NFL Mock Draft 2017: Full Last-Second Forecast for Round 1

The NFL draft may officially kick off mere hours from now, but it's never too late to send one final mock draft out into the ether. 

It's tempting to get caught up in the rumor mill that began churning a few weeks before the draft. Sources are allegedly spilling to everyone, teams are throwing information out there to create smoke screens, and analysts are digging in hard on their own theories.

However, it's important to remember that NFL executives and scouts are, for the most part, immune to all that.

Now, it's true that news such as Jabrill Peppers' diluted drug sample or Gareon Conley's sexual assault accusation can have real effects on teams' big boards. But for the most part, executives and scouts have created those boards as a result of attending games—all of which ended months ago—watching hours of tape and interacting with prospects in visits and at the combine and pro days. 

So think of this mock draft as an anti-reactionary mock draft. It takes into account two things: players' talent level and team needs.

Selection	Team	Player	Position	School
1	Cleveland Browns	Myles Garrett	DE	Texas A&M
2	San Francisco 49ers	Jamal Adams	SS	LSU
3	Chicago Bears	Solomon Thomas	DE	Stanford
4	Jacksonville Jaguars	Leonard Fournette	RB	LSU
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	Christian McCaffrey	RB	Stanford
9	Cincinnati Bengals	Reuben Foster	ILB	Alabama
10	Buffalo Bills	Mike Williams	WR	Clemson
11	New Orleans Saints	Jonathan Allen	DT	Alabama
12	Cleveland Browns (via PHI)	Mitchell 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	Derek Barnett	DE	Tennessee
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	Haason Reddick	DE	Temple
22	Miami Dolphins	Forrest Lamp	G	Western Kentucky
23	New York Giants	Cam Robinson	OT	Alabama
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	Marlon Humphrey	CB	Alabama
28	Dallas Cowboys	Tre'Davious White	CB	LSU
29	Green Bay Packers	T.J. Watt	OLB	Wisconsin
30	Pittsburgh Steelers	Takkarist McKinley	OLB	UCLA
31	Atlanta Falcons	Charles Harris	DE	Missouri
32	Saints (via NE)	David Njoku	TE	Miami

Breaking It All Down

First things first, let's talk about the elephant in the room: Despite persistent recent reports, the Cleveland Browns would have to be loony to think about drafting North Carolina quarterback Mitchell Trubisky over Texas A&M edge-rusher Myles Garrett at No. 1 overall.

ESPN's Adam Schefter gave the rumor, which has been percolating for a few weeks now, new life on Wednesday evening:

Garrett earned the highest grade in ESPN's rankings of this year's prospect class: 95. That means he's a rare prospect, "a premier college player that has all the skill to take over a game and play at a championship level."

Trubisky, on the other hand, earned an 89 and was ranked 27 spots lower. He's still a special prospect, to be sure, but here's the thing: If the Browns take Garrett at No. 1 overall, they still have a chance to move back up and grab Trubisky. 

If they go with Trubisky with the first pick, Garrett will be gone. 

Assuming the Browns go with Garrett at No. 1 overall, the next two selections get interesting.

Many analysts believe that both the San Francisco 49ers and the Chicago Bears would be more than happy to land either LSU safety Jamal Adams or Stanford defensive lineman Solomon Thomas. 

But a recent report by Bleacher Report's Matt Miller indicated that Adams, whose name hasn't been as associated with the 49ers, has a high chance of hearing his name called by them Thursday. 

"Adams told me he visited the 49ers late in the process on a top-secret mission," Miller said. "It's also easy to connect the dots and see new general manager John Lynch—a 2017 Hall of Fame finalist at safety—drafting a can't-miss safety prospect who just so happens to be a high-character leader, too."

Other interesting trends from this projected Round 1? How about the fact that we have two running backs coming off the board before the 10th pick for the first time in years?

The Jacksonville Jaguars would love to add consensus top back in this year's class—Leonard Fournette—to their backfield, while the Carolina Panthers, who desperately need some help in that area, would still find success by landing Christian McCaffery.

This draft is one of the most nebulous in recent memory; it's so deep, and the first round could shake out a number of different ways.

That's what will make it so fun to watch, beginning tonight at 8 p.m. ET on NFL Network and ESPN.