft.

While the draft is still more than two months away, it's never too early to begin speculation about the Super Bowl of the offseason. In fact, we're willing to bet that most fans have been fantasizing about the upcoming selection process when this year's eligible college players began declaring.

We're here to take an early look at the first round of this year's draft and to make our predictions. We'll be pairing rookie prospects with teams based on factors like projected player potential, team needs and team fit. We'll also examine the latest in draft-related news and rumors.

2017 NFL Mock Draft

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

Latest Buzz

49ers Not Necessarily Done With Kaepernick

I no longer have the San Francisco 49ers taking a quarterback at No. 2 overall, and there are a couple of reasons for this. One is that the 49ers brass seem more interested in acquiring a veteran quarterback such as Kirk Cousins or Jimmy Garoppolo. According to Bleacher Report NFL Insider Jason Cole, Jay Cutler could also be in play.

If new head coach Kyle Shanahan is to be believed, the 49ers might not be completely done with Colin Kaepernick either.

Shanahan said the following, per Chase Goodbread of NFL.com:

"

Colin, just like any other player, (is) someone I'm going to be watching a lot of tape on over these next few weeks. Before we can look at anything, free agency, draft, anything, you have to know what the players on your team are. That doesn't happen from just turning on a game. That happens from watching a lot of stuff. It takes a lot of time.

"

It's worth noting that Kaepernick actually had some stretches of good play in 2016. He passed for 16 touchdowns with just four interceptions and produced a quarterback rating of 90.7. Pro Football Focus rated him higher than guys like Blake Bortles, Cutler and Brock Osweiler, so it's not like Kaepernick was the worst starting quarterback in the league.

It's also worth noting that Shanahan worked with dual-threat quarterback Robert Griffin III while with the Washington Redskins. Shanahan was the offensive coordinator when Griffin produced one of the top rookie seasons of all-time by a quarterback back in 2012.

If the 49ers cannot get a veteran signal-caller they like from outside the organization, Shanahan may decide that using Kaepernick as a stopgap measure isn't the worst idea in the world. There seem to be no illusions in San Francisco about this being a quick rebuild, so there isn't a dire need to jump on a rookie quarterback now.

The trouble here is that if Shanahan does decide he wants to keep Kaepernick around, he may have to actually sell the quarterback on the idea. According to Chris Mortensen and Adam Schefter of ESPN, Kaepernick is expected to opt out of his contract and test the free-agent waters.

All of this, though, points away from San Francisco spending the No. 2 overall pick on a quarterback. This then opens the door for the Chicago Bears to select their quarterback of choice if the team does indeed move on from Cutler.

Bills Possibly Eying a Quarterback in the Draft

The Buffalo Bills have a decision to make on quarterback Tyrod Taylor, and they'll need to do it sooner than later. A large chunk of Taylor's contract is going to become guaranteed if he is on the roster by March 12.

There's a strong chance that the Bills decide to move on from Taylor and target a quarterback in the draft.

"They'll draft one in the first two rounds, and if I had to pick, it'd be [Deshaun] Watson based on what [general manager Doug Whaley] likes and how he thinks," one rival general manager recently told Bleacher Report's Matt Miller.

I have the Bears snagging Watson in this mock, but if he slides, it certainly sounds like the Bills could jump on him. If Whaley really is in love with Watson, it wouldn't be too surprising to see him trade up to secure the Clemson product.

Whaley traded away a future first-round pick to move up and secure wide receiver Sammy Watkins a couple of years ago. It would be silly to think he wouldn't do the same in order to get the guy he views as his franchise quarterback.

Should Teams be Wary of First-Round Running Backs?

This year's quarterback class doesn't appear to be especially exciting. However, the running back class is—with guys like LSU's Leonard Fournette, Florida State's Dalvin Cook and Stanford's Christian McCaffrey all in play for the first round.

After watching the Dallas Cowboys ride rookie back Ezekiel Elliott to success last season, there are going to be teams interested in pulling the trigger on a runner early in this year's draft. However, Dane Brugler of CBSSports.com recently pointed out a big red flag about some of the top prospects—fumbles.

According to Brugler, both Fournette and Cook have significant issues with ball security. He points out that the average fumble rate for the 10 best NFL rushers last season was a fumble once every 108.5 offensive touches. Fournette, though, fumbled once every 82.1 touches. Cook was even worse, fumbling once every 63.8 touches.

This doesn't mean teams shouldn't grab Fournette or Cook in the first round. What these backs can do on the field is special. However, teams must do their homework and ensure that these fumbling issues are correctable (or at least acceptable).

Super Bowl LI proved just how important ball security can be. Had the New England Patriots not given up the ball twice in the first half, they probably wouldn't have needed to mount a historic comeback. Had the Atlanta Falcons not fumbled away the ball in the second half, the Patriots probably wouldn't have staged one.

If a team drafts Fournette or Cook to be a workhorse like Elliott was last year, it may be looking at a fumble once every two or three games. McCaffrey, on the other hand, fumbled just once every 243.7 touches, according to Brugler.

McCaffrey might realistically fumble once or twice in an entire season.