NFL Draft 2017: 1st-Round Order and Predictions for Top Teams to Watch

We're now just a little more than two months away from the 2017 NFL draft. The scouting combine is barely a week away, with pro days and private workouts to soon follow.

Over the next couple of weeks, the draft picture at large is going to become clearer—at least as clear as it can get when teams are consistently spewing smoke. Measurements, interviews and drills are going to give us more information about how prospects will be viewed by teams, while free agency will help to clear up team needs around the league.

For now, we have to rely almost solely on what we've seen on the collegiate playing fields in order to judge this year's incoming rookie crop and where players might land.

We're here to take what we know right now and apply it to the opening round of the draft. We'll be making our projections based on team needs and fit, projected player potential and free-agency speculation. We'll also take an in-depth look at the three teams at the top of the draft—the Cleveland Browns, San Francisco 49ers and Chicago Bears—as they have the potential to heavily impact the way the rest of the round falls.

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)	Corey Davis, WR, Western Michigan
6	New York Jets	Malik Hooker, S, Ohio State
7	Los Angeles Chargers	Marshon Lattimore, CB, Ohio State
8	Carolina Panthers	Leonard Fournette, RB, LSU
9	Cincinnati Bengals	Reuben Foster, LB, Alabama
10	Buffalo Bills	Derek Barnett, DE, Tennessee
11	New Orleans Saints	Solomon Thomas, DE, Stanford
12	Cleveland Browns (from PHI)	Mitch Trubisky, QB, North Carolina
13	Arizona Cardinals	Mike Williams, WR, Clemson
14*	Indianapolis Colts	Ryan Ramczyk, OT, Wisconsin
15*	Philadelphia Eagles (from MIN)	Jabrill Peppers, LB, Michigan
16	Baltimore Ravens	Dalvin Cook, RB, Florida State
17	Washington Redskins	Chris Wormley, DL, Michigan
18	Tennessee Titans	Quincy Wilson, CB, Florida
19	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	Charles Harris, OLB, Missouri
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	Takkarist McKinley, DE, UCLA
32	New England Patriots	Tim Williams, LB, Alabama

 1. Cleveland Browns

The Browns head into the draft with the ability to impact the opening round more than any other team. Not only does Cleveland own two first-round picks, but they also hold the first overall selection. The Browns can have their pick of draft prospects at that slot or they could choose to trade down and acquire more picks.

Since the Browns are perpetually in need of a quarterback, they could decide to go with a signal-caller at No. 1 overall. This could change how the next several selections unfold as quarterback-needy teams begin jockeying to try to secure one of the remaining quarterbacks.

The Browns are also a team devoid of talent all across the board, though, so taking the perceived best available player would also benefit the franchise.

NFL Media's Mike Mayock believes the Browns should take one of the draft's top defenders with the top pick. He recently explained his thinking on NFL Network's Total Access:

"

It's a tremendous defensive draft. I don't think there is a quarterback worthy of number one so I would be looking at two guys. Either Jonathan Allen, the defensive tackle from Alabama, or the big defensive end Myles Garrett from Texas A&M. I think Garrett affects the game on the outside. I think Allen affects the game on the inside. It's a pass-first league and I think the Browns in that new Gregg Williams scheme, that four-man front, one of those two guys would fit beautifully.

"

In this mock, we have the Browns taking Garrett, a guy who has been at the top of many big boards since early in the 2016 season. The edge-rushing specialist appears to be a perfect fit for Cleveland's new defense, and he has as much upside as any player in the draft.

"Selecting Garrett instead of forcing a pick at quarterback is the right move," Bleacher Report NFL Draft Lead Writer Matt Miller recently wrote.

We have the Browns taking a quarterback with their second first-round pick in this mock—North Carolina's Mitch Trubisky.

It wouldn't be a surprise to see Cleveland add a new starter in free agency or via trade, perhaps Jimmy Garoppolo of the New England Patriots. If the team doesn't find a guy it believes can start before the draft, though, adding one in Round 1 makes sense.

Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com even likes the idea of adding Trubisky at No. 1 overall.

"The more I watch Mitch Trubisky and talk to people about him, the more I think the Browns should take him No. 1 overall and develop him," Cabot recently wrote. "Several personnel executives I've talked to believe he's the best QB in this draft class, and at least one has said he'll be better than Carson Wentz."

If the Browns do fall in love with Trubisky, taking him No. 1 overall would be the only way to ensure getting him.

2. San Francisco 49ers

The 49ers are another team that could realistically take a quarterback at the top of the draft. They could also see teams calling for the draft slot, either to draft a quarterback or to snag Garrett should the Browns pass on him at No. 1.

Here, though, we have San Francisco taking the next defender off the board, Alabama's Jonathan Allen.

Like the Browns, the 49ers are rebuilding their defense and are seriously lacking in overall talent. The addition of Allen would help address both of these issues. He is a tremendously gifted down lineman with the ability to pressure the quarterback from the interior.

As Atlanta Falcons defensive tackle Grady Jarrett showed in Super Bowl LI, interior pressure can make a massive defensive impact.

Pro Football Focus rated Allen first overall among all interior defenders for the 2016 season.

Obviously, this selection will hinge on what the 49ers decide to do in free agency or via trade before the draft. There are strong indications that San Francisco would prefer to add a veteran quarterback.

Bleacher Report NFL Insider Jason Cole reported that the 49ers are interested in guys like Garoppolo and Washington Redskins quarterback Kirk Cousins but would be interested in Bears quarterback Jay Cutler if neither are available.

However, the 49ers don't seem likely to add a pure stopgap quarterback this offseason.

"When you make a decision on a quarterback, you don't want that to just be a short-term fix," 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan said, per Cam Inman of the San Jose Mercury News. “You want to make a commitment to somebody."

Quarterback could be the pick here if San Francisco cannot find a suitable one in the coming weeks.

3. Chicago Bears

Chicago is yet another team at the top of the draft that could take a quarterback, assuming the team is ready to move on from Cutler.

If the Bears do decide to move one, it will be because of Cutler's inability to lead the team to postseason success and because of durability concerns, not because of his physical talent.

"Cutler will leave the Bears with all the important and gaudy passing records," Steve Rosenbloom of the Chicago Tribune recently wrote. "He also will leave the Bears as the hood ornament for shattered hope."

With the top two defenders off the board, we have the Bears pulling the trigger on a quarterback here. While Trubisky's physical attributes are certainly intriguing, we're going with Clemson's Deshaun Watson for Chicago.

Watson has proven himself on the biggest collegiate stage and against the best collegiate defense. While he may not be ready to start from Day 1, his upside is tremendous. According to Clemson head coach Dabo Sweeney, Watson also prepares for each game like a professional:

While the Bears might not be passing on a Michael Jordan-type talent if they pass on Watson, it seems they would be passing on a quality quarterback. Again, this is a selection that hinges on Chicago's free-agency plans, but Watson to the Bears makes sense in this mock.