NFL Draft 2017: Latest Predictions and Rumors for Top Prospects

You're never going to believe this, but there are some rumors heading into Thursday's start of the 2017 NFL draft.

I understand if you need a minute to pick up your slacked jaw. People really care about this thing! And sometimes folks inside the league want there to be publicity for the event! Sometimes, reports that are slightly less than 100 percent correct happen!  

It's all a very strange and new world out there and not at all like the past 9,212,155 draft processes. I'm being facetious, but this draft does feel particularly littered with smokescreens and discussions of behind-the-scenes workings.

The Cleveland Browns hold the No. 1 overall pick, and despite having months to make their decision, are yet to make anything set in stone. Their plans for the No. 1 pick highlight the latest set of rumors floating around the league.

Trubisky Still In Play at No. 1, No. 2?

Via Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com:

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Despite that Browns head of football operations Sashi Brown gave strong vibes during his pre-draft press conference Wednesday that the Browns have zeroed in on Myles Garrett, they're still strongly considering taking Trubisky there, sources say.

The feeling on the part of the front office, sources say, is that the Browns are ready to draft their quarterback of the future and might not want to risk losing him if they try to trade up or hope he falls to them at No. 12.

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Via Ian Rapoport of NFL.com:

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According to several sources with knowledge of the team's thinking, the 49ers are still strongly considering taking a quarterback second overall. That would be somewhat of a surprise, considering they signed presumptive starter Brian Hoyer and Matt Barkley in the offseason -- and they have Redskins quarterback Kirk Cousins potentially as an option for 2018. Taking a quarterback high would likely end any chance at Cousins. 

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It's important to remember we're still fully in the smokescreen process, but it's beginning to feel more and more like Trubisky will come off the board at some point in the top five—if not as the top overall choice.

Garrett has been the favorite to land in that spot for months and remains the likeliest option. The Texas A&M star has perennial Pro Bowler written all over him as a dominant pass-rushing force. His combination of size, athleticism and production is potentially generational; he's arguably just as strong of a prospect as Jadeveon Clowney was pre-injury.

Trubisky's a quarterback. It's really that simple. When it comes to grading these two prospects on their NFL readiness, it's not even close. Garrett is light years ahead of Trubisky. He can step in day one as a starter and should already slot in as a contender for Defensive Rookie of the Year.

Quarterback is the most important position on the field. Finding even a competent signal-caller is a near-impossible task at times. The Browns are rolling into 2017 with nearly two decades' worth of abysmal quarterback play. If Trubisky or Deshaun Watson is even above-average, he might wind up with a statue. 

The 49ers, like the Browns, have holes all over their roster that make them a bad for a quarterback early. Leonard Fournette, Jamal Adams, Solomon Thomas or Marshon Lattimore are all surer bets who will help fill needs for potential stars. Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch are in their first year in San Francisco, so they have time. 

How the draft plays out will ultimately be dependent on how itchy the trigger fingers are at the top.

Reuben Foster's Draft Stock Slipping? 

Via Rob Rang of CBSSports.com: "Whether because of the medical or the character red-flags created with his expulsion from the original combine, Foster's stock is slipping, according to multiple league sources contacted by NFLDraftScout.com."

Considered by most as the top middle linebacker in this class, Foster's pre-draft process has been a bit of a mess. He was sent home from the scouting combine after an argument with a worker at a hospital in Indianapolis. The Butkus Award winner revealed last week to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com that he also failed his drug test at the combine due to a diluted sample, which he attributed to food poisoning:

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I couldn't eat much, but I had to drink water and Gatorade. Then a few coaches said something about me being too light. And I'm a coach-pleaser. I don't care what everybody thinks, but I care what coaches think. So I drank and ate as much as I could without throwing up. Then I went in there, drinking and drinking water, trying to flush out my system from whatever was making me sick and trying to keep my weight up and took the test.

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Despite his protestations otherwise, it appears Foster has gone from a top-10 lock to falling down draft boards. It's unlikely he'll fall out of the first round entirely, but he might be available in the No. 15-20 range—something that was borderline unthinkable at the start of this process.

Could 5 QBs Go in Round 1?

Via Rang:

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There are plenty who believe that Notre Dame's DeShone Kizer and California's Davis Webb could also earn first-round picks, with some even suggesting that it would be a surprise if at least one of these passers was not a top-32 selection.

Given that the value of young quarterbacks has never been higher (and that the depth at typically hard-to-find positions like edge rusher and defensive back is so good this year), it is a possibility worth considering, though most believe that Kizer and Webb (and perhaps Mahomes, as well) are at least a year away from contributing much.

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OK, now this would be a surprise. It would also be an indictment of the draft process itself—specifically the way the rookie salary scale. On merit, Trubisky and Watson are probably the only first-round picks in this class. Patrick Mahomes has all the physical tools as a developmental prospect, so it might make some sense if a team like the Houston Texans grabs him late in the first round.

But Kizer and Webb? That would border on a step too far, as if every general manager went full tilt on a quarterback class that's considered average at best. It would be akin to everyone falling over themselves in 2011 to draft a quarterback, when Cam Newton, Jake Locker, Blaine Gabbert and Christian Ponder all went off the board in the top 12.

Newton is the only one of those four still with his first team. Locker retired from football. Gabbert and Ponder are free agents, currently hoping to compete to keep their careers alive. The fifth quarterback in that class, Andy Dalton, wound up arguably the best pure passer of the bunch (Newton is obviously the best player of the five).

What I'm saying is that five quarterbacks going off the board Thursday is not a good idea. You could, in fact, say it is a bad idea. Indeed, you could say that. Very bad. Bad, bad, bad idea.