NFL Draft 2017: Breaking Down Updated Mock Draft and Deepest Positions

It's a good year for an NFL team to need a defender. 

Offensive line...not so much.

The 2017 NFL draft class is one of the deepest in recent memory at certain positions. Hard-to-fill areas like safety and boundary corner boast high-profile guys sure to fly off the board early, but there's enough in the way of quality depth to make teams feel comfortable about passing on the top guys.

If only the offensive side of the football shared the same status. Offensive tackle is a mess, a continuation of a budding trend over the years. The top four or five quarterbacks don't inspire confidence right out of the gates, either.

These strengths and weaknesses of the class come up often in mock drafts, so let's look at one below and zoom on some of the deepest positions in the class.

2017 NFL Mock Draft 

Pick	Team	Selection
1	Cleveland Browns	Myles Garrett, DE, Texas A&M
2	San Francisco 49ers	Solomon Thomas, DL, Stanford
3	Chicago Bears	Deshaun Watson, QB, Clemson
4	Jacksonville Jaguars	Leonard Fournette, RB, LSU
5	Tennessee Titans (from Rams)	Malik Hooker, S, Ohio State
6	New York Jets	Mitchell Trubisky, QB, North Carolina
7	Los Angeles Chargers	Jamal Adams, S, LSU
8	Carolina Panthers	Christian McCaffrey, RB, Stanford
9	Cincinnati Bengals	Derek Barnett, DE, Tennessee
10	Buffalo Bills	Marshon Lattimore, CB, Ohio State
11	New Orleans Saints	Reuben Foster, LB, Alabama
12	Cleveland Browns (from Eagles)	O.J. Howard, TE, Alabama
13	Arizona Cardinals	DeShone Kizer, QB, Notre Dame
14	Philadelphia Eagles (from Vikings)	Fabian Moreau, CB, UCLA
15	Indianapolis Colts	Jonathan Allen, DL, Alabama
16	Baltimore Ravens	John Ross, WR, Washington
17	Washington Redskins	Corey Davis, WR, Western Michigan
18	Tennessee Titans	Mike Williams, WR, Clemson
19	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	Quincy Wilson, CB, Florida
20	Denver Broncos	Garett Bolles, OT, Utah
21	Detroit Lions	Takkarist McKinley, OLB/DE, UCLA
22	Miami Dolphins	Malik McDowell, DL, Michigan State
23	New York Giants	Haason Reddick, Edge, Temple
24	Oakland Raiders	Kevin King, CB, Washington
25	Houston Texans	Patrick Mahomes, QB, Texas Tech
26	Seattle Seahawks	Cam Robinson, OT, Alabama
27	Kansas City Chiefs	Dan Feeney, OG, Indiana
28	Dallas Cowboys	Marlon Humphrey, CB, Alabama
29	Green Bay Packers	Forrest Lamp, G, Western Kentucky
30	Pittsburgh Steelers	David Njoku, TE, Miami
31	Atlanta Falcons	Caleb Brantley, DT, Florida
32	New Orleans Saints (from Patriots)	Obi Melifonwu, S, Connecticut

Analyzing Deepest Positions

Defensive Line 

There's not point splitting up tackles and ends in a traditional sense anymore, not with ends kicking inside to rush the passer all the time now and hybrid fronts taking the place of base defenses. 

All that makes the 2017 class more impressive.

Consensus top pick Myles Garrett leads the way, though Stanford's Solomon Thomas isn't far behind. Thomas, at 6'3" and 273 pounds, is a good example of this class as a whole—a scheme-independent player who can land anywhere and find success.

As Sports Illustrated's Andy Benoit pointed out, even a lack of a need shouldn't stop top teams from grabbing Thomas:

The rest of the class doesn't disappoint. Tennessee's Derek Barnett could find himself as one of the first 10 players off the board, and Michigan's Taco Charlton doesn't seem far behind. Other edge-rushers such as Carl Lawson, Charles Harris and Tarell Basham won't be far behind into the second round. High-upside projections like Derek Rivers and Tanoh Kpassagnon represent great value as well.

On what could be considered the inside based on scheme, don't forget guys like Jonathan Allen and Malik McDowell, not to mention Florida's Caleb Brantley.

Guys who are versatile and can rush the passer flying off the board isn't anything new. But the quality of this year's class amplifies the effect, with really only the quarterback thirst and a few offensive weapons stopping this from being a first round absolutely dominated by trench players.

Defensive Back 

The second level of the defense looks almost equal to the above D-linemen class. 

Safety is one of the worst positions overall in the NFL, so teams won't hold back on a guy getting Ed Reed comparisons like Malik Hooker. Nor can teams ignore Jamal Adams, a proven leader with the versatility necessary to thrive at either safety spot. Being interchangeable in the back end of a defense as the position continues to evolve is a must in today's NFL and these guys have it.

Behind the top two, Budda Baker brings elite coverage instincts to the table and guys like Jabrill Peppers and Obi Melifonwu are freakishly athletic line-of-scrimmage enforcers who can fit in any defense.

Impressive as safety is, corner might be even more loaded.

Several NFL executives spoke with NFL.com's Daniel Jeremiah about the deepest position in the class this year, with three of the five mentioning corner, with one saying the following: "This draft is loaded with corners. There are some elite guys at the top of the draft, but I think there are some excellent value guys in the middle rounds and a bunch of sleepers I really like on Day 3 (Rounds 4-7)."

No argument here. Marshon Lattimore, Gareon Conley, Chidobe Awuzie, Marlon Humphrey and Kevin King are all Round 1 candidates. And that's before getting into slot guys like Tre'Davious White, elite returners such as Adoree' Jackson or the returning-from-injury Quincy Wilson or Fabian Moreau.

Did anybody mention all those guys will likely come off the boards in the first two rounds? Like the executive mentioned, plenty of high-upside players exist in the later rounds. Want a giant press corner? The 6'2", 209-pound Rasul Douglas is the way to go. Shifty slot corner? Corn Elder.

Examples persist, but readers get the point—the only people upset about the quality of this class are quarterbacks around the league.

Tight End 

A younger NFL fan could suggest this is the deepest tight end class they've ever seen and not be exaggerating too much. 

In a word, this year's crop of tight ends is ridiculous.

Alabama's O.J. Howard naturally leads the way thanks to his budding skills as a blocker and role as a movable weapon. David Njoku is maybe a few slots behind thanks to elite speed and ability to pick up yards after the catch. Evan Engram is basically a high-end wideout. Bucky Hodges has a similar skill set to all mentioned, but at 6'6" is a giant. Jake Butt is a quality traditional TE, as is Jeremy Sprinkle, while Gerald Everett and Jordan Leggett are high-upside, pass-catching weapons.

Got all that?

Don't be shocked if those names come off the board in the top 100. Here's where there is a problem—some may look up the names of these guys and check stat totals. Stats are never a good way to evaluate an NFL prospect, but it's an especially big mistake at this position in particular. Collegiate tight ends simply don't see anything more than, say, 30 percent of an offense's passes each year.

Here's The Ringer's Robert Mays: "Howard and the rest of his draft mates have entered elite company with their physical traits, and those skills—along with whatever position-specific talents they bring to the table—are considerably more relevant than the numbers they put up in the collegiate ranks."

NFL teams aren't looking at stats here. They're looking at size, athleticism, blocking, scheme fit, how movable a player is and what mismatches he can create. The top six or seven guys here pass with flying colors in a way classes before them haven't. 

Stats courtesy of NFL.com. All advanced metrics courtesy of Pro Football Focus.