NFL Mock Draft 2017: 1st-Round Projections for Prized Prospects

The NFL combine is behind us, and college pro days are upon us, which means the mock draft landscape is shifting weekly as more information comes out about this year's prospects. 

One thing that hasn't changed is the fact that Texas A&M's Myles Garrett is still considered the consensus best player in this class, and for that reason, his position atop the mock draft with the Cleveland Browns' selection at No. 1 remains unchanged.

But plenty of other prospects saw their draft stock rise and fall after their workouts. Let's take a look at how the other 31 selections on Day 1 could shake out. 

Selection	Team	Player	Position	School
1	Cleveland Browns	Myles Garrett	DE	Texas A&M
2	San Francisco 49ers	Solomon Thomas	DE	Stanford
3	Chicago Bears	Jamal Adams	SS	LSU
4	Jacksonville Jaguars	Jonathan Allen	DE	Alabama
5	Tennessee Titans (via LAR)	Marshon Lattimore	CB	Ohio State
6	New York Jets	Deshaun Watson	QB	Clemson
7	Los Angeles Chargers	Malik Hooker	FS	Ohio State
8	Carolina Panthers	Leonard Fournette	RB	LSU
9	Cincinnati Bengals	Reuben Foster	ILB	Alabama
10	Buffalo Bills	Mike Williams	WR	Clemson
11	New Orleans Saints	Derek Barnett	DE	Tennessee
12	Cleveland Browns (via PHI)	Mitch Trubisky	QB	UNC
13	Arizona Cardinals	DeShone Kizer	QB	Notre Dame
14	Philadelphia Eagles (via MIN)	Corey Davis	WR	Western Michigan
15	Indianapolis Colts	Dalvin Cook	RB	FSU
16	Baltimore Ravens	Cam Robinson	OT	Alabama
17	Washington	Malik McDowell	DT	Michigan State
18	Tennessee Titans	John Ross	WR	Washington
19	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	Jabrill Peppers	S	Michigan
20	Denver Broncos	O.J. Howard	TE	Alabama
21	Detroit Lions	Sidney Jones	CB	Washington
22	Miami Dolphins	Haason Reddick	DE	Temple
23	New York Giants	Ryan Ramczyk	OT	Wisconsin
24	Oakland Raiders	Zach Cunningham	ILB	Vanderbilt
25	Houston Texans	Taco Charlton	DE	Michigan
26	Seattle Seahawks	Garett Bolles	OT	Utah
27	Kansas City Chiefs	Christian McCaffrey	RB	Stanford
28	Dallas Cowboys	Marlon Humphrey	CB	Alabama
29	Green Bay Packers	Forrest Lamp	G	Western Kentucky
30	Pittsburgh Steelers	Takkarist McKinley	OLB	UCLA
31	Atlanta Falcons	Charles Harris	DE	Missouri
32	Saints (via NE)	David Njoku	TE	Miami

Prized Prospects

Myles Garrett, DE, Texas A&M

Despite the moves NFL teams made in free agency and the fact that other players wowed at the combine, hardly anything can cause Garrett to budge from the top overall pick regardless of who held the selection.

Garrett will be a franchise-changing player for the Cleveland Browns if he lives up to his billing—but then again, he could serve that role for nearly any of the NFL's 32 franchises. 

"Garrett lived up to his hype at the Combine, dazzling with his combination of size (6'4", 272), power (33 repetitions of 225 pounds) and speed (4.64) and explosiveness (41-inch vertical)," CBS Sports' Rob Rang wrote after Garrett's workouts, which helped solidify his top billing this year. 

In the current mock drafts by 10 experts from CBSSports.com and NFL.com, every single one projected the Browns to select Garrett No. 1 overall. Even Cleveland can't mess this one up. 

Solomon Thomas, DE, Stanford

Stanford pass-rusher Solomon Thomas has always been projected to come off the board in the first half of Day 1, but he shot up draft boards after his impressive performance at the combine. 

Thomas checked one of the most important boxes at the combine with his weigh-in and measurements, which Yahoo's Charles Robinson shared on Twitter:

Those numbers prove that Thomas has plenty of length to fit a variety of defensive schemes, including San Francisco's, either with his hand in the dirt or as an edge-rusher. 

Unfortunately for fellow defensive prospect Jonathan Allen, Thomas rose so high on the draft boards partially because of news about Allen's arthritic shoulder condition, which could spook some teams out of selecting him so high.

That makes Thomas the second-best prospect in the draft after Garrett and, by definition, the second-best overall prospect as well.

Jamal Adams, SS, LSU

The Chicago Bears need help in the backfield, and Jamal Adams looks like the best defensive back in the draft.

"He is a tone-setter with a rare combination of instincts, athleticism and intangibles to make an immediate impact on a defense that made strides a year ago but allowed 24.9 points per game, 24th in the NFL," Rang wrote when projecting that the Bears select Adams with the No. 3 overall pick. 

Adams posted a career-high 76 tackles, including 7.5 for loss, in his 2016 season with LSU. The Bears have long struggled to contain some of the pass-catching weapons in the NFC North and have to meet Green Bay's Aaron Rodgers twice a year. 

Selecting Adams would give Chicago one of the key pieces it is missing in defensive coordinator Vic Fangio's 3-4 defense and help the Bears rebuild their way back into the conversation in their division.

Unlike many first-round prospects, he appears to have few weaknesses in his game.