NFL Mock Draft 2017: Latest 1st-Round Predictions for Top Prospects in Class

A lot has changed in the NFL world over the past few days. Free agency officially kicked off on Thursday, and it didn't take long for the landscape to start shifting. Inevitably, many of the moves made over the past few days will have a trickle-down effect on this year's draft.

The Philadelphia Eagles, for example, inked two veteran receivers in Alshon Jeffery and Torrey Smith. This doesn't necessarily mean they won't target a receiver in the first round, but it makes it more sensible to target a different position.

We've also seen the New England Patriots drop out of the first round, trading the No. 32 pick to the New Orleans Saints in exchange for wideout Brandin Cooks, per ESPN's Dianna Russini:

Let's take what we've seen and learned over the past couple of days and apply it to our latest mock draft. We'll run down the new draft order and make our projections for each pick based on factors like player potential, team needs and team fit. We'll also examine the latest draft-related news entering the weekend.

2017 NFL Mock Draft

Pick	NFL Team	Proj. Selection
1	Cleveland Browns	Myles Garrett, DE, Texas A&M
2	San Francisco 49ers	Solomon Thomas, DE, Stanford
3	Chicago Bears	Jamal Adams, S, LSU
4	Jacksonville Jaguars	Malik Hooker, S, Ohio State
5	Tennessee Titans (from LAR)	Corey Davis, WR, Western Michigan
6	New York Jets	Marshon Lattimore, CB, Ohio State
7	Los Angeles Chargers	Jonathan Allen, DL, Alabama
8	Carolina Panthers	Leonard Fournette, RB, LSU
9	Cincinnati Bengals	Haason Reddick, LB, Temple
10	Buffalo Bills	Deshaun Watson, QB, Clemson
11	New Orleans Saints	Derek Barnett, DE, Tennessee
12	Cleveland Browns (from PHI)	Mitchell Trubisky, QB, North Carolina
13	Arizona Cardinals	Mike Williams, WR, Clemson
14	Philadelphia Eagles (from MIN)	O.J. Howard, TE, Alabama
15	Indianapolis Colts	Reuben Foster, LB, Alabama
16	Baltimore Ravens	Dalvin Cook, RB, Florida State
17	Washington Redskins	Chris Wormley, DL, Michigan
18	Tennessee Titans	Gareon Conley, CB, Ohio State
19	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	Charles Harris, OLB, Missouri
20	Denver Broncos	Forrest Lamp, OL, Western Kentucky
21	Detroit Lions	Jabrill Peppers, LB, Michigan
22	Miami Dolphins	Teez Tabor, CB, Florida
23	New York Giants	David Njoku, TE, Miami
24	Oakland Raiders	Christian McCaffrey, RB, Stanford
25	Houston Texans	Marlon Humphrey, CB, Alabama
26	Seattle Seahawks	Ryan Ramczyk, OT, Wisconsin
27	Kansas City Chiefs	John Ross, WR, Washington
28	Dallas Cowboys	Taco Charlton, DE, Michigan
29	Green Bay Packers	Tre'Davious White, CB, LSU
30	Pittsburgh Steelers	T.J. Watt, LB, Wisconsin
31	Atlanta Falcons	Dan Feeney, OG, Indiana
32	New Orleans Saints (from NE)	Sidney Jones, CB, Washington

Latest Buzz

Reddick on the Rise

Former Temple linebacker Haasan Reddick began garnering attention during the 2016 season, in which he amassed 65 tackles, 10.5 sacks and 22.5 tackles for a loss. He continued to build on this at the Senior Bowl.

NFL Network's Daniel Jeremiah noted that Reddick "clearly generated the most buzz in personnel circles" during practices leading up to the Senior Bowl itself.

After a strong combine performance—and after Alabama's Reuben Foster was sent home from the combine—Reddick may have cemented himself as the top non-rush linebacker in this draft class. Reddick ran the 40 in 4.52 seconds, produced a 36.5-inch vertical and an impressive 133-inch broad jump.

It certainly helps that Reddick has shown the mental makeup and the work ethic that NFL teams love. After joining Temple as a walk-on, Reddick had to scratch and claw his way onto the field in order to develop into the player he is today.

Reddick looks to carry his attitude and work ethic into the pros.

"I put in a lot of hard work with football," Reddick said, per Donald Hunt of the Philadelphia Tribune. "I basically dedicated my whole life to it. People have been saying a lot of great things about me, but I've tried to block out the noise. I just try to remain humble."

Don't be surprised if Reddick winds up being one of the first defenders off the board on draft weekend.

Browns Beginning to Look Past Garoppolo

The feeling entering the offseason was that the Cleveland Browns would use their accumulated draft capital to try to make a run at New England Patriots backup quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo. While this may have indeed been Cleveland's plan, it doesn't feel like the Patriots have any interest in trading Garoppolo at any price.

Cleveland may finally be letting this idea sink in, which could prompt the team to fully embrace drafting a quarterback.

Draft analyst Benjamin Allbright recently joined Baskin & Phelps with Les Levine on 92.3 The Fan to discuss Cleveland's quarterback situation. He had the following to say:

"

It will come down to a draft pick and Cody Kessler. They feel like they're out on Jimmy Garoppolo. Obviously, there's potential for that, but the rub really lies on the Patriots' side. The Patriots are balking at even trading Jimmy Garoppolo and are putting absurd price tags out there even if they would. From what I am told by people there in the Browns organization is that they currently feel like they're out on Garoppolo.

"

If the Browns truly feel like Garoppolo isn't an option, then perhaps they try to pry Kirk Cousins away from the Washington Redskins. Otherwise, they start seriously looking at taking a quarterback in the draft. There simply isn't much of note available on the open market.

Bears, 49ers Land Quarterbacks

There isn't a lot remaining on the open market because the Chicago Bears signed the most popular free-agent quarterback, Mike Glennon. The Bears inked Glennon to a three-year, $45 million deal and have already declared him the team's starter moving forward.

“Mike Glennon is our starting quarterback and we’re fired up about that,” Bears general manager Ryan Pace said, per Michael David Smith of ProFootballTalk.com.

Chicago isn't the only team to add a quarterback early in free agency either. The San Francisco 49ers added former Bears backup and Browns starter Brian Hoyer on a two-year, $12 million deal.

Both of these deals feel like moves to get bridge quarterbacks, so there's no guarantee that either the Bears or the 49ers pass on a signal-caller in the first round. Considering where these teams pick, though, it feels like if they're going to draft quarterbacks, they will do so on Day 2 or later.

This could set things up nicely for teams like the Browns, the New York Jets and the Buffalo Bills—assuming they even want to risk a signal-caller in Round 1.

The Bills are an interesting case because they have Tyrod Taylor under contract. However, that contract is a restructured deal that now expires after the 2018 season. If Buffalo falls in love with a quarterback in this draft, they'll have two years to develop him before throwing him into the fire.

These deals could also allow teams like the Arizona Cardinals and Kansas City Chiefs to land quarterbacks early in the draft they feel can succeed Carson Palmer and Alex Smith, respectively.